Friday, April 20, 2012

What are some of the main themes of Janet Frame's "The Bath"?

Some of the main themes are loneliness, the plight of the elderly and helplessness. The main character conveys her frightening plight to the reader while she is stuck in her bath. The dilapidated state of the bath is parallel to the dilapidated state of her body.

We sympathise with her as she puts flowers on her loved ones' grave and as we realise that she is basically totally alone. We are scared for her when she relates that she is stuck in the bath and nearly does not make it out. The constant reference to death through symbols (the cemetery, the bath which is coffin-like) makes us fully aware that growing old is not graceful. It is a scary and lonely state.

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