She has memories of "sad poverty" she wants to escape, and even though she has roots in this town, she would sever those roots and become something else.

Rose is central to the stories in this book in every way. Her point-of-view is always the one that takes control. She views herself as an outsider in Hanratty, though clearly she is not. The fact is she wants to be an outsider, and she also believes that being an outsider makes it both more possible and more acceptable for her to comment on the people she finds there, as if w=she were an anthropologist and they were only subject for study. Her role as an outsider is ironic in many ways, and while it is an assumed role, it also symbolizes the real plight of women in society, for women are always outsiders. Rose is seen to be an outsider in...
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