Dullness and Boredom

Throughout the novel, characters frequently remark that certain activities and lifestyles are dull or that they stir boredom in another character. For Katherine and Denham, this dullness is almost always associated with living a traditional domestic life. Katherine's hospitality work in her own home represents not legitimate labor, but a mindless set of activities that Katherine neither enjoys nor despises. Her life at home is notably mundane, subscribing to a particular routine that only requires her to go through the motions and performances of decorum she finds disingenuous and unnecessary. In this way, the narrative critiques certain social structures and conventions through daily the routines in which these structures and conventions manifest. The novel emphasizes the presence of these routines despite the fact that the characters themselves rarely critique them or even acknowledge them as variable factors in their lives. The narrative thereby works...