My Rival’s House

Question 1

Title- My Rival’s House

Answer 1

(S.S) Title is also part of the
opening line.
Immediately establishes idea
of conflict in this relationship.

Question 2

peopled

Answer 2

(W.C) meaning populated/ made up of. Instead of people the house is filled with furniture and objects. Suggests Rival more concerned with objects than people.

ironic

Question 3

Ormulu and gilt

Answer 3

(W.C) Both
examples of
gold casings.
Play on words of
the homophone
‘gilt’ and ‘guilt’

Question 4

slipper satin

Answer 4

(W.C) heavy, stiff material that is shiny on one side and dull on the other. Looks expensive but is cheap. Highlights the welcome offered by the rival is superficial/false.

Question 5

velvet

stiff (next line)

Answer 5

(wc) furnishings seem luxurious but lack comfort -unwelcoming atmosphere

juxtaposition-speaker is two-faced

Question 6

distortions

Answer 6

(wc) meaning not what it seems/unclear. Creates a sinister mood. Suggests something dark lurks underneath the surface - similar to the rival. Too perfect to be true

Question 7

(Line 6)

We
her

Answer 7

The speaker is not alone (we) - the rival is in control/holds the power in the relationships

Question 8

Shuffle stocking-soled

Answer 8

(wc)-shuffle- discomfort and clumsiness

sibilance highlights how quiet and respectful the speaker feels she needs to act in the house-differential (+ ‘tiptoe’)

Question 9

surface (line 8 and11)

Answer 9

repetition of ‘surface’ highlights the superficiality of the rival

Question 10

protected

Answer 10

suggests the rival will protect her home and possessions at all costs-territorial, over-bearing and materialistic (may include son)

Question 11

Dust-cover, drawn shade, won’t let the surface colour fade

Answer 11

list- Treatment of the house establishes
a sense of the Rival’s personality –
she doesn’t want people to know
her true feelings/ always putting on
an act.

Question 12

silver sugar-tongs and silver salver

Answer 12

sibilance gives a serpentine quality to the mother. Connotes sly, devious and cunning. Suggests she is hiding part of her personality/is not to be trusted

Question 13

glosses

Answer 13

to be shiny OR to conceal something unfavourable. Rival does not may any real attention to her guests-more concerned with appearance. Could also suggest that she doesn’t take their relationship seriously

They aren’t able to be transparent with each other-their relationship is false

Question 14

But (line 17)

Answer 14

(S.S) Contrast introduced by
the word ‘But’. The speaker
knows what the mother is
really like.

Question 15

But what squirms beneath her surface I can tell

Answer 15

(W.C) The word ‘squirms’ links
back to the idea of a snake
lurking underneath. Speaker
won’t be able to get to grips with
rival’s hidden nature.

Question 16

capped tooth, polished nail

Answer 16

(WC) Play on words –
Idiom: “to fight tooth and
nail” - fierce. Suggests
the animalistic nature of
the rivalry.

On the surface the rival is put together and polite.
Underneath the surface, she has an animalistic nature and is ready to fight. Not what she seems.

Question 17

fight, fight

Answer 17

(S.S) Repetition
of ‘fight’ –
emphasises the
rivalry between
the women. It is
ongoing and
intense.

Question 18

deferential, daughter, I sip
and thank her nicely for each bitter cup

Answer 18

‘deferential, daughterly’+ ‘thank her nicely’-she is well aware of her rival’s feeling and is also hiding her own feelings

I sip-passive tone

Question 19

And I have much to thank her for

Answer 19

Passive voice-lacks power. Admitting defeat (deferential)

short sentence?

Question 20

This son she bore-
first blood to her-

Answer 20

parenthesis isolate the words to ensure we finally understand the root of the conflict between the two women

‘first blood to her’-play on words-‘first blood’ in terms of lineage, acknowledgement of blood relationship/or she has drawn first blood in the fight

Question 21

never, never

Answer 21

(S.S) Repetition reinforces her belief that her lover will not be relinquished to her without a fight. Speaker will never have him to herself.

Question 22

potluck of family

Answer 22

(I) First of the food-related imagery.
Food is usually considered sustaining and life-giving. Here it is poisoned. We
cannot choose our family.

Question 23

oh how close

Answer 23

mocking tone-speaker’s resentment

Question 24

this family that furnishes my rival’s place

Answer 24

(S.S) Final line is similar to the opening
line. People ‘furnish’ the house. The
people in the house belong to the rival –they are silent and obliging.

Question 25

I am all edges, a surface, a shell

Answer 25

metaphor

Just as edges are sharp and uncomfortable, so too does the speaker keep her guard up due to her discomfort in this enemy territory and is keeping her true self hidden.

Just as a shell is delicate and easy broken, so too does the speaker feel fragile, vulnerable and out of place as she faces the tension between her and her rival which creates a tense atmosphere

Question 26

Lady of the house. Queen bee.

Answer 26

euphemisms to describe the rival’s dominant position in the household. Standoffish tone- speaker less passive

Question 27

far more unconscious, far more dangerous than me.

Answer 27

repetition reinforces the importance of not underestimating the influence she exerts on her son and the dancer this could pose on the speaker’s relationship with him

unconscious-the rival may be unaware of her threatening behaviour OR she may be devious and underhand

Question 28

Listen, I was always my own worst enemy

Answer 28

‘Listen’ established a conversational tone. Direct comment to the reader- the speaker is admitting she can be over sensitive. She is aware of her rival’s power/ destructive qualities

Question 29

she has taken even this from me

Answer 29

brevity suggests that this rivalry will continue

Question 30

She dishes up her dreams for breakfast. Dinner, and her salt tears pepper our soup

Answer 30

food imagery associated with the Rival exposing the grief and bitterness the mother feels about his new romance

Question 31

She won’t give up.

Answer 31

The final 2 lines sum up completely the hopelessness of the situations *! their simplicity and directness, these 4 words leaves the reader with no doubt that the battle will go on