Sorrow and Bliss

Significance of light

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Whether inside or out, Martha often comments on extremes of light. After her honeymoon with Jonathan, she complains that “light sliced through the curtains, found cracks under the pillows and T-shirts [she] put over [her] head and hurt [her] eyes…” (85). There is never enough darkness to match her desperation. Similarly, Martha notices the blown lightbulb at the Goldhawk house which has been there for so long that it is a metaphor for the home’s somber atmosphere.