On The Pale Green Wall

1081 Words5 Pages
On Pale Green Walls “On Pale Green Walls” is a short story written by Clare Wigfall. It is about the relationship between parents and children and about upbringing. Furthermore, it is about how children’s curiosity can be misunderstood and lead to frustration in adults. It is about a child’s, in this case Violet´s, desperate need for attention, understanding and not least love. Another very dominating theme is religion, in this case, Christianity. Violet is a little and curious girl. Even though she is mute she is still aware of the environment, in which she lives, and she has a lively imagination. The short story starts with medies res where we follow Violet with her family. It is Christmas and like any other Christian family they are on their way to church. The story begins in, then the action takes place outside the church, after which the story ends in the church. It is also in the church the whole conflict or rather the big change in Violets life and mind takes place. Violet notices a picture of a beautiful woman in a blue dress in the church. Afterwards, Violet deeply admires the woman. She does not know that the woman is Virgin Mary - the holy mother of Jesus. When Violet sees the picture of Mary holding Jesus on the front-page of the newspaper she gets jealous, just like other kids, who are unable to share their mother with some other kid. “I stared at the baby’s face and hated it as I’d never hated anything before. She was looking down on it, smiling at its bald head, and I could tell how she loved it.” (l. 49-52) She, then, stabs two holes where the baby’s eyes are and she draws blood with a red crayon. This illustrates her jealousy. Violet misses the love which she sees and feels in the picture of Mary and the baby Jesus. So, Mary is a portrait or symbol of the mother who Violet wishes she had. Her own mother does not live up to Violets imagination
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