What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

There is only one setting in the story: the kitchen belonging to Mel and Terri. It is ordinary, unexceptionable, and relatable. At the same time, there is a sense of disjuncture between this setting and the graphic nature of the characters’ conversations. Almost immediately, Terri starts to talk about a man who tried to kill her. Later, Mel describes a gruesome accident. For the reader, this leads to what the Russian Formalists called ostranenie, or defamiliarization; that is, destabilizing the reader by presenting them with common things in a new perspective so that they can see the world differently.

The kitchen is traditionally seen as a “female” area, though it is Mel who dominates the proceedings. The characters are literally and figuratively confined to this space, which intensifies the feeling of claustrophobia and the limited ability of the characters to communicate and understand one another. The only movements they make are to fetch or pass the gin bottles. Even when it grows dark and they are hungry, no one attempts to turn on the overhead light or find food. Mel and Terri are trapped in the past, unable to take control of their lives.