With Zulema, she acts patronising and belittling towards Doris, as she says she is too old and incapable of doing things for herself. I believe the following quote expresses this greatly “Your dusting days are over”. The previous quote shows how Zulema takes command and shouts at Doris, forbidding her to actually clean her own house (Which evidently does not go down well with Doris).
Zulema also is tries to help Doris however, although it may not seem so – she does care for Doris!
This is shown in the following quote “Doris do not attempt to dust”. Although this quote is just prior to the quote “Your dusting days are over”, it gives an image of how Zulema does actually care for Doris, and does not want her to injure herself. Unfortunately, however, Doris also takes this statement as ‘belittling’, and by cause of this, and pure ignorance, she decides herself, to clean her house, the outcome being a possibly broken leg “I can nip this leg and nothing”.
Wilfred was not a key protagonist within the book, but he is still expressed as a deeply important character is Doris’ life, as she gives some views on his missions. Which Doris extrovertly says “It never materialised”, the statement referring to Wilfred wanting to grown vegetables in the cellar, whilst Doris knows previous to the event, would not ‘materialise’. Another quote that expresses her feelings of his jobs is “He had no list”. The quote shows how Wilfred basically never carried out the tasks he had set to do. The tasks, in true light, where to take Wilfred’s mind of the baby, that himself and Doris, had, but died prematurely.
The list below gives the emotions and beliefs of how Doris interpreted several characters that did, and didn’t influence her life.
- Wilfred – When he asked about the dog, Doris may have thought that Wilfred did not love her as much as he used to.
- Wilfred was never allowed anything as Doris did not allow him which makes you feel sympathy for him
- Neighbours – They do not bother to visit her – Doris is very lonely
- Doris does not bother to visit them either AND did not care about the daughter of the couple she knew
- Little Boy – He was disrespectful when he “Spent a Penny” in her garden (Doris has very high hygiene standards)
- Policeman – He may seem to be belittling as he asks Doris if she is ok (Might make her think that people think that she is incapable of looking after herself)
- He was only making sure she was ok – He was caring for her
Stafford House (SH) is a home for the elderly, and could be a very good thing for Doris as it would be:
- Hygienic
- Easy to get around
- Food every day
- Treatment – Medicine etc
- Day trips
- Will get to meet new people
The reasons above describe how SH would benefit Doris, as it would make her life much easier.
There are also drawbacks for Doris going to SH however, mostly due to personal options.
Reasons that Doris does not want to go to SH are:
- She wants/likes to be self-sufficient
- She wants to stay in the Home (Lived their with long time + with Wilfred)
- Will have to pay (Lose House altogether)
- She acts as if; she prefers to be by herself (Possibly due to not wanting to lose independence?)
Bennett’s writing shows Doris repeat what other people have done quite often (Mostly word for word).
Examples of this are:
-“Your dusting days are over”
-“You can’t run anywhere. You’re on trial here”
Both the quotes above are Doris repeating Zulema. The words Zulema use describe her as quite belittling, but trying to care for her at the same time.
A key factor of Bennett’s writing is that he uses old fashioned text to fit in with the time period. These are phrases such as:
- “Spending a penny”
- “Meet them halfway”
- “Jump the gun”
Another factor of his writing is that he makes Doris change subject quite simultaneously, as one point she is talking about Zulema, and her bad cleaning, but quickly changes, and talks about Wilfred and his strange ideas.
Nursing Homes
A nursing home, (Also known as a rest home), is a form of care of residents: it is a house for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living. Residents include the elderly and younger adults with physical disabilities. Adults 18 or older can stay in a skilled nursing facility to receive physical, and occupational therapies following an accident or illness.
Sheltered Houses
Sheltered housing is a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other helpless people. It refers more commonly to group housing such as a block of flats or bungalows with a scheme manager; usually the manager has lived on-site although this is not always the case these days. (Managers/officers used to be called "wardens" but this term is now out of date.)
Sheltered housing schemes are generally owned, run and maintained by a housing trust, usually a not-for-profit organisation which works closely with and is part-funded by the local authority.