Blog 3

In William Trevor's story "The Room," Katherine has a life changing event where the man she thought she knew and was married too andnwas in love with is accused of killing a woman named Sharon Ritchie. During these nine years, Katherine has repressed many memories of the whole event like when she is with her lover at the party and he inquires about her marriage after he told her that his was falling apart and she states, "no, not breaking up" (696). This is showing that she does not want to think about her marriage and the betrayal of her husband and is putting a sheet over the problem to deal with another day. Another example of her repressing her memories is when she tells her lover, "Don't let me talk about it...Don't ask, don't let me tell"(698). From this we can tell that she doesn't want to talk about it and she doesnt want to be reminded of it. If she can't talk to her husband about their problems, then she will not want to talk to anyone else about it. She even says, "...there'd been restraint. There'd been no asking to be told, no asking for promises that the truth was what she heard. There'd been no asking about the girl, how she'd dressed, her voice, her face, and if she only sat there talking, no more than that," (702). Ts is clear evidence that she had been repressing her feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories. Evidence of the return of the repressed was where she openly told her lover that "Sharron Ritchie was murdered,' she said and wouldn't have without a few drinks. 'My husband was accused.'" (696). When it says she would not have told him without having a few drinks, that shows that she initially didn't want to tell him about her husband. Rain reminded Katherine that "there had been rain in London that night, too," and about the old woman who claimed she saw her husband Phair at Sharron's flat (698). This is another incident of the return of the repressed because it shows that things remind her of insidents of that night and what happened. Finally the return of the repressed over comes Katherine when she decides to leave Phair at the end when she comes to the realization, "for all nine years, there had been silence in their ordinary exchanges, in conversation, in making love, in weekend walks and summer trips abroad" (702). Through this realization, Katherine decidesbto leave her husband because she can't take this nin year long ordeal.