Because “The Unfree World” involves mapping geographical information, we were initially frustrated by the lack of specific information in the short story “The Sunday Following Mother’s Day” about the homes of Madeleine. As we progressed, however, we found that the inability to map those places reveals that the physical aspect of home becomes less important for her as time goes on, as she instead focuses on the emotional aspect of home that she finds in her family. Our search for data led us to find meaning.
Early in her life, Madeleine lives in an apartment on 427 M Street in Washington D.C. where she stays until her Father murders her Mother (120). Throughout the story, this is the only location that is given a full street address. The most significant reason that this apartment had a stronger impact on Madeleine is the loss, not just of her mother, but also of the connection with her father following his prison sentence. Interestingly, Madeleine never revisits this apartment (120), yet in her adulthood she spends a lot of time poring over old files from her Father’s trial to attempt to understand his motive. Madeleine’s failure to revisit the apartment implies that she does not view the physical space of the apartment as important. Rather, she focuses on the emotional ties to her parents and to the lingering mystery behind her father’s motive.
Following the murder of her mother, Madeleine moves spatially, but the emotional connection remains primary. She moves in with her Aunt Maddie in an apartment three blocks away from 427 M Street (118). Throughout this portion of the narrative, the reader does not learn much more about the physical space of the apartment; however, there are many descriptions of Madeleine’s relationships, highlighting the importance of relationships in how she structures the idea of home. Madeleine’s connection with her father continues while he is incarcerated in Lorton prison, though this circumstance causes conflict with her brother, who does not want to interact with his father after the murder (122). Later on, when her brother goes of to join the navy, the reader is informed exactly how long he was gone – 15 years and 8 months (124)– the specificity of which indicates the importance of Madeleine’s relationship with her brother.
The final places that Madeleine resides in are her home while studying at Columbia and a home somewhere on Connecticut Avenue (128). The information related to the location of the spaces continues to diminish, leaving no direct mention to where she lived while at Columbia and only the street name and general demographic of the neighborhood (134) is given for her home in Connecticut Avenue. What is new is the reluctance to share her physical space with other people – as it is never mentioned that she hosts other people in her space willingly, instead opting to not move in with her significant other even after finding out that she is pregnant (127). Rather, there are mentions of her visiting her brother to make amends over their disagreements related to her contact with their father (134). We see that Madeleine chooses to be distant in regards to actual physical space while striving to maintain close personal relations with those around her.
