Whisper Network

Closed doors symbolize both danger and safety.

Women closely monitor whether Ames’s office door is open or closed. When his door is closed, tension rises: Rosalita and Katherine were assaulted in his office, and the memory of the door closing is still a trigger for Rosalita. When he asks her to empty his trash while he is in the room, she carefully listens to see whether he closes his door—her fear of being locked in is palpable. Ames uses other doors to threaten as well: When Rosalita puts an envelope of money on Ardie’s desk, he emerges and blocks Ardie’s office door menacingly until Ardie returns to her office and kicks Ames out, closing the door behind him and creating an illusion of safety.

Conversely, the closed door of the pumping room that Truviv is required to give Grace for a year makes this a safe space. The women know that no one will knock when the door is closed because of the maternal, physically intimate, and biological nature of the space. Ardie hides from Ames in the pumping room, Grace uses it to take mental health breaks, and Katherine only feels free to tell the other women what has been happening between her and Ames inside this space.