Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby Flashcards
by Kathleen Norris — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby
How long have Margaret and John Kirby been married when the story opens?
Nearly seven years. Margaret reflects bitterly that they are "as near hating each other as two civilized people ever were."
What newspaper article upsets Margaret at the start of the story?
A newspaper article hinting that the Kirbys will soon have a sensational separation and that Margaret will remarry.
What devastating news does John deliver to Margaret in her room?
That his firm, Throckmorton, Kirby, & Son, has failed completely and they must turn everything over to creditors the next day.
How does John attempt to end his life?
He empties a bottle of poison. The servants find him and Margaret discovers his limp body, which she cradles in her arms.
What is the first word John speaks after months of unconsciousness?
"Margaret!" -- he says it on Christmas Day, then slips away again before seeing her break into tears.
What does Margaret do with her personal fortune after John's suicide attempt?
She sells everything she has and puts all the money back into the firm to help pay off creditors.
How does Margaret support herself after losing her wealth?
She becomes a partner in Mrs. Kippam's boarding house, managing staff and kitchens, and gradually makes it profitable.
Where do the Kirbys settle at the end of the story?
They buy an old farmhouse in Applebridge, the small town where John works as a factory manager.
How does Norris describe Margaret at the beginning of the story?
As a cold, self-sufficient socialite who boasts of her uselessness -- she has never ordered a dinner or managed any household task.
Who is Mrs. Kippam?
The chatty, kind-hearted housekeeper who runs the boarding house where Margaret goes after the financial ruin. She becomes Margaret's business partner.
Who is Lesty?
Mrs. Kippam's sick son. Thanks to Margaret's help making the boarding house profitable, Mrs. Kippam can afford to get him into the country.
Who are Mrs. Frary and Mrs. Dunning?
Two of Margaret's old society friends who encounter the Kirbys by chance in the final scene while on a motor trip through the countryside.
How many children do the Kirbys have by the end of the story?
Three -- two sturdy boys (Jack and Billy) and a tiny barefoot girl.
What does Margaret mean when she says the boarding house is "only the bridge that takes us over the river"?
It is a temporary hardship that will carry them to a better life on the other side -- she sees their struggle as a passage, not a permanent state.
How does the story challenge the idea that wealth equals happiness?
Margaret is miserable at her richest and radiantly happy at her poorest. Her old friends, still wealthy, cannot recognize her contentment.
What does Margaret's early reaction to the young couple choosing a "fifty-cent dinner" reveal?
She pities them but feels an unexplained pain -- she unconsciously envies their joyful togetherness, something her wealth has never provided.
How does the story portray the relationship between useful work and personal worth?
Both Margaret and John become healthier, stronger, and happier once they do meaningful work. Norris suggests their idle wealth was a kind of spiritual sickness.
What type of irony is created by the title "Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby"?
Situational irony -- society pities Margaret as ruined, but she has actually found the happiness and love they all lack.
What is the function of the four numbered sections (I-IV) in the story's structure?
They trace Margaret's arc: I is luxury and crisis, II is survival and recovery, III is hard work and rebuilding, IV is fulfillment and ironic reversal.
How does the club portrait of Margaret function as a symbol?
It shows "a cold-eyed woman with beautiful pearls" -- a frozen image of the person Margaret used to be, contrasting sharply with the warm, flower-carrying mother she becomes.
What do the bare, sunlit floors of the Applebridge farmhouse symbolize?
Openness, simplicity, and new beginnings -- the sunlight filling empty rooms suggests a life stripped of pretension and ready to be filled with genuine living.
What does "mutinous" mean in the phrase "hopeless, mutinous irritation"?
Rebellious or defiant -- Margaret feels trapped in her marriage and seethes with resentment she cannot express.
What does "flippancy" mean when Margaret laughs with "easy flippancy" at the newspaper article?
A lack of seriousness or respect -- Margaret hides her hurt behind a practiced, shallow social manner.
What does "redolent" mean in "the pantry, still faintly redolent of apples"?
Strongly reminiscent of or smelling of something -- the pantry still carries the lingering scent of stored apples.
Who says "Like it! Why, it's home!" and what is the significance?
Margaret, when John shows her the Applebridge farmhouse. It marks her complete transformation -- she now values a simple home over her former luxury.
What is significant about Mrs. Frary almost saying "Poor, dear Margaret Kirby!" in the final scene but stopping herself?
She catches herself because what she sees -- a laughing, radiant family -- contradicts the pity the phrase implies. For the first time, the cliche fails.
What does Margaret mean when she thinks, "Thank Heaven, there isn't a child to complicate things"?
Early in the story she sees childlessness as convenient for a potential divorce. By the end, she has three children and a completely reversed perspective on family.