Growing up in a place riddled with poverty can make it difficult for families to find ways to break free from this life and head towards a better one. During the time of the Great Depression, much of the nation became impoverished due to the crash of the economy. Parents were being laid off from their jobs and, because of the elimination of a steady income, were no longer able to afford their homes and families had to move to find work elsewhere, sometimes even crossing entire states. Marilynne Robinson tells the story of a young girl who grew up during this time period, Lila. Lila faced many challenges throughout her childhood and into her early adulthood, all of which resort back to her poor upbringing during The Great Depression period. By looking at Marilynne Robinson’s Lila, we are able to see how the time period a person grows up in has a great impact on who they become later in life. This is important because Lila grew up in such an impoverished time in American history, and many, if not all, of her characteristics can be attributed to these years. 

Cold and frail, Lila is introduced as a young girl, aged about two or three, who is currently living in some sort of home where she is clearly being neglected. She is depicted as being skinny and malnourished, which was a common occurrence during this time period. “The depression meant hunger and malnutrition. Many people did not have enough to eat, and would search through garbage dumps for food” (Malnutrition and Starvation during the Great Depression). Working mothers and fathers no longer had the income to afford to feed their families regularly. Children would go days without food, and when they got food, it was not rich in vitamins and minerals. Typically, it would be a piece of bread or maybe a piece of fruit. Lila is on the verge of death from malnutrition when Doll comes to take her from her current living situation. The two accompany a man, Doane, and his family while they find odd jobs to do to try and make money. “A time came when Doane couldn’t figure a way to keep them fed. His good name meant nothing because along these new roads he was just one more dirty, weary man with dirty, weary women and children straggling after him,” (Robinson 110). Not being able to feed the women and children that Doane traveled with was an issue, not only for him but for them. Lack of food would drive Lila straight back to her past of malnutrition. People begin showing signs of malnutrition fairly quickly. They become tired more easily, they are pale, and hungry. Without the food they need Lila and the rest of the people will be falling behind even more quickly than they already are. 

Without a stable job, Lila and Doll were forced to move from town to town looking for a way to support themselves. The two were able to find small odd jobs to do for families, such as housework and cleaning. This caused Lila to never be able to attend a school and receive a standard education like other kids her age. Her lack of education made it difficult for her to be successful on her own and find a job to earn money. Lila was never taught things that people who did go to school were taught at such an early age. Robinson writes, “She didn’t always remember yet to say thank you for the coffee, thank you for your time and your trouble. He walked her to the door and opened it for her, and she forgot to thank him for that.” (13). Manors seem to come naturally to those raised who were raised with a standard education because it is taught to us throughout our years at school. Lila was not educated in this way, and her caretaker, Doll was not adamant in pushing Lila to say please and thank you when asking or receiving something. The reason Lila was unable to get the schooling she needed was because of The Great Depression, and the lack of money anyone had to be able to afford sending her to school. Finally, after many years, Doll had saved up enough money to send her to a school for one year. Lila is seen later on in her young adulthood feeling embarrassed about her lack of education. She has a copy of the bible and copies down words from each page to practice her reading and writing skills. She does not let anyone, not even her husband Ames, see that she is doing this because she is embarrassed about her background of being uneducated.  

Throughout the course of the book, Lila is clearly seen to show signs of having communication issues and struggles to form strong relationships because of it. She struggles to communicate with anyone how she is feeling, including her own husband, Ames. These issues are partially derived from where she was raised, and how she was treated for the first two or three years of her life in the home that Doll took her away from. “Childhood abandonment causes problems forming secure attachments which can set the stage for poor quality of later relationships. Some adults who experienced childhood abandonment feel the effects and struggle to form satisfying relationships throughout their lifetime,” (Abandonment and Attachment). After having never really been a part of her birth family, or whatever kind of family she was living with in that house, Lila was unable to form this connection until a later age when she was connected to Doll. Lila was showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that were related to her early childhood abandonment. These symptoms include severe attachment to one person, for Lila it was Doll, and frequent and emotional flashbacks to the time of abandonment. The entire book is filled with flashbacks to Lila growing up and all of the hardships she faced. If Lila had been raised in a time with less poverty, her family may have been able to care for her, allowing her to have a pretty normal childhood, instead of being abandoned by them and being raised by a “stranger”. 

For some people that lived in the late 1920’s and 1930’s, the Great Depression led them to believe and rely on a religion even more so than before. They were devoting their time to worshiping their religion and praying that this disaster would be over with soon, and that things would begin to look up for them. Doll had never enforced any sort of religion on to Lila, which made it interesting how she ended up marrying a minister of a church. “With millions of people out of work, one might have predicted (as many did at the time) that there would have been a strong resurgence of the church during the period of the Great Depression. Indeed, after decades of declining church memberships, churches saw an average gain of 5% during the thirties…” (Religion in the 1930’s). Doll had never been very adamant on expressing the existence of a religion. Most likely due to the fact that she was not a part of the lavish lifestyle and possibly connected her poverty with religion. Lila, on the other hand, is unfamiliar with any sort of religion, and expresses and interest when coming across Ames’ church. Perhaps if Lila had been aware of religion in her younger years, she would have a different outlook on her life, or possibly be a much different person than who she ends up to be. 

Alone and neglected, Lila is introduced to readers as a young girl who is growing up in a household in which she is unloved and uncared for. Luckily, a caring woman named Doll, comes to rescue Lila from this abusive home and is able to raise her with a much more loving manor. The Great Depression causes many setbacks in the two’s life, especially Lila’s. Because of the time period she grew up in, Lila is unable to live like a child in the years after the depression. Lila’s original home was unable to give her the care that a young girl her age needs. This includes proper hygiene and food. Lila is malnourished when Doll takes her from this home. Doll’s lack of a steady job has made money a big issue in the two’s lives. This means constant moving around to find new work, so Lila is not able to attend a school for her life and receive an education like other children do. The moving around also accounts for some of the abandonment issues Lila has. She is unable to get to know and become friends with other children her age and maintain those friendships for her life. Other abandonment issues stem from her neglectful home during the first two or three years of her life. Many of the challenges Lila is forced to overcome growing up can be linked back to the time that she is living in. The Great Depression had a great impact on people all around the nation, including Lila. 
