Throughout the story, Gilman describes certain sections in more detail than in others. These highly detailed sections are generally either negative sections about what Mrs. Morrison's life will be like if she does not pay off the loan or positive sections about Mrs. Morrison's efforts to come up with the loan money. Examples of the first category occur when Mrs. Morrison goes to visit her children on successive Thanksgivings. Gilman's description of the "affectionately offered" guest room in Andrew's house is extensive. Gilman describes the exact size dimensions and then goes on to explain the bleak views from each of the room's two windows, "one looking at some pale gray clapboards within reach of a broom, the other giving a view of several small fenced yards occupied by cats, clothes and children." Following this, Gilman gives a description of a certain flower that Mrs. Morrison does not like, the unwanted hot-water bag that Annie forces on Mrs. Morrison each night, and the tiny dining room. All in all, the detailed description serves as an effective counterpart, showing the readers the type of misery that Mrs. Morrison will have to live in if she loses her beloved house. This type of description is repeated when Mrs. Morrison stays with Jean and Joe, except this time the misery takes the form of a house "full of babies" who ruin her "well-kept old black silk" by the end of her one-week stay. Gilman uses these and other descriptions to show the reader the potential bleak futures that could await Mrs. Morrison. In turn, these nightmare scenarios help to give her character the motivation to shape her own future.
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