...while Norah described to me her plans for carpets and curtains, or showed me the sample of bedspread material she had hung over a chair to see if she could live with it. When I began to know her, I wondered if their courtship had been, for her, something of the same -- my brother draped over a chair for the statutory length of time, to see if she could live with him. In that case she might have noticed that he did not really go with the surroundings; perhaps she did see this, but knew that he would fade to a better match.
In this excerpt, the narrator observes Norah as she discusses her plans for home decor, illustrating her thoughtful approach to selecting carpets, curtains, and bedspreads. This attention to detail prompts the narrator to reflect on Norah's relationship with her brother, contemplating whether their courtship resembled her decor process—carefully assessing if he was a suitable match during their time together.
The narrator suggests that Norah might have recognized a mismatch in their...