Death as Liberation

Several times in the novel, the death of a character is a liberation for those close to them. The first case is when Walter commits suicide. Kitty felt trapped in the marriage. She had really no other options - her mother would not take her if she left him and she did not have the means to support herself. At the same time, the marriage made her feel horrible. He bored her to begin with, and after the adultery he could hardly bear to look at her. It would be wrong to say Kitty was happy that he died; she said to herself afterward that she thought it was tragic, but tragic in the way you might feel about an acquaintance's death.

When Kitty returns home and her mother is dead, it is a liberation for both Kitty and her father, though in different ways. For...