A Thousand Acres

Several years later, Ty comes to see Ginny at work on her birthday. She gives him breakfast, and they agree to meet up for lunch. At lunch, Ty reveals he is going to Texas to look for work. Marv Carson would not give him a loan for his crops this year, and many other farmers are losing their farms. He was never able to get the hog operation up and going after the hearing. He sold his shares of the farm but lost everything because of his debt.

He tells Ginny that Rose is determined to make farming work, but she is struggling. He sold her his land. He then asks Ginny for a divorce, since he might meet someone in Texas. Ginny agrees and tells him that if he had wanted to stay married, he would have found her before. He says he hates that Rose roped her into things, and Ginny accuses him of being on Caroline’s side during the hearing. He clarifies that he was on the side of the farm. They continue arguing about whose idea it was to get the farm and where Larry learned to treat them the way that he did.

Ginny asks Ty if he knew what Larry was going to say to her the night of the storm. He said he heard him murmuring but did not pay attention. As he goes to leave, he tells her that he does not understand her life, describing it as ugly, and then says that he will be living it soon and must get used to it.

Ginny receives a phone call from Rose, who is in the hospital. She goes to see her and learns that her cancer has returned and is advanced. When Ginny sees Rose, she looks very small in her hospital bed. She tells Ginny the girls are ready to live with her and that they are packed. Rose instructs her to make the girls fried chicken for dinner.

At home, she starts making dinner and reconnecting with Linda and Pammy. As she cooks, she cannot help but feel defeated at the fact that she is back at the farm. After dinner, Ginny tries to call Jess but calls the wrong man instead.

The next day, Ginny goes to visit Rose and tells her she plans to bring the girls to visit after school. They talk about Jess and his importance in their lives. Rose reveals that she is leaving the farm to Ginny and Caroline, to protect the girls from its dangerous legacy. Because of the debts, they may not make any money on the sale.

Ginny reveals that she tried to kill Rose at one point, admitting to the poisoned sausage. Rose is not upset and jokes that she got her way since she is dying now. As Ginny goes to get the girls, Rose tells her that she has no accomplishments except resisting forgiveness.

Ginny arrives to sell the farm, intending to meet with Caroline to gather whatever belongings they may still want out of the house. She sees Caroline at Larry’s house and goes to meet her. Things are awkward between them as they begin to sort through the stuff. Rose eventually realizes that Caroline does not know her history, and she quizzes her on photos in the family house, which Caroline cannot identify. She asks why Caroline wants anything from the house if she does not know the people who lived there once. Caroline accuses her of trying to wreck her childhood and of bankrupting the farm, which is something she cannot forgive her for. Caroline defends Larry, saying that he was kind at the end of his life. She accuses Ginny of being greedy and evil and then storms out of the house.

After Caroline leaves, Ginny goes to Marv’s office to tell him they do not want anything. She then returns to the farm to retrieve her poisoned sausage and sauerkraut from Rose’s cellar. When she gets back to her apartment, she flushes the contents of the jar down the garbage disposal, and only then does she feel a weight lifted off her.

Many farms close during this time. After the farm sells, Caroline and Ginny owe $34,000, and Caroline promptly pays her half. Ginny works out a payment plan and views it as her regret and inheritance. She continues to raise Linda and Pammy.

Ginny thinks about her inheritance in other forms: solitude, anger, and remorse. She is unsure that she has forgiven Larry for what he has done to her and their family.