Analysis of Possible Ending for "In the Lake of the Woods"

In his novel "In the Lake of the Woods", Tim O'Brien illustrates denial through his characters John and Kathy Wade. Kathy spends most of her marriage in denial of the poisonous relationship between her and John and the things John has done. John tries to tell Kathy about his past in Vietnam but she doesn't give him a chance because then she could no longer deny what he is capable of. "John Wade knew he was sick, and one evening he tried to talk about it with Kathy. He wanted to unload the horror in his stomach...She seemed nervous, as if she were aware of certain truths but could not bear to know what she knew, which was in the nature of their love"(73-74). If only she knew the price she would pay for her denial about the man she married.

The truth ultimately comes out in the news costing John his political career and leading them to a remote cabin secluded from the world. Kathy Wade uses her imagination to escape the reality that she denied for so long. Now she knew what he was truly capable of, for a long time she was scared that he could hurt someone but now she knew he already did. Alone in the cabin with a man that she has been married to but never truly knew she could no longer deny that she could be his next victim. He could no longer deny that he had done the the things he did and now he faces his greatest fear of losing Kathy the way he lost his father. His final act as "Sorcerer" is to make Kathy disappear before she had a chance to leave him. When he wakes up in the morning he is denial of what he has done and all he can do is pretend it never happened the way he did about his acts in Vietnam and his father's death. He goes to his secret place of the mirrors in his head where anything is possible including his father and Kathy being alive.

Reference:

O'Brien, Tim (1994). "In the Lake of the Woods". United States, Penguin Books