The Homemaker · Chapter
VI explained
Mrs.
What happens
Mrs. Anderson recounts the afternoon of the fire, describing how she and Evangeline Knapp spotted flames on her roof, her warnings to Lester Knapp not to climb the icy roof, and the chaotic arrival of the fire department and neighbors. The chapter culminates in the discovery that Lester has fallen from the roof and likely broken his back.
Themes in this chapter
Community and Solidarity
The chapter shows neighbors and firemen rallying to help during the fire, though also reveals class tensions with 'hoodlums' from tenement houses.
Judgment and Appearance vs. Reality
Mrs. Anderson's narrative repeatedly insists on her innocence and Evangeline's competence, while the tragic outcome of Lester's fall undercuts these reassurances.
Characters to notice
- Old Mrs. Anderson
The primary narrator of the chapter, who retells the events of the fire and Lester's fall, emphasizing her own lack of responsibility.
- Evangeline Knapp
Seen leaving the Guild meeting with Mrs. Anderson, spotting the fire, running to telephone the fire department, and later managing the crowd and firemen.
- Lester Knapp
Runs out bareheaded with pails, ignores Mrs. Anderson's warning about the icy roof, and is later found fallen from the roof with a broken back.
- Mr. Emmet
Arrives with his two boys and axes, wanting to enter Mrs. Anderson's house to fight the fire from the attic.
Key passages
“It was icy that afternoon, you know how it had thawed in the morning and then turned cold, and I was real nervous about slipping.”
The weather had thawed and refrozen, making the ground icy and treacherous.
Mrs. Anderson sets the scene for the accident.
“He didn't say anything back so I don't know whether he heard me or not, though I hollered at the top of my voice, I promise you.”
Lester gave no response to her shouted warning, leaving her uncertain if he heard.
Mrs. Anderson emphasizes her attempt to prevent Lester from climbing the roof.
“I saw a couple of firemen come around from the back of the house carrying something. I couldn't see what it was, it was so dark, but the way they carried it, the way they stepped—when you're as old as I am, and have seen as many dead people … you know !”
The firemen carried a body from behind the house, and Mrs. Anderson recognized from their gait that it was a dead person.
The moment of discovering Lester's fall and probable death.