Content Warning: This section of the guide describes suicide, alcohol misuse, and mental health conditions, specifically connected to war trauma.

Tom and Betsy Rath are a young married couple who, for the last seven years, have lived in a little house on Greentree Avenue in Westport, Connecticut. By this time, they both hate the house, having come to see it as a symbol of their thwarted hopes.

A particular crack in the wall—caused by Tom throwing an expensive vase after an argument with Betsy—takes the form of a question mark. Though they hate the crack and intend to replaster the wall, they cannot afford to do so. The crack serves as a “perpetual reminder of Betsy’s moment of extravagance” (2), when she bought the expensive vase without consulting Tom, as well as a reminder of Tom’s violence and their shared inability to afford the repair. Janey, the middle child, left an ink stain on a wall which is a similarly emotive reminder, symbolizing the time Betsy became so angry that she struck Janey.

The Raths bought the house in 1948, when Tom had recently left the military and joined a charitable organization. The house was only ever intended to be temporary, but the cost of raising their young family meant they needed to stay longer than they expected.