Stories Untold: A Passage Analysis by Victoria Carson

Near the middle of Bausch’s novel Peace, Marson watches their old Italian guide, Angelo. “[Marson] thought of his father and wondered if Angelo had many children or grandchildren, a wife who was alive. An instant passed in which he saw himself trying to tell them at home about the death of the woman. He shook his head, as if to dislodge something in his helmet” (75). This passage brings to light two theories of storytelling by examining Marson’s perceptions to potential stories.

The first theory evident in this passage comes from Marson wondering about Angelo’s story: his experiences. In this case, the story serves as a means of connecting the two men. Although the story is untold, Marson thinks about it and evaluates it. Particularly the curiosity whether Angelo had “a wife who was alive” shows Marson drawing parallels between their experiences, which connects him to Angelo in a way that they were not before he wondered about the story. 

Also in this passage is mention of the murder from the book’s beginning. Throughout the novel, several characters, including Marson, tell and retell the story of the woman being shot: challenging and questioning and sharing opinions. They seem to use the storytelling as a means of processing the events that occurred. In this passage, however, the thought of the potential change in his audience seems to change the expected result of the storytelling for Marson, and he shakes off the thought. There is no direct explanation as to why Marson reacts this way, but when viewed in context of the entire book, readers can make an educated guess. Earlier in the novel, Marson replays the scene of the murder in his mind, telling himself that “things had happened to fast for him to think” (61). Here Marson wrestles with feelings of guilt, and defends his actions to himself. When telling this story to his fellow soldiers, he is telling it to his fellow witnesses. If he told his family, he would be telling outsiders: people who would potentially judge him negatively. In this case then, storytelling would not be a means of connecting him with his family or an attempt to scrutinize the event itself, but would rather be a means of potentially extending and increasing his feelings of guilt and horror. Stories are powerful, and can connect or disconnect people even when they are not told.  

Victoria Carson