Isolation In The Painted Door By Sinclair Ross

In these stories, two women were tested by their surroundings and placed in unfair situations that caused them to behave poorly. Is it possible to defend these actions, and if so, how? Both of these women were put into an isolated environment that was so deafening that it was mentally unstable for each of them. In the short story "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross, Ann was isolated, not only from her husband John but they also lived on a farm 10 miles away from town.When someone feels trapped in a relationship with little to no connection or stimulation, they may start to feel misplaced and start acting out like Ann did. She was forced to suppress her anger and loneliness, so she turned to Steven for a different outlet. Subsequently, some

Isolation is shown vividly in this drama through the characters. Minnie was a choir girl and she was also a very happy, outspoken person, at least until Mr. Wright came into the picture. Yes he was a good man as in, " he didn't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts" (Glaspell 19). But he took Minnie from her world of music and took her to a place of silence and despair. Mr. Wright didn't talk much and Minnie got no visitors leaving her isolated in her own thoughts. She craved attention and freedom and the only way to achieve that is by disposing of the one thing that ruined her. Ms. Hale explained that Mr. Wright wasn’t much of a talker and didn’t like anybody in his business “ (he said) folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet—I guess you know about how much he talked himself.” (10). The root of Mr. Wright’s isolation is unknown but maybe, if he'd married someone who loved to be alone like himself, he wouldn't have ended up the way he

Ann feels that as a woman, she should be grateful and happy just to have a kind husband who provides for her material needs. The tension between the way Ann is supposed to act as a farmer's wife and the way she actually feels causes her to bottle up her feelings of frustration and resentment. John's traditional understanding of gender roles prevents him from seeing how unhappy his wife has become. By sleeping with Steven, Ann is trying to find something she has been missing throughout her marriage. Unfortunately, she doesn’t find any satisfaction in her searches and just ends up with tremendous guilt. In the end, the strict gender roles that John and Ann feel they must fulfill are what prevent them from communicating effectively to resolve their