A small girl became increasingly paralysed by her parents' frequently violent rows. Sometimes she would spend hours standing completely still in the toilet, simply because that was where she happened to be when the fight began. Finally, in moments of calm, she would take bottles of milk from the fridge or doorstep and leave them in places where she may later become trapped. Her parents were unable to understand why they found bottles of sour milk in every room in the house.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the impact of parental conflict on a child's mental state and coping mechanisms.
In this quote by Sarah Kane, we see the profound effect that violent arguments between parents can have on a child. The small girl, overwhelmed by the chaos and fear created by her parents' fights, finds herself in a state of paralysis, both physically and emotionally. Her actions, such as hiding bottles of milk for later, illustrate her instinctual need to protect herself and create comfort, despite the turmoil surrounding her. This situation not only reflects her innocence but also underscores the often invisible struggles children face in abusive home environments.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about the effects of domestic violence on children in a support group.
I dread the loss of her I've never touched love keeps me a slave in a cage of tears I gnaw my tongue with which to her I can never speak I miss a woman who was never born I kiss a woman across the years that say we shall never meet Everything passes Everything perishes Everything palls my thought walks away with a killing smile leaving discordant anxiety which roars in my soul No hope No hope No hope No hope No hope No hope No hope
I hate the idea of theatre just being an evening pastime. It should be emotionally and intellectually demanding. I love football. The level of analysis that you listen to on the terraces is astonishing. If people did that in the theatre... but they don't. They expect to sit back and not participate.
It is myself I have never met whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind
My mother graduated from high school at 15 and went to work to support the family because the eldest son went to college.
People see I am a mother and head of a household. Today in Chile, one-third of households are run by women. They wake up, take the children to school, go to work. To them I am hope.
I always wanted a father. Any kind. A strict one, a funny one, one who bought me pink dresses, one who wished I was a boy. One who traveled, one who never got up out of his Morris chair. Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. I wanted shaving cream in the sink and whistling on the stairs. I wanted pants hung by their cuffs from a dresser drawer. I wanted change jingling in a pocket and the sound of ice cracking in a cocktail glass at five thirty. I wanted to hear my mother laugh behind a closed door.
Love your children-and let them know you love them. Children who experience love find it far easier to believe God loves them.
My mother was terribly important to me, and I know how much I yearned for her in my youth, but I don't think I truly trusted her.
I shall never forget my mother, for it was she who planted and nurtured the first seeds of good within me. She opened my heart to the lasting impressions of nature; she awakened my understanding and extended my horizon and her percepts exerted an everlasting influence upon the course of my life.
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