”The Fall River Axe Murders” by Angela Carter

In the story of “The Fall River Axe Murders” by Angela Carter it became apparent to me that the most important setting piece throughout the story was the house the family lived in. This seemed to be a motive for Lizzie’s actions. My feeling on this is that during the summer time, a time of life and living, Lizzie Borden was confined inside her house. She had little to no chance to be out side in the fresh air and socialize with others. A house such as the one described in the story, had no hall ways to come in contact with others in the house. Very few windows to view the wonderful things that were going on outdoors. And in addition to that, there were no formal gathering rooms in the house for household members to converse.

This made life difficult and almost oppressive to live, because as we know, it is human nature to socialize with others on a regular basis. There for when the hot summer humidity and head swept across Fall River area, my feeling is that Lizzie became very uneasy and it was possible that insanity struck during the time of the incident. If the author didn’t incorporate such detail in the story about that house and the members with in, there would be little insight into Lizzie’s motives for the murder. That is why I feel it essential for the author to explain every minuet detail of the inner workings of the house. With out it, the reader would have less to go on when trying to figure out why Lizzie killed her step-mother and father.