For a short story to be effective, it must be able to produce high levels of intensity,
emotion and drama. To do this, it must convey a great deal of information in a short
space of time. As a result, the short story usually leaves a great deal of its content
open to interpretation and examination by the reader. Also, the denouements of short
stories frequently remain inconclusive and unfulfilled. Together, these attributes add to
the action and intriguing character of this genre of literature.
An essential element of the short story is to make the personal events experienced by
the characters universally understood by the reader. The story must present themes which
are relevant to the reader, in order for it to make an impression. For this reason, short
stories tend to be based on some type of controversy or debatable issue. In Sinclair
Ross' highly metaphorical short story "The Painted Door", the explicit theme is centered
on adultery. However, there are other, more subtle, motifs in the story that play a very
significant a role in its success. The themes essential in making the protagonist's
adultery understandable are the landscape, her isolation, and the feelings of betrayal
and guilt that she experiences following the central act of the story.
A great deal of this story is spent describing Ann's environment, both inside and
outside her house. The story takes place in the past, before automobiles or telephones.
Ann and her husband are settlers in a largely uninhabited and desolate area of North
America (perhaps Saskatchewan). The starkness of the land is described early in the
story: "Scattered across the face of so vast and bleak a wilderness it was difficult to
conceive [the distant farmsteads] as a testimony of human hardihood and endurance."
(246).
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The barrenness of the surroundings in which the characters live produces an impression
of extreme, almost unbearable, isolation and loneliness. This theme, perhaps the most
vividly expressed theme of the story, pervades throughout the entire duration of the
narrative. At one level, it serves to explain how the circumstances of Ann's adultery
arise, but, on another level, the description of the terrain serves a metaphor for the
spirit itself. In other words, the emptiness of her surroundings point to the feelings of
emptiness and loneliness she experiences. In this way, we can empathise with Ann through
the descriptive passages of her bleak surroundings. Her attempts to keep herself occupied
during the absence of her husband by carrying on with the household chores further
emphasises the sense of tedium in her life. The almost exaggerated meticulousness in the
way she proceeds with her chores illustrates her attempts at detaching herself from the
reality of her isolation (does the house really need to be painted in the middle of
winter?).
The weather outside deteriorates as her concern for her husband increases. She ventures
outside the safety and warmth of the house to feed the horses in the stables. The
blizzard is so ferocious that by the time she returns to the house, she realises that if
her husband had ventured home in the storm, he has little chance of surviving the
journey. The storm thus serves as a metaphor both for Ann's anxiety about her present
life, and also for regrets about past decisions. The physical separation from her husband
signifies the isolation Ann is experiencing in her marital relationship. Together, these
emotions make it possible for Ann to engage in an act that under normal conditions, would
be out of character for her.
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At this point, Steven, their neighbour, arrives. We learn that Ann considers Steven
attractive, perhaps even more attractive than her husband. The sexual tension between
them soon becomes apparent: "Something was at hand that hitherto had always eluded her,
even in the early days with John, something vital, beckoning, meaningful. She didn't
understand, but she knew. The texture of the moment was satisfyingly dreamlike. . ."
(254).
Eventually, she accedes to Steven's persuasions that John, her husband, will not be
returning home, either because he is stranded at his father's house (where he had gone
that morning, before the blizzard), or he has lost his way and perished in the cold. She
surrenders herself to her loneliness and temptation, and her relationship with Steven is
consummated. The storm is thus a metaphor for passion, emotion, and crisis.
After having sex, she visualises moving shadows and flickering light from the bed she is
sharing with Steven. It is unclear whether she is awake or dreaming. The spectre of John
then appears. At first, Ann attributes this to a dream, because she knows that the house
is completely isolated. Then, she is profoundly struck by the act of betrayal she has
just committed: "She knew now. She had not let herself understand or acknowledge it as
guilt before, but gradually through the wind-torn silence of the night his face compelled
her." (259). The abatement of the storm signifies Ann's return to rationality and moral
conscience.
This reality is reflected in Steven, whom Ann sees from a different perspective at this
point.
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Instead of sharing her emotions of angst and shame, he remains calm and displays no
feelings of guilt. As a result, he is now substantially less attractive to Ann than he
had been the previous night. This adds to her sense of betrayal as she recalls the
admirable qualities of her husband: "she understood that thus he was revealed in his
entirety - all there ever was or ever could be. John was the man. He was the future."
(261).
The conclusion of The Painted Door" is shocking and ironic, which is what makes the
story so effective. The reader is left with a definite, yet somewhat inconclusive ending.
It is the only instance in the story in which we are not a party to the protagonist's
emotions. The conclusion serves to produce almost as many questions as it answers,
because we are not completely certain what the implications are for Ann. The sudden
termination of the story fails to reveal both what John's motivations were, and what
Ann's future holds.
This "Twilight-Zone-esque" formula is what makes a short story like "The Painted Door"
so effective. The open-ended and disturbing culmination, coupled with the abundant use of
symbolism and metaphor, compel the reader to ruminate on the implications long after the
reader has finished reading the story.
Works Cited
Ross, Sinclair. "The Painted Door". Elements of Literature, Second Canadian Edition.
Ed. Robert Scholes, et al. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1990. 245-261
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