Low Visibility
Through history, many terrible events have happened. You could mention the 2nd World War, where the war had not ended if it had not been for the Allies, who took action, because it was necessary. But it is also worth mentioning the ordinary people who fought for their liberty in their own countries during the war. Such people we often call rebels. They have the courage to take action against something they think is not fair, and they face their worst fears. The short story Low Visibility by Margaret Murphy is about taking action and doing something about the things in your life that you are not satisfied with, and facing the dangers about it.
The story is about two people; a husband and a wife. The husband, John, is a violent person with a rough background, who does not really care too much about his wife, whose name is not mentioned. It becomes very obvious throughout the story that John only sees his wife as an object, which he can do with whatever he decides. “”Nothing to contribute?” Her heart flutters in her chest. “No sharp insights into the situation?” She is wordless, stripped of language, of the liberty of expression. She doesn’t know the right thing to say, because he changes the rules each time. So she says nothing. It’s safer - less painful” (page 2, line 39-44). She is obviously afraid of him, and he can treat her just the way he wants to. They are sitting in their apartment, watching the news on TV, where they show something about a huge revolt on the streets in their town. John is commenting on the event by using words like ‘scum’ and ‘animals’, while the wife is sitting and trying to be as calm and quiet as possible, because she is afraid of her husband’s rage and violent behavior. “She wishes she could protest, but has forgotten how. Every muscle in her body trembles with the effort of keeping still. John digs his fingers into her thigh and she bites her lip, but doesn’t move, and after a few seconds the pressure decreases, leaving only a dull throb” (page 1, line 15-18). She wishes she can protest about his behaviour, but has forgotten how as a result of the many years of “imprisonment” and violence.
The protesting rebels in the street are getting closer to their apartment, and the wife is hiding from John. While she is hiding from him, she looks out of the window, because she can suddenly hear his voice from the street. She sees that he is fighting and she heads down. “She hears his voice in the street and creeps to the window. He is fighting. When he falls, at first she is afraid. She should have gone with him. Should have persuaded him to stay. Should somehow have stopped all of this happening. She will be blamed” (page 3, line 120-122). At first it seems like she is afraid of him getting hurt, but in reality she is just afraid that she will be beaten up, if she does not try to help him.
In the beginning of the story we have two different plots going on; the one in John and his wife’s apartment and the one in the news with the riots. The two plots kind of get weaved together. If you look at the word ‘rebel’, you could say that they are characterized as people who stand up for something that they are unsatisfied with; they are facing an enemy, who is normally much stronger than themselves, physically or psychologically. The fact that a lot of rebels are protesting in the street below their apartment shows us how far the wife has gotten in her willing to let go of her husband. She gets inspired by them and successfully manages to convince herself to flee from her husband’s claws, so that she becomes sort of a rebel herself. When John is lying in the street, bleeding, she chooses to walk away instead of helping him. “”Order out of chaos,” she says, choosing the tiger eye. She turns and walks away. Anger will come later: for now she feels light, unburdened. A window explodes behind her, sending cascades of glass, musical, deadly, to the pavement. Laura is unharmed” (page 5, line 176-179). For the first time, her name is mentioned; Laura. It is previously mentioned that Laura is invisible. “”Don’t.” The sound of her voice startles her. She hasn’t spoken a word of command in four years. John stares in her direction, as if trying to locate the source of the sound, but he sees no more than a shimmer of something against the orange glow beyond the curtains. She has become invisible” (page 3, line 99-103). He has simply drawn all energy and individuality out of her through the years, and she has not even spoken a word of command in four years. This makes her invisible to him, because she does not stand up for herself, and it makes him capable of using her the way he wants to. Margaret Murphy tries to show us, by suddenly using Laura’s name in the end, that she is now ‘visible’ and has regained her freedom. She wants to tell us through her story that it is important to fight for your rights and also for your freedom. Laura realizes, during the story, that she has to fight back and stand up for herself, instead of putting her own needs aside and obeying her husband’s dictatorial rules and behavior.