To Room Nineteen

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1958

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Literary Devices

Dichotomy

Throughout the story, Lessing works to deconstruct various dichotomies, in particular with regard to Susan’s feelings about fidelity. A dichotomy is “a difference between two completely opposite ideas or things” (“Dichotomy.” Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, 3 Sep. 2021, Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/dichotomy. Accessed 5 Sep. 2021.). Lessing’s work generally presents dichotomies as deceptively simple oppositions that often require damaging or impossible choices—and, thus, should be dismantled.

The opposition between what Susan is supposed to feel with regard to Matthew’s infidelity (that it is unimportant) and how she actually feels (disappointed and bitter) becomes a point of contention within Susan’s internal dialogue. On the one hand, Susan wishes to discard what she sees as antiquated notions of faithfulness and commitment: “[N]o one can be faithful to one other person for a whole lifetime” (2546). On the other hand, she recognizes that “either the ten years’ fidelity was not important, or she isn’t” (2546). Susan then admonishes herself, revealing the “either/or” nature of the conflict to be unsatisfactory: “(No, no, there is something wrong with this way of thinking, there must be.)” (2547). In terms of the story’s resolution, the affairs are meaningless: Marriage, and the faithful love that cements it, is nothing more than a socially constructed contract between two willing parties—and Susan decides to opt out.

Irony

Lessing injects a sense of irony into the story with regard to the subject of infidelity and its aftermath: It is ironic that Matthew would feel relief at the thought that Susan was behaving unfaithfully, rather than that she clearly has a need to form her own identity and have her own space. Irony describes many distinct literary practices, but it often refers to perceptions or actions that are incongruous with reality. Matthew’s thoughts are self-serving, certainly, because if Susan were having an affair it would justify his own serious relationship with another woman. Nevertheless, it’s not the reaction a reader is likely to expect.

The ironic nature of Matthew’s relief is ultimately tragic; if he were willing to accept his wife as an autonomous individual separate from his expectations and desires, then her life might have been spared. Matthew invites her and her lover to lunch with him and his lover, when in actuality she is communing only with herself and her thoughts in the hotel room. This inability to understand Susan’s needs contributes to her fatal decision.

Simile

Lessing employs similes throughout the story to emphasize Susan’s inner turmoil and growing desperation. As defined by Sharon Hamilton, the purpose of a simile is “to use a comparison that reflects some key quality of the literal subject” (Hamilton, Sharon. Essential Literary Terms. W. W. Norton & Company, 2007, p. 33.), and it often sets the tone for a scene, character, or story as a whole.

For example, once Susan decides that she must have her solitude, she finds herself unable to attend to her housekeeper’s inane chatter, instead “prowling through the great thicketed garden like a wild cat” (2555). The simile “like a wild cat” reveals Susan’s restlessness, not to mention that she is now out of place in her own domain: She is a wild animal caged within the confines of a domestic garden.

Another example occurs when Susan chooses Fred’s Hotel for her daily assignations with herself: “A door at the end of a façade was a faded shiny yellow, like unhealthy skin” (2558). This serves to highlight the unwholesome, even corrupt, atmosphere of the rundown hotel, while also foreshadowing what is to come: Susan will eventually die by suicide in this unhealthy place.

Symbolism

The story contains a significant amount of symbolism: Images and objects that represent abstract concepts or emotions deepen our sense of Susan’s predicament. For example, “Mother’s Room” isn’t merely a room in Susan’s house in which she seeks some privacy. Indeed, it represents her desire—her deep-seated need—for solitude, making it an inappropriate or even transgressive space through the lens of social convention. “Mother” must either be ill or incapacitated in some way to want a space of her own—to need independence and sovereignty over her own sense of self.

“Mother’s Room” directly contrasts with the welcoming embrace of Room 19. While “Mother’s Room” causes anxious whispers among the children and somber explanations from the adults, Room 19 is personified as a kindred spirit, just “waiting for her to join it” (2558). Susan finds peace and self-possession there rather than judgment and the pressure to conform.