The Wall

The unnamed protagonist of The Wall acts as the narrator, writing an account of her time in isolation and reflecting on her past and present. When the wall comes down and the protagonist finds herself alone, with no expectation that society survives on the other side, she reconsiders who she is and the life she once led. 

As she thinks of the past, she finds that she felt restricted and lonely, despite having a husband and two children. She often discusses how the expectations of others defined her life, pushing her to have a family. The ultimate pain, however, is that this family was not permanent, as ultimately “children begin to leave their parents’ lives; quite slowly they turn into strangers” (31). The protagonist feels a sense of bereavement as her daughters mature, believing that as they become their own people, they leave the protagonist behind. The protagonist acknowledges that her daughters are probably dead outside the wall, but does not appear to mourn deeply for them, which reinforces her sense of emotional disconnect. She instead demonstrates a greater sadness for the loss of her animals, demonstrating how her isolation changes the protagonist and her relationships with others.