Structure

Title

The title of the story “The Path to Heaven” by Mary O’Donnell is symbolic and may have several meanings in the context of the story.

There are several references to the Holocaust in the story: Kalina comes from Sobibor, Poland, where a “secret” (l. 45) Nazi extermination camp was located. Lauren also compares her husband’s passive attitude towards domestic violence to “ ‘the kind of…

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Middle

In the rising action, Lauren has a conversation with her husband, and she feels “the sheer privilege of all their lives” (l. 62). This foreshadows that later she will offer to pay for Kalina’s flights back to Poland.

The tension rises as Kalina does not drop by the study door when she arrives, “as she usually did” (l. 66), so Lauren goes to find her. The tension rises further as Kalina confe…

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Ending

In the falling action, Lauren tells her husband about Kalina’s decision and admits that he was right. However, as she later decides to sleep in her daughter’s bedroo…