Character Clues

Character Analysis

Clothing

Imagine that you see an old woman walking through a snow storm, wearing nothing but a tiny shawl. Wouldn't that make you feel bad for her?

Well, that's exactly the state we find Mrs. Grimes in at the start of "Death in the Woods." This "scantily clad" old lady is casually walking through a darn snowstorm (3.11). This immediately makes us sympathize with her—and wonder why on earth nobody is stopping and helping her along.

Even this thin protection is removed after her death: her "worn out dress" is torn off by her own dogs, eager to get their paws on the food in her backpack (4.3). There's deeper meaning here, too: after a life spent breaking her back to care for others, she's finally left with her naked self. Both literally and metaphorically.

It's no coincidence that the townsmen (who hadn't even noticed her before) now see her as a "charming young girl" (4.4). In a gesture of respect, the town marshal even "took off his overcoat and spread it over" (4.15). That's a nice gesture and all, but she sure could've used that jacket a few days ago, buddy.

Family Life

In a story filled with bummer after bummer, there's nothing bummier than the depiction of Mrs. Grimes' family life.

First, we learn that her husband, Jake, "got [her] off a German farmer" (1.9). This sets the tone for what will follow: he sees her as a piece of property, full stop. To be honest, though, Mrs. Grimes is probably used to this by now. After being orphaned at a young age, she was forced to become an indentured servant for the aforementioned German father, At this point, she's used to being treated more like an inanimate object than a family member.

Sadly, this trend continues into her marriage. Jake has a habit of coming home drunk and giving "his old woman a cut over the head" (2.5). Her son orders her "around like a servant" (3.2). Although she's not a servant any longer, she's certainly treated like one by both men in her life. Mrs. Grimes' often-disturbing home life makes us feel even more sympathy for the poor woman's plight.

Social Status

Class plays such an important role in "Death in the Woods" that you can consider yourself schooled .

Mrs. Grimes is left at the bottom of the social ladder for a variety of reasons:

• She's an orphan—laws at the time required her to become an indentured servant because there were "few orphan homes then" (1.14).
• She's married to a no-good scoundrel named Jake Grimes. Not only is he poor but he's also a thief. You don't get more socially ostracized than that.
• She's a woman. Throughout the story, we see countless individuals treat Mrs. Grimes as less-than-human because of her gender.

As with most parts of "Death in the Woods," these little bits of characterization give us more empathy towards Mrs. Grimes. She ends up dying the way she lived: isolated, mistreated, but working her butt off. This only serves to highlight the social class issues that haunt the rest of the story.