Decisions must be made each day in order to ensure that our lives carry on the way we want them to. These decisions however, may come with either success or failure, depending on the choices we make are actually the best ones to be made or not. In "The Painted Door", Sinclair Ross is conveying the idea that some choices that people make in life may not be worth the risk. The choices we make may not be the best "path to be taken", since they may hurt the ones close to us in the process and ultimately alter the course of our life for better or for worse.
Initially, Anne feels unappreciative of the hardships John goes through to benefit both of them; she thinks negatively and shows slight signs of disrespect towards John, since she feels that they spend less and less time together. Having lived in the city before moving to the country side with John, Anne is obviously not used to simply "playing cards" or "discussing weather with neighbors", compared to a more exciting life in the city. A drab environment without "a stick of new furniture" and redundancy contributes to Anne's loss of interest in the household. To help pass time Anne paints the walls, which she knows is a bad idea, but continues on as it helps her pass time. Gradually Anne begins to think negatively towards John. She holds John responsible for leaving her alone at home, and it bothers her since she is unsatisfied with their relationship; there is very little contact. She begins to talk to herself and mutter words such as "Big stubborn fool - he goes his own way anyway." Blaming John for her unhappiness, and not listening to her, Anne believes that they may have a better life if they had more contact. She is sick living in a "two-room" house for seven years, and longs for change. With all this disrespect, Anne does not pause to realize all the trouble that John goes through for her. He risks his life by facing the harsh, cold storm in order to do chores around the farm, and care for his father.
