A Window into Darkness

(The scene I am refering to is the in chapter 10, while Jeffery is hiding in the closet. I am speaking of the entire scene of him in the closet, until Dorothy finds him.)

There is a contrast between the lighting in the closet and the lighting in the living room. Jeffery is in the dark hiding behind the slatted closet door. The lighting cast into the closet gives the allusion of a Film Noir experience. To contrast this lighting choice, the living room is far brighter than the closet, however it is still very dimly lit for a living room.

The slats on the window cast a shadow much like a window with blinds would. This leaves the viewer the room to interpret that this scene denotes a window for previously innocent Jeffery into the lives of some of the on goings of the dark goings on. One can say that Jeffery is "in the dark" about the whole situation. However, when Dorothy finds him, she brings him "into the light" of the entire situation. He then becomes a part of the dimly-lit lives of the shady characters.

Jeffery hears Dorothy's side of a telephone conversation with Frank. He can hear the terror in her voice and she shows sides of her she wouldn't show if she knew someone was watching. This theme of private experience is extended throughout the scene starting as Jeffery simply as a peeping tom watching her undress, and following through the Frank conversation. It is at this point that Dorothy takes the photo of her son and the marriage certificate out from under the couch. This is obviously a private matter to her seeing as she took care to hide it well.

The camera when looking in on the living room is shot from the perspective of Jeffery. The movement of the camera is limited, and doesn't follow her into the bathroom. We only get to see what Jeffery saw of Dorothy. This denotes that there is still a distance between the situation, and Jeffery. He is still simply an onlooker. It is only when Dorothy discovers that he is in the closet that he is thrust into the light of the entire situation.

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