Infinite Summer

How do we interpret this dream? Why does Hal's mom have a "delicate fist upraised and tight in total unconditional support"? A fist? No opponent? No real place to serve the ball? And then whispered the "Please Play" from the umpire?

The dream is the first section that prompted me to start taking notes and I'm so glad to be past the spoiler mark to discuss it - thanks for opening this thread. When I read it I had an almost visceral reaction and immediately felt that it represented the book - too convoluted to take in all at once with the wildly twisted boundary lines the plot lines. I thought the spectators were the readers, waiting expectantly, mom is in full support and Hal is is the author. The whisper is a plea to just dive right in. As others have posted, one way to read the book is to relax and trust in his ability to resolve things that seem completely unrelated. "Please play" could be for us to please just read and trust. What do others think?

Page 72
Kate Gompert describes her suicidal thoughts by saying "I don't hate myself. I just wanted out. I didn't want to play anymore is all."

_________________

All interesting points about "play". When Kate Gompert says she doesn't want to play, it just lands like on you a ton of bricks. We try to make simple sense of people with depression. She takes all of those simplicities apart one by one and explains what it really feels like and that she just doesn't want to participate anymore. How incredibly sad.

To add to it, Schtitt appears to be saying that what makes us alive is "the chance to play, yes?" - pg 84, 85

i thought the dream seemed like an awareness all at once of the infinite possibilities that Schitt was describing to Mario. So in his dream, Hal is picturing tennis the way that Schitt and Himself saw it.

And it is daunting.