Mrs Midas quotes

Question 1

“You see, we were passionate then, in those halycon days; unwrapping each other, rapidly, like presents, fast food.”

Answer 1

• Before Midas made his wish, everything was perfect
• Similes symbolise their love for one another
• Contrasts the present with the past

Question 1

“…and it sat in his palm like a lightbulb. On.”

Answer 1

• Simile emphasises the gold colour and Midas’ new gift
• The short sentence emphasises her disbelief

Question 2

“…I feared his honeyed embrace, the kiss that would turn my lips to a work of art.”

Answer 2

• “Honeyed” links back to Midas’ new gift
• “Work of art” refers to the painting ‘The Kiss’

Question 3

“…I dreamt I bore his child, its perfect ore limbs, its little tongue like a precious latch, its amber eyes holding their pupils like flies.”

Answer 3

• Mrs Midas has nightmares
• The baby she has in the dream is perfect but dead
• Similes represent that it has been turned to gold

Question 4

“Separate beds.”

Answer 4

• Caesura emphasises their separation
• Also indicates that Mrs Midas does not trust him

Question 5

“And who, when it comes to the crunch, can live with a heart of gold?”

Answer 5

• “Heart of gold” normally means that a person is extremely kind, but in this case it is something negative
• Rhetorical question is used to convey that she can’t live with him any longer

Question 6

“Look, we all have wishes; granted. But who has wishes granted? Him.”

Answer 6

• Repetition is used to demonstrate that no one gets their wishes granted
• Parallelism is used to emphasise the fact that getting a wish granted is very rare
• The caesura and short sentence emphasise that she is angry at Midas’ stupidity

Question 7

“What gets me now is not the idiocy or greed but lack of thought for me. Pure selfishness.”

Answer 7

• Mrs Midas has been hurt by his selfishness
• The short sentence sums up her feelings and emphasises how she feels towards him now using the caesura

Question 8

“I think of him in certain lights, dawn, late afternoon, and once a bowl of apples stopped me dead. I miss most, even now, his hands, his warm hands on my skin, his touch.”

Answer 8

• Mrs Midas still thinks about her husband
• Gold constantly reminds her of him
• She misses him deeply - the person he was before
• Pathos is used to make the reader feel sympathetic towards her
• Irony is used as Midas’ touch ruined everything, but that is what she misses most

Question 9

“…glass, goblet, golden chalice, drank.”

Answer 9

• Alliteration emphasises her complete shock at what has happened