Question -
Answer -
Jack continued telling the story even when he heard Clare moving around heavy furniture though she was six months pregnant. After Jack finished the story, he went downstairs. He saw his wife, Clare wearing an old shirt of his on top of her maternity dress, painting the chair.
He thought of the woodwork as confining as a cage and felt himself caught in an ugly middle position.
This is a representation in fiction of the way in which the male psyche is reinforced by the patriarchal cultural climate of the 1950s that began to unravel during the 1960s and 1970s. The unsettling of gender roles and perspectives is further reflected in the story. The male chauvinistic attitude was reflected even while he was telling the story to his daughter. When Jo thought the story was over, jack resented her attitude. He did not like women when they took anything for granted. He liked them apprehensive, hanging on to his words.