Literary Criticism: Tooth (Shirley Jackson)

 

Because of a toothache Claire goes to New York City to be treated by a good dentist. In her purse there are some pills for toothache and some tranquilizers. In a restaurant she forgets the pills, she has no placebo against toothache.

During the journey she falls asleep many times, in a restaurant she meets a mysterious man.

After the extraction of her tooth, she goes to the toilet, and with surprise she notices that her face is not the same.

The main character is Clair Spencer, the mysterious man Jim Zimmer the dentist, her husband and son Johnny their housemaid Mrs. Lang.

The reading poses dilemmas to the reader such as why does she always fall asleep, knowing that she forgot her pills somewhere?

Is there a correlation between her chronic toothache and her marriage? How do you feel if you're living inside the body of another person?

Is she living in the real world?

Could her sleeping be a bridge between two parallel worlds?