Arsyl Mae Palmejar 1
ENG101
October 17, 2011 Escaping Reality
The story “To Set Our House in Order” by Margaret Laurence is set during the Great Depression before the World War II. In that era, people suffered from poverty. The story tackles about the life of the narrator Vanessa who has moved in to the Grandmother’s MacLeod’s house. Vanessa’s mother is pregnant and her father is a doctor. Vanessa is not happy living with her Grandmother because she controls her family in terms of the way they move, speak and make decisions. Grandmother MacLeod’s bossiness causes conflict among the members of the family. She wants to keep the house in the same manner as in the past. The author uses different kinds of symbolism to show to the reader the lives of the characters, especially the way Grandmother MacLeod affects everyone around her. Margaret Laurence uses symbols such as the ivory pendant, the Grandmother’s house and birds to represents different kinds of characters in the story and how each one wants to escape the life of Grandmother MacLeod. Grandmother MacLeod owns an ivory pendant. She wears it to present herself as an elegant and lovely lady. As a symbol, the ivory pendant gives the reader an idea of how she acts as a lady and how she feels living in a messy and poor house. During that time, the MacLeod family is suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. However, the Grandmother MacLeod is still acting as if she is rich like a queen. A proof of this is her desire to hire someone to do the household chores, despite the fact that it is the era of no money. But Ewen disagrees and instead tells his mother to get Edna, Beth’s sister. Unfortunately the Grandmother does not like this idea because she thinks that Edna is a bad influence
Palmejar 2 and a threat to Vanessa’s personality. In addition, the ivory pendant represents her childhood as pretty and respectable young lady. The ivory pendant can also represent her fear of God. The color ivory symbolizes heaven. She uses the name of God to encourage the people in the house to have an orderly and peaceful home. She even says to Vanessa that “God loves order- he wants each one of us to set our house in order” (95). This shows that religion influences her personality. Like the ivory pendant, the house represents the Grandmother MacLeod. It is because like the house, the Grandmother has a stable and physically fit appearance. Unfortunately, she is suffering from the difficulties of life. In addition Ewen says “She’s had troubles in her life which you really don’t know much about” (98). She has migraine and has problems that relate with her old age. The house on the other hand has the same problem. It is being described as unstable because of its oldness. “Odd-shaped nooks under the stairs, small and loosely nailed-up doors at the back of the clothes closets represent her imperfections”(95). She tries to show to everyone that she is a desirable woman and is perfect. But deeply inside, she is like everyone else that has faults and commits mistakes. Furthermore, the Grandmother’s controlling attitude is also described in the story. “The circular rose window upstairs contained glass of many colors which permitted an out-looking eye to see the world”(93). This represents the Grandmother’s eye. She tries to give critics to everyone of what are their mistakes and imperfections. Lastly, the bird symbolizes freedom. Vanessa wants to be free from her Grandmother’s attitude. She feels like she is in a prison where her actions are limited. She wants to be free from her Grandmother’s shadow. She desires personal freedom from the challenges and difficulties of life knowing that they are suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. In the book, “birds can be

Palmejar 3 described as an eternal motionless flight and are printed on the blue Chinese carpet” (94). The carpet is placed in the living room where Vanessa is somewhat not allowed to go in because her mother is afraid that Vanessa might ruin the rug of Grandmother MacLeod. This shows that Vanessa’s freedom is limited. Eternal motionless shows that Vanessa is forever stuck to her family and do not possess any power to do freely for herself. Furthermore, a dead bird in Vanessa’s hands is also mentioned in the story. It represents Vanessa’s personality being unable to get liberty from her family. During Great Depression, many people suffered from poverty and that includes the MacLeod family. Grandmother cannot accept that they have money problems. She is still acting rich like a queen. She controls her family and she wants everything to be perfect. However, these bring problems to the MacLeod family. The author uses different kinds of symbolism of how the Grandmother affects people around her. The ivory pendant that she wears symbolizes her personality being a queen, despite the suffering of the Great Depression. Next is the house that represents the Grandmother. The age of the house and its defects explores what kind of person the Grandmother is. Lastly is the bird that symbolizes freedom. The bird is being described in the story as motionless and dead. This explores how Vanessa is being treated by Grandmother MacLeod. Vanessa wants to escape from the reality. She is really affected to all the actions of her Grandmother. The Grandmother controls people around her and she is also a perfectionist. Thus, this shows that Vanessa is not free from her Grandmother. Hence, the story tells the reader about how Vanessa wants to escape reality.

Palmejar 4

Work Cited
Laurence, Margaret. “To Set Our House in Order.” Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan et al. 1st Canadian ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2005. 92-101.