High, Metallic Voice (Auditory Imagery)
When introducing the main characters at the beginning of the story, Maugham describes Dr. Macphail's visceral revulsion to Mrs. Davidson's voice, writing that it is "high, metallic, and without inflection; it fell on the ear with a hard monotony, irritating to the nerves like the pitiless clamour of the pneumatic drill." In this example of auditory imagery, Maugham illustrates the harsh quality of Mrs. Davidson's voice by likening its sound to the metal pounding of a drill.
Clatter Down the Wooden Stairs (Auditory Imagery)
When Davidson realizes Miss Thompson is a sex worker, he rushes from the parlor to her basement room to try to stop what she's doing. Still sitting in the parlor, the Macphails and Mrs. Davidson listen uneasily. Maugham writes: "They heard him clatter down the wooden stairs and throw open the door. The singing stopped suddenly, but the gramophone continued to bray out its vulgar tune. They heard Davidson’s voice and then the noise of something heavy falling." In this example of auditory imagery, the point of view stays with Dr. Macphail as he uses his sense of sound to determine what Davidson is doing out of sight. By focusing only on auditory imagery, Maugham injects tension and ambiguity into the story as the characters and the reader worry about the conflict below the floor.
