The Painted Door

By Sinclair Ross
Adapted from:
mcdougall.rockyview.ab.ca/Members/.../the-painted-door/.../file
Canadian Short Fiction
English 30-1
Unit 2: Responding to Adversity
Miss Isherwood
Peace Wapiti Academy
Who was Sinclair Ross?
James Sinclair Ross was born in
1908 on a homestead near
Shellbrook, Saskatchewan.
When he was seven, his parents
separated, and he lived with his
mother on a number of different
farms during his childhood.
He left school after Grade 11 and
in 1924 the sixteen-year-old Ross
joined the Union Bank of
Canada, which became part of
the Royal Bank of Canada a year
later.
Continued . . .
At first he worked in a number of small towns in
Saskatchewan then moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1933
and Montreal, Quebec in 1946, after spending four years in
the Canadian Army during World War II.
He would remain with the Royal Bank until his retirement in
1968, after which he spent some time in Spain and Greece
before moving to a nursing home in Vancouver, British
Columbia, where he lived until his death.
He died in 1996 after battling Parkinson's Disease, and was
buried in Indian Head. At the end of his life, his
homosexuality became public knowledge, thanks in large
part to Keath Fraser's controversial 1997 biography As For
Me and My Body: A Memoir of Sinclair Ross.


On his writing . . .
Their [the pieces of fiction] well-
crafted structures and precise images
have brought many readers to
appreciate Ross's work. In them, he
presented a theme that remained a
preoccupation: intellectual isolation.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article
/sinclair-ross/
Characters Ann
She struggles with her marriage:
Feels that her marriage lacks passion, change and
is not challenging.
She is frustrated that John never talks and he
seems to enjoy the isolation. He is constantly
working and does not need company.
Ann admits she is attracted to Steven, which
makes her feel alive and womanly. This is opposite
of all that John represents.


Characters Ann and Steven
Steven is a constant reminder of what Johns not!
John has abandoned her in order to care for his
father; however, Steven is able to take care of her.
Ann and Steven are in a situation where they believe
they wont get caught, and Stevens presence confirms
Anns feelings and thoughts in the situation.
This situation is an opportunity for Steven
Ann doesnt matter to him, as she is just a conquest
and he knows that nothing will come from their affair.
He is described as having no passion/emotion or guilt.



Characters Ann and John
After her adulterous actions, Ann realizes that
what John offered her was real and true.
The affair with Steven needed to happen for
her to appreciate John; however, Ann is never
able to make amends with John.
John vs. Steven
John Steven
Hardworking
Self-sacrificing
Hard/Rigid/Rugged
Non-communicative
Private
Shows love through actions not words
Good/Honest
Responsible


Fun/loves to dance
Flirtatious
Boyish face/unshaven
Alluring/expectant smile
Tall with square shoulders
Dark, trim hair
Guilt free
Calm and relaxed
John vs. Steven
Steven appears to be attractive and sensual,
but her perception of him is only superficial.
John is the real thing and Ann wants to
maintain her attraction to her husband, which
is clearly presented through her plea to get
John to shave in order to appear more like
Steven.
These characters provide an obvious foil in
The Painted Door.
Point of View
The third-person omniscient point of view
provides the inner thoughts and feelings for
both Ann and John at the start, but once John
leaves, Anns perspective is the only one
explored until the end.
Steven is never given a voice in this story.
Symbols
White paint:
Represents Anns attempt to lighten this dark isolated space. The
colour is one of innocence and purity, which is only a superficial
covering.
An attempt to cover the past with something that looks new
Change
Symbols are used
throughout the story to
demonstrate Anns
loneliness and moral
dilemma of infidelity in
adverse circumstances.
Clock ticking:


-Represents John, as it is
constant and reliable. It
also reminds Ann of the
isolation and emphasizes
the silence, as well as her
guilt.
-Shows time passing and
increases Anns anxiety.
Fire crackling:
-Represents
Anns passion
for Steven, as
it creates
warmth and
establishes a
seductive
mood.
Snow Storm:
-Represents the internal struggle Ann is facing
-Also parallels their broken relationship: its the
reason why he left and the reason why he doesnt
return
Setting
Outer Landscape:
They live in an isolated
location, which is cold and
bleak.
The outer landscaper is
parallel to the inner
landscape, for it mirrors the
isolated, cold and bleak
conditions inside.
The conditions represent the
detached feeling both Ann
and John are avoiding, which
is paralleled to the storm. The
mood starts off calm, but
spins into turmoil, only to
return to a calm setting.

Settings often possess
a symbolic dimension. . .
[in Canadian Literature]
the Prairies [are] a land
of isolation and
acquisition.

Courtesy of
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/litera
ture-in-english/
Its often debated whether its possible to define a Canadian literary identity.
Canadian novels, short stories and poetry are often categorized by their content,
setting and their respective authors ethnicity. Whether a given writer was born in
Canada and how long a writer has lived in Canada are common factors determining
how Canadian a literary work is. . .

There were attempts to facilitate a nationalist sentiment in Canadian literature,
particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. . . . the surge in Canadian nationalism at this
time was largely due to an increasing anti-American sentiment stemming from the
Vietnam War. Furthermore, Canadians were also undergoing a cultural revolution in
response to the possibility of Quebec separatism. At this time, Canadian writers
tried to establish a set of themes and characteristics that were believed to define
CanLit. Most notable of these attempts was Margaret Atwoods 1972 book entitled
Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, where she famously asserted
that the central symbol of Canada is undoubtedly survival.

-http://queensjournal.ca/story/2010-03-19/supplement/canlit-conundrum/
Themes in Canadian Literature
Themes
Isolation/Loneliness/Alienation:
Survival in the adverse circumstances
created by our environment (As is
common in CanLit)
Persistence
Discovering ones identity
Adultery