The Woman Who Walked Into Doors

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From the Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, the heartrending story of a brave and tenacious housewife An insomniac is constantly plagued by intrusive visions of a boy. McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, 2004. Vorrei prendere un Charlo qualsiasi e fare a lui tutto quello che gli uomini come lui fanno alle donne come Paula. Paula Spencer is thirty-nine, the mother of four and learning to live without Charlo, her violent, abusive husband. Roddy Doyle's novel, from which this play is adapted, plummets the reader into the lively and resilient imagination of Paula Spencer, a working-class Dublin woman who stays with her husband Charlo for 17 years even though he beats her. There is no outside, moralising voice in the book, and it is left to the reader to ask the question: why doesn't she leave him?

The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle | Waterstones The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle | Waterstones

The name-calling continued, along with slamming of doors, smashing of plates, and nasty, drunken shouting in my face. I was “Miserable”, “Moody”, a “Tramp and a whore”, a “Prostitute”. A nothing. The novel tells the struggle and survival of Paula Spencer, an abused wife who is the narrator. The title comes from an incident where Paula's husband asks her how she received a bruise he was responsible for, and she replies that she "walked into a door." A man admires his wife while she is sleeping, reflecting also on his life with her. The New Yorker, 20 October 2008, The Sunday Times, 15 February 2009." Sleep at the New Yorker" (20 October 2008), The Sunday Times online text The passage shows to what extent alcoholism has become a part of the woman and her life. However, the reader has to give Paula some credit as it was really hard to give up her alcoholic addictions, but she was trying to make it right with her children.How do Paula’s and Charlo’s families interfere with and dictate the marriage they will have? Paula admits the relief she felt giving up her last name for Charlo’s. Do you think Paula would have been happier not marrying Charlo? The story originated about five years ago when I was invited by the BBC to write a television series about a struggling Irish family. Each installment was presented from the viewpoint of a different character: the father, a son and daughter, and the mother. What I found was, when I wrote the character of the mother, I realized she had much more to say, that the story lay with her. And so I set out to write the novel about her. I did a fair amount of research about biology and psychology, of women’s erotic fantasies, and about the issue of spousal abuse. I’d done research for other novels, but this was the first time I felt it was really imperative, the first time I’d really relied on research. I’ve always been a reader of women’s fiction and that has helped. But it was very slow going writing from the point of view of a woman. You sort of take on the role of an actor. I had to be very careful. L'innamoramento, il matrimonio la luna di miele e poi l'incubo fatto di prevaricazioni, maltrattamenti, botte, denti rotti, capelli strappati, ematomi, bruciature, dita spezzate tutte per lo stesso identico motivo: Paula sbatteva contro le porte!

The Woman Who Walked Into Doors [Excerpt] : Academic Medicine The Woman Who Walked Into Doors [Excerpt] : Academic Medicine

There is bustle all about. But I find the quietest room available. It’s me. And Her. And a cop or a counselor.Having read the novel, the reader may come to a conclusion that the main problem of the heroine was her fear and guilt. Younger Paula felt guilty for becoming a woman so early and she was afraid of her family’s disapproval. As a mother, she felt guilty for her alcohol addiction and abuse of her children; as a wife, she feared Charlo’s beating. Besides, Paula was ashamed to be considered the wife of a robber and murderer in face of the society and family. I decided to re-read this before reading the sequel Paula Spencer. I had forgotten just how good this book is, just how well Doyle does a female protagonist. The book is painful and sad and unflinching in it's descriptions of marital abuse and alcoholism but as always, Doyle adds in warmth and humor to make it all hurt less. The novel ends with a hopeful scene which chronologically belongs somewhere in the middle of the story. Yet defeat and resignation are pervasive themes in the novel. Do you get the sense that Paula will triumph over her alcoholism? Do you think she’ll find happiness in her life? O meu marido bateu-me durante dezassete anos. E ninguém viu. Ninguém quis ver. Charlo acompanhava-me sempre ao hospital e os médicos tratavam os ferimentos que eu fazia a mim própria, ao cair da escada ou a ir contra as portas, porque estava embriagada. But difficult social problems presenting under the guise of illness are still very much a part of everyday general practice. How do we avoid the “heartsink”, the frustration at patients' failure to heed our advice about drinking and smoking, our incredulity at their inability to leave an abusive situation? One way is to understand them better. As Iona Heath says:

The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle - Reading The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle - Reading

I talked too much, I was “giving him a headache”. I was selfish, self-centred, all about me. Spoiled, ungrateful, incompetent. I didn’t put the bins out right, fold the washing properly, I made the washing machine leak. I had rubbish taste in music. Any film I liked was terrible. I cooked dinner every evening too early or too late. I have a trauma bond to this guy. A side effect of it all, which is the pull I feel towards him still, and which basically means that I minimise the damage, feel grateful for scraps, and wish even now, that any time my phone pings, that it’s an apology from him and that this time he means it. Royal Society of Literature: People". Archived from the original on 2 October 2012 . Retrieved 22 January 2013.Ottima la scelta dell'autore di far narrare la vicenda alla stessa protagonista; ottimo lo stile narrativo, scorrevole, incisivo e duro quanto serve.