Reply to Austin's post on the Mirandas

I totally connected the two Mirandas as the same person. Maybe they weren't but I saw PHPR as a continuation of where Miranda's story left off in OM.

I think what did it for me was the "running away" on the horse. Even though it's just a dream in PHPR, could it be a dream that is remembering the past? Like, reliving events that she went through. It also states in the beginning that she has nothing of her own, except nothing, and that was enough. I connected this with OM in that Miranda is living through the tales of her family. Both Miranda's are writers (if I recall correctly) - one is a journalist and one is prose (I think). They are both educated, which could go along the lines of continuing the story.

We can also take these stories separately, which could make the two Miranda's different, or, going off with Austin's namesake theory. But why would Porter give them the same name? Is it similar to O'Connor giving her characters the same name in a single story? Obviously, they are supposed to be connected, the degree is what is in question. Myself - I saw them as the same, and PHPR as a sequel or something.

I could be completely wrong though because we are left not seeing certain important parts of their character in each story that the other story fills in. For instance, we get a general personality and who Miranda acts with others (and loves) while we only see Miranda as she thinks about her family in OM.

Both stories center around death too, and some sort of romantic love is involved. In OM, it is Amy who suffers and dies without truly being in love. In PHPR, Miranda finds love only to lose it and so she learns that it doesn't matter how much you fight to live, there will always be death. She ends up not really seeing the difference in life or death anymore... which maybe that was Amy's conclusion?