Setting

In what follows, we will discuss the setting of “De-Luxe Model” by Adam Thorpe.

Time setting

The time setting of the short story is not clearly indicated, yet the author introduces some clues that might help us find out when the action takes place. On the one hand, the reference to the “charlady” indicates that the story might take place sometime before the 1950s, as the term was used before then to denominate an English house cleaner.

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Physical setting

The physical setting consists mainly of the Goulds’ house, which the narrator admires because it is much more imposing than his:

He had a huge bushy garden with real trees, whereas ours was small and bare; his house included a drawing room, a dining room, a kitchen, a scullery and something called a utility room, with five bedrooms above and an attic where we plotted impossible schemes. (ll. 2-5)

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Social setting

The social setting presents the way in which English families at the beginning of the twentieth century were influenced by the introduction of modern utilities in their households, such as the dishwasher. First, notice how everyone in Hugh’s family was, in one way or another, fascinated by the modern kitchen and the new dishwasher. The entire family participated in the processes of loading and unloading the machine. Then, notice the tendency to exaggerate the machine’s qualities: “‘It’s really quiet’ Hugh said, pressing one of the buttons – the top one. ‘Space-age techonology. They’ll take one with them when they go to the moon.’” (ll. 55-56)

The machine coughed, shuddered, and made a sound similar to that of our lavatory filling up, except that it went on and on. Then about ten minutes later (…) it shook violently and I thought it was about to blow up. (ll. 57-60)

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