the House and A Jest of God One of the harsh realities of life is death. In A Bird in the House and A Jest of God, Margaret Laurence realizes the death of a loved one, the 'death of a dream', and the death of a relationship through the eyes of women. Laurence uses similar themes and ironic situations in both novels to paint a grim picture of life and death. In both novels, the author writes of the struggles of women coping with the death of a loved one. Vanessa, a young girl in A Bird in the House, undergoes considerable pain throughout the e ....