In this excellent short story by D. H. Lawrence, the
situation of Mabel is clearly indicated in the opening paragraphs. However, unlike her
three brothers, she has no real hope or chance of finding alternative employment at her
level, and looks either to face a future working as a menial servant or becoming
dependent upon the hospitality of others. Both of these are fates which we can
understand she would object to strongly, given her own independence. However, note how
their situation is described in the second paragraph:
The three brothers and the sister sat round the
desolate breakfast-table, attempting some sort of desultory consultation. The morning's
post had given the final tap to the family fortunes, and all was over. The dreary
dining-room itself, with its heavy mahogany furniture, looked as if it were waiting to
be done away with.
Mabel is
thus a young woman without options and resources. It is clear that her brothers care
little about her fate and will offer her nothing. As an unmarried woman who has kept
house, she finds herself now cast off in the world, friendless and devoted to the memory
of a dead mother that, as we shall soon find out, she feels right that she joins. It is
only because of the desperate nature of her situation that she feels forced to engage in
such a path of self-destruction.
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