Mrs Midas Explanations Flashcards
“The woman who married the fool who wished for gold.”
→she has a negative view of her husband, and by extension, herself.
“I miss most, even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.”
shows that despite what has happened, she continues to love him. she misses me relationship they used to have and simple acts of intimacy that can no longer be done. sense of touch as they can’t do that anymore
“Pure selfishness.”
Shows she is betrayed by what her husband has done as he chose wealth over their relationship.
She is heartbroken and destroyed by his wish - shows relationships can fail.
“My dream-milk burned in my breasts.”
Shows how her husband has crushed her dreams of wanting children, becaure of his greed + selfishness and links to pain + suffering.
“I feared his honeyed embrace, the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.”
she now fears her husband, a hug is described as being sweet and golden, but in reality, it can kill her. A basic intimate contact of a kiss with her husband can now lead to her downfall, this relates to the artwork
‘The Kiss’. They are no longer able to love eachother physically.
“You see, we were passionate then, in those halcyon days.”
shows her reminiscing on how good their love used to be. The calm and peacefullness contrast to thee dramatic + frightened change - abrupt change.
Includes the reader.
“Seperate beds.”
Blunt / matter of fact tone to detach themselves from eachother. The relationship has failed. Also emphasies abruptness of change.
“Look, we all have wishes; granted, but who has wishes granted?”
Word play is used, shows Mrs Midas humour but also intelligence. She is creating a contrast by dividing Midas and everyone else. He is special by having his wish granted. “Him.” shows she is not referring to him by name. This sets her apart from him and emphasise her annoyance. Theme of isolation.
“He sank to his knees.”
abruptness of short sentence emphasises the dramatics of the situation and how serious his regret is. Him on his knees shows he is begging for forgiveness.
“he picked up the glass, goblet, golden chailice, drank”
alliteration with strong sound ‘g’, emphasises strong sense a seriousness and reality, and the this Mrs Midas felt as she witnessed it turn into gold. Highlight theme of having consequences to your actions.
“He sat in the chair like a king on a burnished throne.”
shows that he feels superior and rich with his new power, as if he is king. He still remains unaware of the consequences of his actions, but his wife has already seen them. Presents a lonely image, connecting to theme of isolation.
“Sat in his palm like a lightbulb. On”
simile describing the golden pear.
The pear turning into gold (natural to
unnatural), shows how he prefers wealth to nature. Show sentence highlights her disbelief, and how his power is irreversible.
