The Burning Cabin ("Interiors")

In “Interiors,” the wife accidentally burns down her cabin, employing fire in its traditional symbolic senses of destruction and renewal. In her monologue, the wife says: “the fire burned my hair, my clothes, my violin. Nature is beautiful that way … she leaves you with nothing to say” (10). The wife sought a retreat from the world only to see it destroyed completely. She understands that there is no response to this kind of destruction except to continue on, and she returns to the city to carry on her efforts to overcome heartbreak. The fire also reminds her of her desire to live and fight, however, and so provides a kind of renewal: “For a long while I stood there, trying to think of something to do. Then, in a flash, I realized I hadn’t a second to waste if I was to leave...