32 pages • 1 hour read
Roald DahlThe Way Up To Heaven
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1954A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Mrs. Foster’s Eye Twitch
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions and references to abuse and coercive control, accident, and death.
The motif of Mrs. Foster’s eye twitch is a recurring image that contributes to the story’s theme of The Limits of Tolerance for Abuse. Readers first see the twitch presented as something almost comic, “like a secret wink” (47), in alignment with the portrayal of Mrs. Foster’s “foolish” anxiety at the start of the story. As the story continues, the audience comes to understand that Mrs. Foster’s angst is well justified, and the twitch is the outward indicator of Mrs. Foster’s deep unhappiness and the repression of her feelings. It increases as her lateness becomes worse, and the story indicates that Mr. Foster observes it as an indicator of success in his emotional torment of his wife. The twitch serves to heighten the suspense of the story, as the reader is encouraged to wonder how long Mrs. Foster’s self-control will last, and what form any outburst might take. At the climax of the story, when Mrs. Foster decides to leave her husband at home to catch her flight, the twitch disappears. As Mrs. Foster becomes empowered, she is able to avoid the possibility of lateness and, thus, her anxiety, eradicating the cause of the eye twitch.
Mrs. Foster’s Key
Keys conventionally symbolize a way to unlock or access a goal, desire, or achievement. Mrs. Foster’s key specifically symbolizes her freedom in the story. It is one of the few tools for independence that she has in her tightly controlled life, and one that she is able to leverage to liberate herself. Her access to her own key presents the opportunity to leave her husband trapped in the elevator so she can make her flight to France and, subsequently, to have a life without oppression upon her return. She stands frozen with her key in the door as she listens to understand what is going on in the house, and the moment she withdraws the key from the door indicates the pivotal point in the story where she chooses herself over her husband. This short passage repeats the word “key” or “keyhole” six times, highlighting the significance of the image at this point. When Mrs. Foster returns home after her trip, she rings the bell “just to make sure” (58). When there is no answer, the story states as a stand-alone paragraph, “So she took out her own key and opened the door herself” (58). The diction here and the presentation of this statement as a whole paragraph indicates the symbolism of the key in Mrs. Foster’s new autonomy, including her sole ownership of the house.
The Elevator
The elevator acts as a pivotal physical part of the plot, and as an ironic symbol of the relationship between the Fosters, especially in the way that it interacts with the story’s title. The elevator’s existence at first seems simply part of the Fosters’ affluent lifestyle, especially as they are both elderly, but its presence in the house sets up Mrs. Foster’s opportunity to leave her husband trapped there. The elevator becomes Mr. Foster’s “Way Up to Heaven,” as he dies in it, suspended between the second and third floors of the house. The elevator highlights the dark joke of the title, which refers to the actual means of Mr. Foster’s death and the ethical dilemma of the story. The title asks the reader to consider which, if either, of the Fosters might go “to heaven.” For Mrs. Foster, the elevator is a symbolic “Way Up to Heaven,” as it allows her to be free from her abusive relationship and access “heaven” on earth in the form of freedom to actualize her desire to be with her grandchildren. The story augments this symbol by calling the grandchildren “angels.” Mrs. Foster has “elevated” herself and her life through the death of the husband who tried to subordinate her.
Related Titles
By Roald Dahl
