To Set Our House In Order

The short story “To Set Our House in Order” by Margaret Laurence was set in the 1930’s in Manawaka, Manitoba. This story follows Vanessa and her family who lived in the house of Grandmother MacLeod. Many elements of fiction are depicted throughout the short story such as the characters, themes, symbols, plot and conflict. This story is narrated by Vanessa looking back at what it was like for her 10 year old self to live in the 1930’s.

The characters within the short story played an enormous role on how the storyline unraveled. Vanessa, Grandmother Macleod and the father Ewen are the main characters of this short story. Vanessa is an important asset to the story because she is the one recalling what happened when she was ten years old and

The symbol of the painting of Duke Wellington and Vanessa thought that it was her grandfather showed the theme of family and how important family was to them. Thinking that the painting at the top of the stairs was a picture of her grandfather made her feel like he was still there watching over the house even though he had passed way a year after Vanessa was born. “At the top of the main stairs hung the mammoth picture of a darkly uniformed man riding upon a horse whose prancing stance and dilated nostrils suggested that the battle was not yet over, that it might indeed continue until Judgement day. The stern man was actually the Duke of Wellington, but at the time I believed him to be my grandfather MacLeod, still keeping an eye on things.”(Quote from the short story “To Set our House in Order” page 393 paragraph 19) Rodrick as a symbol ties into the theme of death of dreams and people because it was the name of Ewen’s brother who passed away on the battle field. Ewen feels deeply saddened by the thought of his brother’s name. Rodrick went blind in one eye because of Ewen’s gun making Ewen think that he should have been there when Rodrick died on the battle field. The baby boy that Ewen and Beth had was a reminder of Rodrick because he was named after him, they named him Rodrick because Grandmother MacLeod wanted Ewen to name the baby after his brother

When Beth, Vanessa’s mother went into labor and was taken to the hospital because of complications Vanessa was left under the care of her grandmother. When Vanessa’s first heard her mother in pain she knew something was wrong and all she could think about was the time when her sister was born and didn’t make it past birth. Imagining all the scenarios that could go wrong Vanessa worried herself. To occupy her mind she explored the house while her dad took her mother to the hospital. Grandmother Macleod and Vanessa had many different views and butted heads a lot of the time. While Vanessa’s parents were gone to the hospital Grandmother MacLeod learned of Vanessa’s many ways of being curious and had to answer many of the questions that she would ask. Her grandmother was very religious and would talk to Vanessa in terms of God. “If I said definitely yes, Vanessa, that would be a lie, and the Macleod’s do not tell lies, as I have tried to impress on you before. What happens in God’s will. The lord giveth, and the lord taketh away.” (A quote said by Grandmother MacLeod said to Vanessa in the short story “To Set our House in Order” page 394 paragraph 33) Vanessa and Grandmother MacLeod also had many different views on how children should act. When Grandmother MacLeod grew up children were to be seen but not heard, Vanessa is the opposite of what her grandmother thinks that she