Shopping – Analysis

Point of View and Tone

Shopping is told in the third person by a limited omniscient narrator. He/she can tell us the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, Mrs. Dietrich, but not her daughter. The narrator makes some comments on Nola’s state of mind, but these stem from observing her behavior rather than knowing what she is really thinking. The tone towards the two characters is sympathetic, although in the case of Mrs. Dietrich this sometimes appears to border on mock sympathy.

Setting

The description of the weather sets the scene for the day. It’s a bleak March morning following a night of freezing rain, there’s a metallic cast to the air and no sun anywhere in the sky.

The most remarkable thing about the setting (a shopping mall typical of those which can be found in major cities all over the world) is that it is unremarkable This creates the feeling that the parenting issues highlighted in the story are universal.

Mrs. Dietrich calls shopping with her daughter a ritual. For her, it has always been an important part of their relationship. Nola is at home from school on spring break. Mrs. Dietrich has been planning the shopping trip for days. Nola has spent most of her holiday with friends and postponed it twice. There are issues they both need to talk about. Mrs. Dietrich thinks the mall, where there will be no distractions from Nola’s friends, is a good place to do this: At the Mall, in such crowds of shoppers, moments of intimacy are possible as they rarely are at home. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out that way.

Themes

The major themes of the story are helicopter parenting, loneliness, alcoholism and identity.

Helicopter Parenting: A ‘helicopter parent’ is someone who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children. Mrs. Dietrich has made Nola the center of her universe. (She) loves Nola with a fierce unreasoned passion stronger than any she felt for the man who had been her husband for 13 years, certainly far stronger than any she ever felt for her own mother. She doesn’t appreciate the impact this may have had on Nola when she was young. However, Nola is now old enough to speak up. Once, at the Mall, perhaps in this very store in this very department, Nola saw Mrs. Dietrich watching her… “I can’t stand it, Mother.” Her (Nola’s) voice was choked and harsh, a vein prominent in her forehead. “Let me go. For Christ’s sake will you let me go.”

Loneliness: Mrs. Dietrich has been living alone since Nola moved away to study at the Portland Academy. She is not handling this well, and feels hurt because Nola doesn’t stay in touch: When Nola is away she seems to forget her mother entirely — doesn’t telephone, certainly doesn’t write. She is frightened by the prospect of her daughter growing up and no longer needing her.

Alcoholism: Mrs. Dietrich uses alcohol as a crutch to deal with the loneliness of living alone and the likelihood that Nola will soon go her own way. Having lost her husband through divorce, Nola has taken his place in her heart. Sometimes in weak despondent moods, alone, lonely, self-pitying, when she has had too much to drink, Mrs. Dietrich thinks she is in love with her daughter.

Identity: Nola has struggled with identity issues for much of her life. When she was young, she suffered from anxiety, low self-esteem and depression. (She) was once a plain, rather chunky, unhappy child. Unpopular at school. Overly serious. Anxious. Quick to tears. She initially compensated by withdrawing into herself: Aged eleven she hid herself away in her room for hours at a time, reading, drawing pictures, writing little stories. Later, she looked for attention through her “scientific” and “stray facts” stages. These problems could well be a result of Mrs. Dietrich’s over-zealous parenting. Although going away to school has been good for Nola, she can still be quick to tears. This is evidenced by her crying episode in the car: It’s childish helpless crying, as though her (Nola’s) heart is broken. But Mrs. Dietrich knows it isn’t broken, she has heard these very sobs before… Many times before… Nola has always been ashamed, crying, frantic to hide her face.

Characters

Mrs. Dietrich: (protagonist) Mrs. Dietrich suffers from anxiety. The first sign of this in the story is early in her marriage. After trying for five years to fall pregnant, she’d lost hope, begun to despise herself. During her marriage, she would act as if all was fine in the relationship whereas, deep inside, she knew that it was not. Ever since her divorce her interior voice has been free of irony. She is a nervous driver and has trouble remembering the route to the mall, even though she has driven it countless times. She is possessive of Nola. When she sees other shoppers watching her preen in front of a mirror, she says to herself: My daughter Mine. She feels insecure about her future, which has resulted in considerable pent-up anger. When the conversation with Nola over lunch does not go well, she turns this anger towards her daughter: By the time Mrs. Dietrich rejoins her daughter she’s quite angry, blood beating hot and hard and measured in resentment, she has had time to relive old quarrels between them, old exchanges, stray humiliating memories of her marriage as well, these last-hour disagreements are the cruelest and they are Nola’s specialty. … As Nola glances up, their eyes lock for an instant and Mrs. Dietrich stares at her with hatred. Cold calm clear unmistakable hatred.

Nola: (antagonist) As indicated above, sending Nola away to school has been good for her. She has gained in self-confidence and, although she now has two new problems to deal with, these are typical of other other young women her age. The first is body image: She matured into a girl of considerable beauty. Five feet seven inches tall, weighing less than 100 pounds — the result of constant savage dieting. “Do you think I’m fat, Mother?” she asks frequently, worriedly. The second is sexual identity. Nola loved Terri but she wasn’t in love — there’s a difference! Now of course Nola has boyfriends. Mrs. Dietrich has long since given up trying to keep track of their names. … But Nola has announced recently that she loathes boys — she’s fed up. She’s never going to get married. Could her experiences growing up have made her decide not to have a family of her own?

Symbolism

The Jacket: Nola wears a bulky quilted jacket Mrs. Dietrich has never liked. As Nola is crying in the car at the end of the story, Mrs. Dietrich complains about not being able to embrace her tightly because of it. The jacket symbolizes the issues standing between mother and daughter which prevent them from having a warm, close relationship.

The Disheveled Woman: The encounters with this woman at both ends of the shopping excursion help tie the story together. The first time they see her, Mrs. Dietrich comments: I’m sure she’s harmless. Nola, who clearly has more of a social conscience than her mother, is incensed with this one-sided assessment. She adds: It’s the harm the poor woman has to endure that is the tragedy. Later, Nola reflects on the meeting. She speaks of the tragedy of women like that — the tragedy of the homeless, the mentally disturbed — bag ladies out on the street — outcasts of an affluent society. After the second encounter, Mrs. Dietrich murmurs: isn’t it a pity, poor thing, don’t you wonder where she lives, who her family is. Nola is clearly upset by this patronizing comment. Could this also be because in this abandoned, lonely and possibly alcoholic and/or mentally ill old woman, she gets a glimpse of what may be her own mother’s future?