To what extent was Doree controlled by Lloyd?

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In Alice Munro`s short story “Dimensions”, the main character Doree has married Lloyd and wishes of ending with “happy ever after”, but ends up getting her three children killed by daring husband. Lloyd first appears in the beginning of the story with a very favorable impression. Even though he is only few years younger than Doree`s mother, he marries Doree and gets two daughter and one son. However, Lloyd`s image of nice fatherhood falls apart in the early stage of the story. Although Lloyd treats Doree kindly at first, but it is obvious that Lloyd is controlling Doree as the story advances. In fact, Doree is caught in Lloyd’s traps in order to control Doree which makes her loyal to him, but the relation between them breaks at the end.
Lloyd is certainly not a person that most people want to hang out. He treats Doree carelessly. Even in the story it is hard to find Doree and Lloyd in a good mood. The only place where the reader can imagine Doree and Lloyd smiling is when they meet at the hospital. As a matter of fact meeting Lloyd makes Doree loyal to him. When Doree first meets Lloyd, he is a great gentleman. He is funny, has strong touch, and authoritative. He is the perfect model for most of the girls and Doree likes him more than as her mother`s friend. Doree is now completely opens her heart and made Lloyd very easy to get into her. In other word, Doree`s first impression of Lloyd made her loyal to him. In order for Lloyd to control Doree, or make her respect him, he plans a well calculated trap which he thinks it would work perfectly. The crafty trick Lloyd performs is to win Doree`s heart with a sweet word: “He kissed Doree in the elevator and told her she was flower in the dessert” (Alice Munro 6). From here, Doree is go...

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...murder, Doree does not leave him. Lloyd did not think of Doree breaking free from his control, but saving the boy helped Doree getting out from his hand. It could be said that Doree and Lloyd’s relation is strong tied in a way how the murder did not break the bond, but it is also weak in a way how saving the boy just broke the control.
Throughout “Dimensions”, Doree is controlled by Lloyd until the end of the story. It all starts when Doree met Lloyd in the elevator. At that point, Doree has no idea that Lloyd sets careful traps slowly to make her loyal servant. She is loyal to him and is controlled by him for a long time. Maybe Doree wanted to break free from Lloyd’s control before those nightmares came, but didn’t have strength to break away. Although in the last, by saving the injured boy Doree gets out of Lloyd's control and decides to move on without him.

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