Box room Flashcards
title suggests
restricted and small world view. confined
awkward to start with. stilted, tense and uncomfortable. 3 non sentences
“First the welcoming. Smiles all round. A space for handshakes.”
mother shows the girl her room
“then she puts me in my place”
girl makes fun of the mother, feeling confident
“(oh, with concern for my comfort)”
The mother is passive aggressive about the sleeping arrangements
"”unless of course,” she said, “he brings a friend”
“he’ll make do tonight”
“once or twice before he’s slept there”
description of case = description of her
“(lightweight, glossy, made of some synthetic miracle)”
mother thinks the sons home is here
“when he cones home”
girl thinks the woman is pathetic
“left alone in her pathetic shrine to your lost boyhood”
girl is bothered by the mothers attitude but tries to remain confident
“I laugh it off in self defence”
girl is very confident ending stanza 1
“come for the weekend to state my permanence”
who wrote box room
liz lochhead
what does break in stanzas mean
physical break where she thinks and reflects
repeats what the mother said as she feels more uncomfortable
“peace to unpack- but I found none in this spare room that once contained you”
description of the room
“(dun- coloured walls, one small window which once framed your old horizons”
doesn’t understand why she is so uneasy
“What can I blame for my unrest, insomnia?”
her worries are painful and very obvious, she can’t ignore them
“persistent fear elbows me”
feels claustrophobic with worry
“embedded deeply here in this outgrown bed”
boy is much more grown up away from mothers house. shows level of intimacy
“(narrow, but no narrower than the single bed we sometimes share)”
pictures all around make her worry
“on every side you grin gilt-edged from your long discarded selves (but where do I fit into the picture?)”
thinks of his old girlfriend
“previous prizes, a selection of plots grown thin.”
sees egg collection and worries even more
“egg collection shatters me-that now you have no interest in”
she doesn’t feel confident anymore, she doesn’t know where she stands. she is a guest
“invited guest among abandoned objects, my position is precarious”
her mind is dark and she can’t ignore her fears. his past foreshadows their future?
“its dark, your past a premonition I can’t close my eyes to”
she is very shaken and uncomfortable at end of stanza 2
“I shiver despite the electric blanket and the deceptive mildness of the night”
Themes
relationships
conflict
childhood/adulthood
