Wu Ting
How would you explain ‘shop’ in the context? Today Van was married. Who could have imagined it two years ago, this very day, on a painted picnic boat in the canals of Xochimilco? Frida was correct, of course, Van didn’t need the trapanovio to catch his true love. Nor did Lev, it seems. He holds hands with Natalya, and together they stand on the deck of this ocean liner, a ship with trustworthy friends and cactuses planted in its hold, and they watch the sun set behind the high wall that encloses them. Frida has been less lucky in love or anything else, declining to get out of bed for weeks now. Her body threatens to fold up shop, and good riddance, she says, since Diego no longer wants it. How would you explain ‘shop’ in the sentence: Her body threatens to fold up shop? Thanks! PS: It’s from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.
Aug 29, 2014 9:05 AM
Answers · 2
1
It's a metaphor for her desire to live. She is not taking care of herself because of her despair, so her health is failing. Because Diego doesn't want her anymore, she doesn't care to take care of herself.
August 29, 2014
1
"fold up shop". The phrase refers to the woman's life as though it were some kind of business in a marketplace. To "fold up shop" is similar to Folding up a tent, under which many "shops" operate around the world. But you can use "fold up shop" to refer to many things that come to some kind of an end. If I was a college student leaving college, for example, I could say, as I pack my bags, that I am "folding up shop".
August 29, 2014
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