Genre
Short story
Setting and Context
Drohobycz, Poland in the 1930s.
Narrator and Point of View
Jozef tells the story in the first-person.
Tone and Mood
The tone is moving; the mood is magnificent.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Jozef is the protagonist; the Father is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when the Father runs his own textile shop at a marketplace and begins to experiment on his own body.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Adela stands up to the Father.
Foreshadowing
The defiance of Adela is foreshadowed by her fierce mother.
Understatement
The fine line between fantasy and reality is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the labyrinths that we are all trapped in at some point in our lives.
Imagery
The imagery of the crowded and bustling marketplace is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that Adela is only a servant girl, yet stands up to the head of the family is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The cloth that the Father produces is a metonym for the facades that the characters hide behind.
Personification
N/A
