The first years were spent in cleaning Muriel, in reconciling herself to her existence. Evelyn wanted to be alone in the house; the house filled up, more than she had dreaded. After some time, Muriel began to appear sufficiently normal to be sent to school, but Evelyn was well are that she was concealing her true nature. She spoke now more like other people, though she was still both clipped and sententious. At first she had said, 'Mother, Mother,' and Evelyn thought it was 'Murder' she had called out in the dark.
In the early years of caring for Muriel, Evelyn focused on helping her daughter adjust to life. Evelyn sought solitude in their home, finding it increasingly crowded, which distressed her. Eventually, Muriel's behavior improved enough for her to attend school, yet Evelyn remained suspicious of her daughter's true personality. Despite Muriel's progress in communication, she still exhibited a clipped and pompous manner of speaking.
Initially, Muriel would call for her mother, but Evelyn misinterpreted it as a darker utterance. This concern indicates Evelyn's deep anxiety and misunderstanding of her daughter's condition. As Muriel was integrated into the outside world, the tension between appearances and reality grew, reflecting the struggles of motherhood and the complexities of childhood development in their fraught relationship.
