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Split Image is the story of Laura Li and how others perceive her and think her life is. Some people like
her, some love her, some hate her, some envy her, and some admire her. To herself, she is troubled primarily by her
parents and the pressure they put on her. According to Korbeck, "This novel is about stereotypes, misconceptions, and
public vs. private personas" (2000).
The story is told in poems, each poem has a different speaker. There are too many characters for them to be fully
developed, but all the speakers contribute the plot line of the book. The book moves at a fast pace - partly because
there are so many characters and partly because they are speaking in poems. The ideas and thoughts are packed into a
cohesive and well developed novel.
The novel accomplishes something that a regular prose novel might not be able to- it focuses on perceptions people have
of Laura Li. It is the different way all the characters think of Laura Li that becomes the emphasis of the novel.
The reader isn't sure what perception is correct which is a contrast to the person holding the perception who thinks they
are absolutely correct. In this way, the form of the novel really lends itself to the theme of the novel - that of perceptions
and misconceptions.
Though the end of the novel may come as a shock to many readers, there are subtle hints in Laura Li's own entries in
the book: "I wish to leave forever this sinking family ship / But cannot, for reasons of duty, honor, -- and fear. /
My mother still reigns as admiral of the seas--with lash-- / While my brother still sails the Technicolor seas into oblivion.
/ Someday soon a mutiny will break out / And all hands will be lost." In the end, Laura Li committed suicide, and the
people who thought they knew her were shocked and surprised. In the end, all they really had were their own perceptions
and in the end, those perceptions failed both themselves and ultimately Laura Li.
Glenn, Mel. Split Image. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
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