There are other coordinate conjunctions besides "so." — Remember FANBOYS: "for," "and," "nor," "but," "or," "yet," and "so."
The correct method of curing a comma splice depends on what you want to say. There may be more than one choice that will convey what you want to say, but you need to choose carefully.
Exercise: Cure the comma splice(s) in each of the following:
The suits hanging in the closet were the remains of the absent Father, the child wanted to be free from the remains of a dark and dreadful memory.
The children nagged and poked verbally at their Mother to get rid of their abusive Father, they wanted to be free from the abuse, they had put up with "it" (the abuse) long enough and wanted it to end.
The next metaphors, "the stained / flippers of their hands, the underwater / fire of their eyes, / ships gone down with the lanterns lit" (20-23), represents the father's sad life, he is drowning in the sin of being an abusive husband and father.