Essay Questions

What is the figurative meaning of Sophie’s wound?

At the begging of the story, the reader is notified by the author that Sophie is nibbled by a stray cat when she is trying to feed it. Surprisingly, Sophie decides to ignore this wound despite it becoming more dangerous to her life every day. Before she is bitten by the cat, the reader also realizes that Sophie is struggling in her marriage because she is not receiving much attention from her husband. Her intention to ignore her wound represents her disenchantment and desperation to face reality. Sophie's marriage is cheerless and she does not find any meaning in it just the way she is ignoring her wound because she does not see the reason for treating it. It is astonishing that Otto is not recognizing the trouble his wife is going through because he keeps on concentrating on his business while creating no time for his wife.

What is the main theme in this book?

The challenges of marriage emerge as the main theme of this story. Sophie is married to Otto who is a successful businessman. Sophie is a housewife and she finds it funny that her husband does not have time for her. Otto argues that he is busy with work and that is why he does not have time for her. Due to her loneliness in this marriage, Sophie decides to have a secretive sexual affair with another man behind the back of Otto. The point the author trying to put across is that attention and affection are key to the success of any marriage. Since these two critical aspects are missing in Sophie's marriage, she decides to engage in infidelity to get that attention and affection. Having an extra marital affair ends up tragic for Sophie because it leads to a painful divorce. Otto later discovers this affair and decides to separate from his wife. Sophie leaves with nothing because she does not even take her daughter with her.

Is it ironic that Otto and Sophie are unable to solve their marriage problems?

Otto is a successful businessman which implies that he can solve complex problems. However, it is ironic that he finds it difficult to solve his marital issues which do not seem to be complex as business issues. The reader concludes that Otto is unable to solve issues surrounding his marriage. It is also ironic that Sophie is lazy in seeking treatment for the wound that will eventually destroy her body. The reader does not come across where Sophie is trying to work extra hard to mend her marriage problems. Instead, she decides to see another man to have sexual relationship with her but this brings more problems to her marriage.