Leon was Sylvia’s husband and a poet. He is already dead at the beginning of the story. Carla and Clark learn from his obituary that Leon had won a big cash prize for his poetry, prompting Clark to scheme a way to get money from Sylvia. Sylvia wonders if Flora’s seemingly magical reappearance is related to Leon’s death.
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The timeline below shows where the character Leon Jamieson appears in Runaway. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Runaway
Recently, leading up to this rift, Clark and Carla read Leon Jamieson’s (Sylvia’s husband) obituary in the paper. Leon was much older than Sylvia, and he...
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...Jamieson—the story is, in reality, a lie she told Clark. She told him that when Leon was sick and dying, he tried to sexually molest Carla when she was at their...
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...Carla’s presence and is grateful for Carla’s help cleaning the house and clearing it of Leon’s belongings. One day, Carla kissed Sylvia’s head as they cleaned, which has stuck in Sylvia’s...
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...goes for a walk and reminisces about how she used to go on walks with Leon. She feels irritated and anxious thinking about Carla. She calls Ruth first to warn her...
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...that she’s at home in bed. Sylvia examines Clark’s menacing and disagreeable appearance and remembers Leon once saying that Clark was “unsure of himself.” Nonetheless, she knows that Clark could hurt...
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...by thoughts of Flora’s fantastical reappearance. She wonders if the event could be related to Leon’s passing.
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...that he didn’t. She pleads for him to believe that everything she told him about Leon was “made-up,” and he says he believes her. As they get into bed, Carla notes...
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