Mrs. Midas

Question 1

Line 1 - It was late September. I’d just poured a glass of wine, begun
Line 2 - to unwind

Answer 1

‘I’d just poured a glass of wine’ is a reference to the original myth, Dionysus is he god who granted the wish and he was the god of wine,
‘begun to unwind’ - sets a relaxing, calm atmosphere, big contrast to what is coming up.

Question 2

Line 3 - filled with the smell of itself, relaxed, its steamy breath

Answer 2

‘filled with the smell of itself, relaxed’ the personification of the kitchen emphasises the calm, home environment.
‘steamy breath’ also does the same

Question 3

Line 9 - but that twig in his hand was gold. And then he plucked

Answer 3

‘was gold’ - first mention of gold, things get worse from here. Placement at end of sentence emphasises importance

Question 4

Line 11 - and it sat in his palm, like a lightbulb. On.

Answer 4

Just as a lightbulb is bright and shiny, so too the pear was now gold and shiny, as he had touched it

Question 5

Line 12 - I thought to myself, is he putting fairy lights in the tree?

Answer 5

This line shows her sheer confusion at this moment. The question mark at the end of the sentence emphasises this.

Question 6

Line 15 - the Field of the Cloth of Gold and of Miss Macready

Answer 6

‘Field of the Cloth of Gold’ this is an anachronism, emphasising how much gold there is.

Question 7

Line 16 - He sat in that chair like a king on a burnished throne

Answer 7

Just as a throne is shiny and magical, so too the chair immediately turned into gold as he sat on it. It is an allusion to the real myth of King Midas.

Question 8

Line 17 - The look on his face was strange, wild, vain. I said,

Answer 8

‘strange, wild, vain’ the list emphasises the sheer number of emotions he is experiencing at this point.

Question 9

Line 18 - What in the name of God is going on? He started to laugh.

Answer 9

‘in the name of God’ is an allusion to the original myth, as the the original wish was granted by a God.
‘He started to laugh’ short sentence brings attention to the fact that realise the severity of what he’s done, he still thinks it’s a joke.

Question 10

Line 20 - Within seconds he was spitting out the teeth of the rich

Answer 10

He believes he is going to be rich and is still feeling very lucky, hasn’t started to see downside yet. Rich has conn. of wealthy and expensive, showing that he had tried to eat food, but it had turned gold, showing the struggles he is going to face.

Question 11

Line 21 - He toyed with his spoon, then mine, then with the knives, the forks.

Answer 11

List shows sheer amount of things he was touching, showing his excitement at the moment.

Question 12

Line 22 - He asked where the wine was. I poured with a shaking hand

Answer 12

‘poured with a shaking hand’ shows his wife is getting scared of him and the situation.

Question 13

Line 25 - It was then I started to scream. He sank to his knees

Answer 13

‘started to scream’ alliteration emphasises her fear.
‘He sank to his knees’ shows he has started to realise the consequences of his actions and the impact they’ll have. Word choice of sank.

Question 14

Line 26 - After we’d both calmed down, I finished the wine

Line 27 - on my own

Answer 14

‘I finished the wine on my own’ shows his actions have already started to separate the couple.

Question 15

Lines 27-30 - I made him sit on the other side of the room and keep his hands to himself. I locked the cat in the cellar. I moved the phone.

Answer 15

List emphasises the sheer amount of things she is doing to isolate herself from him, showing her fear. However, it is also a tranquil explanation of a chaotic event.

Question 16

Line 32 - But who has wishes granted? Him. Do you know about gold?
Line 33 - It feeds no one

Answer 16

‘Do you know about gold? It feeds no one’ She answers her own question, involves the reader and creates an audience in the poem. Dramatic monologue. She has started to get annoyed at her husband and the sheer selfishness of his actions.

Question 17

Lines 35-36 - At least, I said you’ll be able to give up smoking for good.

Answer 17

Example of humour, shows her calmness in the very chaotic situation.

Question 18

Line 37 - Separate beds. In fact, I put a chair up against my door,

Answer 18

‘Separate beds.’ Minor sentence brings attention to the fact that the couples had moved apart.

Question 19

Line 38-39 - turning the spare room into the tomb of Tutankhamun

Answer 19

Just as Tutankhamun was a pharoe who was very rich and was buried with gold so too he had turned the room fully into gold.

Question 20

Line 43-44 - And who, when it comes to the crunch, can live with a heart of gold?

Answer 20

This shows that they’re relationship is inevitably going to come to an end, showing the negative consequences of his actions.

Question 21

Line 49 - So we had to move out. We’d a caravan

Answer 21

‘So we had to move out’ - signifies the end of their relationships. Short, blunt sentence emphasises this.

Question 22

Line 50 - I drove him up

Line 51 - under the cover of dark. He sat in the back

Answer 22

‘I drove him up under the cover of dark’ Shows she is hiding him because she is embarrassed of him. ‘cover of dark’ conn. of concealment and low visibility.
‘He sat in the back’ short sentence draws attention to how much they are distancing themselves from each other.

Question 23

Line 52-53 - the woman who married tho fool who wished for gold

Answer 23

She feels defined by her husband’s selfish actions. She has lost her identity.

Question 24

Line 53-54 - At first, I visited, odd times, parking the car a good way off

Answer 24

She is still very afraid of her husband and what he could do

Question 25

Line 55 - You knew you were getting close. Golden trout

Answer 25

Everything he tries to eats still turns to gold, he is struggling.

Question 26

Line 61-62 - What gets me now is not the idiocy or greed but the lack of thought for me. Pure selfishness.

Answer 26

She has finally started to get annoyed at him for completely ruining their relationship.
‘Pure selfishness’ minor sentence emphasises her frustration at him.

Question 27

Line 64 - I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon

Answer 27

The light at these times is gold, showing how much she misses him.

Question 28

Line 65 - and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead.

Answer 28

He had turned the apples gold, showing the smallest things can bring it all back for her. Reader feels sympathy for her.

Question 29

Line 65-66 - I miss most, even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin his touch.

Answer 29

List emphasises just how much she misses him. ‘Touch’ is a reference to the Midas touch. She is also thinking of him in the situation, showing how unselfish she is.

Question 30

THEMES

Answer 30

The theme of isolation is prevalent. The consequences of a lover’s stupid decision and the consequences the decision can have. Isolation links to War photographer. Being hurt by a lover links to Valentine and the realities of love and being in a relationship.