Epiphany/Breakthrough

An "epiphany" is a sudden moment of clarity, often brought on by emotional stimuli or by very minor events. In "Astronomer's Wife," Katherine Ames has an epiphany about her husband and what he has done to her. She wakes up on this day much as she does every other day—alone. The prose of the story gives a sense of deadness, as the author's style is quite flat in the early part of the story. This corresponds with the state of emotional deadness in which the reader finds Mrs. Ames. In the course of the story, though, she begins thinking in specific terms about the way her husband relates to her. Although he is not cruel or abusive in any way, he is not fulfilling her emotional needs. He is distant, and, as befits his profession, he has his head in the clouds. He is always...