We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates Summary

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates follows the seemingly perfect Mulvaney family living in upstate New York during the 1970s. Their idyllic life shatters when daughter Marianne is raped at her high school prom in 1976. The assault and the family's inability to cope with the trauma leads to their gradual disintegration—Marianne is sent away, the brothers leave home, and Michael Sr. loses his business and eventually abandons his wife.

We Were the Mulvaneys is ideal for readers interested in domestic fiction that explores family dynamics and trauma. This novel appeals to those who appreciate dark, brutally honest examinations of how violence affects families and individuals seeking psychological depth in literature. Fans of Joyce Carol Oates's work and readers interested in stories about resilience, estrangement, and the complexity of American family life will find this particularly compelling.

We Were the Mulvaneys is worth reading as Joyce Carol Oates's first novel to top the New York Times bestseller list. Despite being her 26th published work, it stands out for its unflinching portrayal of how a single act of violence can fracture an entire family. The novel offers a thought-provoking exploration of silence, shame, and eventual reconciliation, with what Oates considers one of her happier endings.

Joyce Carol Oates wrote We Were the Mulvaneys, publishing it in 1996. This was Oates's 26th published novel and became her first to reach the top of the New York Times bestseller list. The novel spans from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s and is set in upstate New York's Chautauqua Valley, reflecting post-World War II American idealism and subsequent disillusionment.

We Were the Mulvaneys explores three major themes: violence and its ripple effects, family cohesion and disintegration, and coping with tragedy. The novel examines how a single violent act can tear apart a seemingly perfect family. Other significant themes include estrangement, the illusion of the all-American family, silence and communication breakdown, and how trauma permanently alters family dynamics and individual identity.

Marianne Mulvaney is raped by classmate Zachary Lundt after her high school prom in 1976. Her father Michael cannot bear to look at her after the assault, and Corinne sends Marianne away to live with a cousin. Though she is the victim, Marianne is effectively punished and exiled, leading to years of self-sabotage and withdrawal. Eventually, she finds love with Whit West, who runs an animal shelter, and they marry and have two children.

The Mulvaney family falls apart because they cannot communicate openly about Marianne's assault and instead respond with silence and denial. Michael Sr. refuses to acknowledge what happened and begins to hate seeing his daughter, while Corinne sends Marianne away in a misguided attempt to preserve the family. This inability to stand together through tragedy causes each son to leave home, Michael to lose his business and eventually abandon Corinne, leading to complete family disintegration.

Judd Mulvaney, the youngest child in the family, narrates We Were the Mulvaneys. Joyce Carol Oates uses first-person perspective through Judd to tell the story of his family's rise and fall. Judd becomes a journalist, which Oates links to the creative process—he is driven to interpret the world and convey that understanding to others. His retrospective narration provides insight into the family's secrets while acknowledging that some mysteries remain even within close families.

We Were the Mulvaneys contains powerful quotes about family bonds and secrets.

• "We Mulvaneys would have died for one another, but we had secrets from one another just the same" captures the contradiction between love and hidden truths.
• "What is a family, after all, except memories?" emphasizes how shared experiences shape family identity.
• The quote about being "joined at the heart" reveals the Mulvaneys' deep connection despite individual struggles and unspoken trauma.

We Were the Mulvaneys portrays family dynamics as fragile and complex, showing how the seemingly perfect all-American family becomes isolated and self-sufficient to the point of dysfunction. Michael and Corinne's marriage deteriorates as anger and denial consume Michael, while Patrick and Marianne's sibling bond fractures under trauma. The novel demonstrates that families who cannot communicate openly about tragedy eventually fall apart, with each member coping through isolation rather than unity.

We Were the Mulvaneys ends with a family reunion after Michael Sr.'s death in 1986, where the remaining Mulvaneys gather to remember him. This conclusion offers hope and reconciliation, representing one of Joyce Carol Oates's "happier endings". Corinne, who rebuilds her life and lives with friend Sable Mills, orchestrates the reunion. However, the novel leaves the family's long-term future uncertain and maintains ambiguity about whether they can fully overcome their traumatic past.

We Were the Mulvaneys reveals that silence and denial perpetuate trauma rather than heal it. The family's inability to discuss Marianne's assault openly transforms from healthy privacy into destructive isolation. Victims and families without sufficient support to process trauma experience permanent disruption—Marianne internalizes shame and punishes herself through self-sabotage. The novel demonstrates that when families cannot accept changed members and offer unconditional love after violence, the trauma's effects harden into lasting patterns of withdrawal and estrangement.