The story is written in first-person narrator and is told by one of the brothers in her family. It is written in past tense with a few paragraphs of direct speech. “Line 81-85. She is more … pregnant. And line 104. It’s only money”. This story takes place in a modern society in England. We see it in Ann’s lifestyle. She is a female pediatrician, who moved from Manchester to London alone, she started a whole new life in her own perfect way of life. This would indicate that the story takes place in a modern contemporary culture.
Ann is the main character and as such we know her well from detailed descriptions. She is intelligent and bright as the narrator writes “she is a showpiece product of the State Educational System” Line 14. She loves children and therefore has specialized in children becoming a pediatrician. She was sterilized at an early age which shows a sort of weird dualism, she loves children but she wouldn’t have any herself, furthermore she can’t understand why other women doesn’t have the same sense as she. Ann is independent, we see this when her mother offers to help her and she won’t accept her moms financial support. She enjoy doing all the “right” things, she lives in Kensington, works, go to the theater, visits art galleries and hosting dinner parties.
Her little brother hasn’t got the same scholastic abilities as she. He left school. He had no qualifications, no job and no money. He, just like his sister, wanted to get out of Manchester and move to London, started on college doing media studies, which he doesn’t like at all but he has to do it because Ann is expecting it.
The relationship Ann and her brother have is really messed up. He relays on her exactly as much as she relays on him.
“Adler noticed that the youngest child is often spoiled and allowed to be immature and irresponsible as older children were already responsible for household chores.”
This quotation from “Adler’s Psychoanalytic ideas on development” written by Marcia Wehr, describes exactly how Ann and her brother relationship is. The youngest child is often spoiled. And who are more spoiled then her baby-brother? In line 60-61 – “her little brother, the family’s baby, needn’t worry about money”
The picture I have chosen to analyze is picture one, “A Man’s Head in a Woman’s Hair” by Edvard Munch.
I’ve chosen this picture because I love the way it describes the relationship Ann and her brother have. She has taking him “under her wings”, protecting him, taking care of him in every way, but also keeping him captured. It is also funny to see that the man in the picture don’t have any color, which I interpret as the guy in the picture don’t have any opinions or thoughts, and a low self-respect. As you can see the woman’s head is above the man’s head and there seems more dominant and powerful.
