Change and Transformation

In an interview with Albert Wilhelm, Bobbie Ann Mason maintains that "Literature is principally about textures and feelings, not themes and symbols, which are sort of like lead weights on the bottom of a shower curtain. They hold it in place and give it shape, but they aren't the curtain itself." Certainly, the textures and feelings in "Residents and Transients" are ones of uncertainty and change. While there is potential for transformation, it is unclear at the end of the story what that transformation may or may not be.

The main character, Mary, finds herself in the middle of both emotional and cultural changes. These are signaled, first, by her return to Kentucky, and second, by her reluctance to move to Louisville with her husband. Although she has been a transient for eight years, and agreed to continue this lifestyle when she married her husband, she...