The Psychological Effects of Isolation
A key point in this story is when the narrator conveys that Mrs. Burridge “feels beleaguered, isolated, like someone shut up inside a fortress.” She does not merely feel alienated and disconnected, but as if she is under assault. It is one thing to be isolated from the world outside but that extra weight of victimhood that Mrs. Burridge feels goes beyond the norm. This is because her sense of isolation is not just from without but from within as well. She is physical—geographically—isolated from other people in the world beyond her farmhouse, but also emotionally isolated from her husband. The effects of isolation and disconnection from other people have been well-document historically. It is the condition that gave rise to the concept of “cabin fever” and various associated incidents of psychosis. At the same time, however, this condition of existence has also stimulated the imagination to create great works of creativity.
Stifling of Creativity
Under different circumstances, Mrs. Burridge’s obviously fertile imagination might have used the enforced isolation and alienation to produce paintings or a musical composition, or a literary work. In most cases, however, this response to isolation demands some sort of positive engagement with others. Whether it is her non-communicative husband Frank or the constant stream of bad news on television, there seems to be very little engagement in her life with the kind of positivity necessary to create. It is not that Mrs. Burridge is not creative since, after all, she is creating an alternate reality in her mind. That alternative reality is dark and menacing, however. All indications are that “it” is not actually going to happen, but she has convinced herself it has reached the point of “when” rather than “if.” It is hard enough being creative under normal conditions but imagine the psychological difficulties of using one’s imagination to produce a creative work of art if you were trying to do it under the threat of some life-altering—or even life-ending—event over which you have no control.
Patriarchal Dependence
This theme is encapsulated in the image of the women gathering in the Dominion Store who have lately developed anxious looks on their faces in response to a fear they won’t even discuss openly. Immediately after that image, the narrator turns to the subject of Mrs. Burridge wanting her husband to teach her how to shoot his guns and her subsequent anxiety about even asking. At this point, it becomes clear that the isolation and alienation experienced by Mrs. Burridge may be due, at least in part, to the strategic implementation of these conditions by Frank. By creating marital conditions in which his wife is even more isolated than the typical wife, Frank succeeds in intensifying her dependence upon him. It is earlier noted that Frank “is making more money” than ever. Despite this, they seem to have more money to actually spend than before. The farmhouse is a microcosm of the patriarchal rule which seeks to subjugate women to the control of men in part by engineering dependence that might not arise naturally. Mrs. Burridge’s paranoia about “it” happening is doubtlessly stimulated in part by anxiety that she may not be able to depend upon him when “it” finally does happen.
