In Wendy Lill's Memories of You, there is possibility for an interesting comparison between the discussions and disagreements between Elizabeth and Rose, and those taking place in the past between Betty and Louise. By juxtaposing Betty, in her role as a daughter, struggling through her relationship with mother, and Elizabeth, in her role as a mother, struggling through her relationship with her daughter, Lill offers a wide portrayal of her split subject. The different instances in which Elizabeth/Betty discusses her writing with Louise or Rose make for a significant comparison of a mother's attitude toward her daughter's work and that of a daughter towards her mother's. When Louise and Betty discuss Betty's journals, Louise demonstrates an inability to fathom the use of imagination or deviation from the realistic truth: “But I don't remember that (pointing to notebook). And I don't believe you even thought that (p.18).” While Louise believes that one should write what happened, Betty defends her imagination, saying “It came out of my heart (p.17).”
Similarly, Rose and Elizabeth's discussion of the writer-in-residence position offered to Elizabeth demonstrates Rose's sense of hardened realism and Elizabeth's openness to ambiguous possibility. While Elizabeth talks about how it would be amusing “to be taken seriously as a writer after so long (p.45),” Rose counters with “More like pathetic. I bet it has to do with you being a Canadian (p.45).” It is important to note that with both Rose and Louise, they speak based on their own notion of what is realistic or practical, which is skewed by the extremely contrasting lifestyles they lead.
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