“What time is it?" (29)
This is Mrs. Foster's recurring mantra throughout the story as she anxiously awaits her husband so that they can depart for the airport. She poses this question to Walker, the butler, as well as the chauffeur, attempting to judge whether she will miss her flight. Notably, she does not ask nor remind Mr. Foster of the time, demonstrating her commitment to (false) propriety.
"Mind you, it is by no means certain that this is what he did, yet whenever they were to go somewhere, his timing was so accurate—just a minute or two late, you understand—and his manner so bland that it was hard to believe he wasn’t purposely inflicting a nasty private little torture of his own on the unhappy lady" (28).
This quote is an example of the way much of the information in the story is obscured by the narrator's noncommittal parroting of Mrs. Foster's voice. On the subject of whether Mr. Foster takes a kind of sadistic pleasure in manipulating his wife’s pathological state of mind, the narrator refrains from saying that this is certainly the case. Instead, the narrator embodies Mrs. Foster's own doubt over whether her husband is actually cruel, showcasing her insecurity but also her unwillingness to believe her husband would act so sadistically toward her.
"She glanced at him again, and this time she noticed with a kind of horror that he was staring intently at the little place in the corner of her left eye where she could feel the muscle twitching" (30).
Here, the narrator describes the behavior of Mr. and Mrs. Foster as they are on their way to the airport. This moment serves as evidence that Mr. Foster is well aware of the way his actions affect his wife, as her eye always twitches whenever she experiences the anxiety of running late. That he focuses so intently on this twitch showcases his knowledge of his wife's distress as he continues to feign ignorance.
"She reached over and pulled out a small paper-wrapped box, and at the same time she couldn’t help noticing that it was wedged down firm and deep, as though with the help of a pushing hand" (32).
Here, Mrs. Foster finds the present her husband intends to give their daughter, though Mr. Foster says he left it in the house and leaves the car to go check, prolonging their departure for the airport. The narration suggests that this is the moment Mrs. Foster realizes her husband is being intentionally cruel, implying that he knew the present was in the car and he hid it himself in order to delay them further and cause his wife distress.
"Yes—quite obviously she was listening. Her whole attitude was a listening one. She appeared actually to be moving one of her ears closer and closer to the door. Now it was right up against the door, and for still another few seconds she remained in that position, head up, ear to door, hand on key, about to enter but not entering, trying instead, or so it seemed, to hear and to analyse these sounds that were coming faintly from this place deep within the house" (32).
When Mrs. Foster approaches the door of the house, she pauses rather than turning the key. This passage describes her behavior as she stands at the door. While readers may not understand in the moment, this quotation suggests that Mrs. Foster knew the elevator had broken and she stopped at the door to listen for Mr. Foster. Thus, while readers may question whether Mrs. Foster truly intended for her husband to die, her intent listening in this quotation implies that she took on his cruelty and knowingly sought revenge.
"The little mouth, usually so flabby, was now tight and thin, the eyes were bright, and the voice, when she spoke, carried a new note of authority" (32).
After Mrs. Foster tells the driver to take her to the airport alone, the narrator describes her demeanor. Here, the calmness and confidence exhibited by Mrs. Foster suggests that she has been transformed by her decision to abandon (and, effectively, kill) her husband. This demeanor stays with her until the very end of the story, when she calmly but with "a glimmer of satisfaction" (33) discovers the broken elevator and confirms Mr. Foster's death.
