Mrs. Foster
Notably, descriptions surrounding Mrs. Foster are largely absent of any memorable imagery. Instead, the narrator presents Mrs. Foster through dialogue—she frequently and repetitively asks whomever is around her, "what time is it?"—as well as through descriptions of her husband, whose behavior exacerbates her anxiety. This lack of imagery regarding Mrs. Foster's character underscores her fear of being late, projecting her into a state of feeling constantly rushed.
Mr. Foster
In contrast to Mrs. Foster, Mr. Foster's character is more often associated with imagery, suggesting that his slow tendencies are in reality intentional delays to distress his wife. The descriptions of Mr. Foster emerging from the house for both trips to the airport are remarkably similar. The first says, "he walked down the steps of the house slowly, pausing halfway to observe the sky and to sniff the cold morning air" (29). The next morning, the narration reads, "As on the day before, he paused half-way down to sniff the air and to examine the sky" (31). These descriptions of Mr. Foster, paused on the step and breathing in the air as if to suggest his delight in merely being outside, illustrate his penchant for disguising his cruelty with ignorance and innocence.
Mrs. Foster's Decision
When Mrs. Foster pauses in front of the house with the key in the door, the narrator finally provides a vivid description of her behavior. "She slid the key into the keyhole and was about to turn it—and then she stopped," the narrator says. "Her head came up, and she stood there absolutely motionless, her whole body arrested right in the middle of all this hurry to turn the key and get into the house, and she waited—five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten seconds, she waited. The way she was standing there, with her head in the air and the body so tense, it seemed as though she were listening for the repetition of some sound that she had heard a moment before from a place far away inside the house" (32). That the narrator dedicates so much time to this moment suggests not only that it will be important for the end of the story, but also that Mrs. Foster herself has been transformed by it—no longer rushed and anxious, this moment of pause dramatizes her decision to free herself from her husband's control. From this point on, Mrs. Foster's behavior and appearance receive more elaborate descriptions, suggesting her newfound ability to enjoy her life now that her husband is no longer part of it.
