The Factory by Mary Dilworth

            In the flash fiction story "The Factory" by Mary Dilworth, the factory owned and loved by the narrator's husband, Eric, burns down in the night while she does not call the fire brigade, and enjoys watching the beauty and grandeur of the burning sky. Although the narrator does not admit guilt, a close look at the analysis of the marriage between Eric and the narrator suggest that the mysterious fire had human causes: the narrator: the narrator. The narrator has a powerful hatred for the Factory. She has this hatred due to jealousy and lack of lack of communication with her husband. The Factory was sucking the life out of her husband and she wanted him back.
             The narrator's jealousy comes from the factory consuming his life and priorities. His colors slowly show how the factory has literally consumed him. "And he's not brown anymore. Streaks of gray and a balding patch which he rakes over, spreading the hairs thinly across it." This shows how he has grown old over all the time spent at the factory. His life consist of the same routine day by day leaving his wife at home waiting for him. "I could draw the second half of his day with my eyes closed." He has this routine revolved around the factory, therefore leaving no time for her. Eric comes home from the Factory and is so exhausted, he has to be in bed at a certain time just to get up for the next morning. "Eric always goes to bed early." Going to sleep early to be refreshed for the factory is another example of it taking up his time that could be spent with his wife. The narrator is jealous of how the Factory consumes all of Eric's time.
             The lack of communication with her husband is another reason why she had the motivation to she had the motivation to start the fire. Eric's days are the same to where his wife and him don't have to communicate. "His days are like that. In four parts." She knows everything he needs and wants, so he doesn't have to tell her.