Between Sisters

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Meg’s condo is symbolic of loneliness. It is in Seattle, Washington, and Meg lives there by herself. The interior of the condo is “beautiful and neat, with not so much as a paper clip out of place” (113). The space’s sterility echoes Meg’s social alienation. While she is proud of the career she’s established and the life she’s built, Meg often feels uncomfortable being in her own home. The space isn’t welcoming or comforting, and she has no one with whom to share it. The narrator’s descriptions of the space authenticate Meg’s fraught relationship with the condo:

The cleaning lady had been here today and carefully removed all evidence of Meghann’s natural disorder. Without the books and folders and papers piled everywhere, it had the look of an expensive hotel room. The kind of place people visited, not where they lived. A pair of blue-black brocade sofas faced each other, with an elegant black coffee table in between. The west-facing walls were solid glass (113).

This imagery offers insight into Meg’s regard for her home. The narrator likens the condo to a hotel room people visit—a metaphor that evokes notions of transience and temporality. The descriptions of the glass walls imply that Meg can see the entire city surrounding her apartment; however, she’s always inside looking out and thus doesn’t have direct access to this more social realm. Whenever Meg is here alone, she tries to fill up the silence with the radio or television. These habits show how uncomfortable Meg is with her solitude. When Ali, Elizabeth, or Claire come over, the space suddenly feels less vacant; when they leave, Meg’s isolation becomes acute once more.