In these distressing political times, goodness has been on my mind. Recently I read an article in the New York Times about the art dealer Lisa Schill, who pleaded guilty to defrauding her clients of six million and a half dollars. "I am the worst kind...because I seem so good. I'm a good person, I'm a good friend, I am loving and generous, I work hard - and I stole your money."
This theme of what constitutes a good person was a recurring theme in the novels I've read in the past year or two and, and as a reader, had me pondering what is goodness.
Sarah Bernstein is persuasive, in Study for Obedience, in leading the reader to presume her meek and seemingly obedient unnamed protagonist meets the requirements of what we consider goodness. As the novel progresses, these same qualities become creepy and the protagonist is not who we assume her to be, that obedience can be or is deceitful, perhaps even deadly. The story is so subtly told, the reader entirely unsuspecting of what the protagonist is capable of, that by the end of the book our first impressions are turned on its head.
In Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, a culturally rich book, Zhuli asks what goodness in light of the impacts of political tyranny is, in this case the Cultural Revolution, and the events of Tiananmen Square in China. Living in these circumstances can one be “...a good father, a good grandmother, a good enemy, a good person. Are you a good person, she thought, looking at her teacher, or are you a good revolutionary? Are you a good revolutionary, she thought, looking at Big Mother Knife, or are you a good grandmother? Was it even possible to be both?"
Besides money, there's no question that political situations shape people's choices and actions, and influence their degree of not only goodness, but the measure of their loyalty, integrity and principles. The title of Mark Carney's book Values alone, is a barometer of what might align with our beliefs of what goodness consists of. Good leadership, according to Carney, acts with humility, competence, in short, responsibly not only for the well-being of its citizens but also the global community and the planet. And though many may believe that this is being naive and idealistic, he's had the courage to stand by his principles thus far and that's not something people find easy to do or expedient. As Canadians, we tend to think of ourselves as good, but are we good Canadians? These rapidly changing political times will soon reveal whether we are or not.
— Line Dufour has had dozens of her nonfiction articles published internationally, and her short story, “Exile,” was published by La Maison de la Littérature as well as in the anthology A World of Difference (University of Gloucestershire). Her poem, “Finding the Words,” along with accompanying artwork, was published by Queen’s Quarterly in April 2024.
You can read Line Dufour's story "Stitching Words" in Issue 304 (Summer Creative Nonfiction 2025). Order the issue now:
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