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Cathy Decker
Dr. Decker
English 450
6 Sept. 2001
Carlo: Codi's Mr. Wrong
In chapters two and four of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams, Codi tells us indirectly how her ex-lover, Carlo, is a selfish,
inconsiderate man. The first mention of Carlo in the novel reveals his lack of consideration for Codi: "Carlo, my lover of ten years, whom I
seemed to have just left, would be sending a trunk from Tucson when he got around to it" (9). This line suggests how little Carlo values Codi or
their ten-year relationship. She has moved, and he has no plans to move with her or go out of his way to help her move. Her things will only be
shipped to her when Carlo decides he wants to ship them. Carlo's reaction to Codi's move is revealed as even more selfish when we learn he is
able to move easily and often does so:
Carlo was a rolling stone: an emergency-room doctor, which gave him a kind of freedom . . . . You can always find work if you're
willing to take up with a human body as soon as possible after one of life's traumas has left off with it. Carlo and I . . . in our years
together . . . probably had more addresses than the Grace, Arizona, phone book. (10)
Since Carlo can easily get a new job, there is no reason he cannot move close to Codi when she has to go back to Grace to help her father. In
fact, Codi has done this for him many times. She later says: "I'd merrily relocated again and again, accompanying Carlo to the ends of the earth"
(27). It seems while Codi is willing to move for her lover, that is more than Carlo is willing to do. Yet, the most damning example of Carlo's
selfishness is his love of Hallie, Codi's sister. Although Carlo falls for Hallie when the three of them live together, he doesn't deal with his
change of heart from one sister to the other. Codi states: "Carlo withered [after Hallie left] as if he needed water also. Every man I'd ever loved
had loved Hallie best and settled for me" (10). Carlo selfishly doesn't concern himself with Codi's needs or her fears about her sister's
dangerous trip. His energy is not given to supporting his lover, who should feel the loss of her sister more deeply than he. Instead Carlo
wallows in his own sorrow, adding to Codi's pain by showing his preference for Hallie. The brief insights we get of Codi and Carlo's life
together show how right Codi is to leave Carlo, who seems to have selfishly used Codi for sex, help moving, and access to her sister.