Margaret Ransom's drawing room (The Pretext)

The drawing room in the Ransom’s house is located in front of the bedroom of Mrs. Margaret Ransom and is separated from it by the narrow hall and staircase (Lewis, 1968, p. 632). The drawing room is described as “bare [and] inanimate” and with “pale void spaces” (Lewis, 1968, p. 650) on the one hand and with “scant kakemonos, […] one or two chilly reproductions from the antique, [and] […] slippery Chippendale chairs.” (Lewis, 1968, p. 644 - 45). Moreover, the meeting of the Higher Thought Club is to take place in the drawing room one day after the visit of Lady Caroline Duckett and the end of the short story. Additionally, Lady Caroline Duckett seems to fill the inanimate drawing room with “life and noise” (Lewis, 1968, p. 650) while she visits Mrs. Margaret Ransom.

Source:

Lewis, R. W. B. (1968). The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.