Wendy tells a story of a drunk and angry Jack 3 months ago dislocating Danny's shoulder by yanking his arm to hard. She blames Danny and says the abuse occured because he left his papers on the floor. She contends that yanking a child by the arm away from his papers is something a parent does 100 times (?), but this time Jack had an 'accident' and pulled to hard. Wendy hides the abuse in obscuring language, and as a result 'most of these things (Danny's symptoms) are never explained.'. This interview begins to articulate the wider themes of the movie, an anlysis of the sort of breakdown that occurs when interpersonal structures like the family are forced to absorb the negative feelings of aggression and resentment generated by an economic system that unequally distributes success, gratification, and a sense of self-worth. The close relation between work and family violence is indicated by Jack's first act of violence against his son. He is angered because the boy disturbed his papers. Moreover, when he first attacks his wife in the hotel, he speaks of his responsibilities and his contract, things he claims she doesn't understand. The hotel can thus be read in part as a metaphor for the isolation of the family in a cold and bleak economic landscape. It is a troubled garrison into which external market pressures of work and contract easily insinuate themselves, with violent results.

DOCTOR If it re-occurs which I doubt, you can always think about having some tests done.
WENDY Oh, I'm...I'm sure you're right.
DOCTOR Have you been in Boulder long, Mrs. Torrance?
WENDY Only about three months. Eh we're from Vermont. My husband was teaching school there.
DOCTOR Did the appearance of Danny's imaginary friend...?
WENDY Tony.
DOCTOR Did Tony's first appearance happen to coincide with your arrival here?
WENDY No, um let's see I guess Danny started talkin to Tony about the time we put him into nursery school.
DOCTOR Did he adjust well to school?
WENDY No. He didn't like it too much at first, and then he had an injury, so we kept him out for a while, and, yeah, I...I guess that's about the time when I first noticed that he was talking to Tony.
DOCTOR What sort of injury did he have?
WENDY Ah he dislocated his shoulder.
DOCTOR How did he manage to do that?
WENDY Well it's just one of those things. You know... purely an accident, um. My husband had oh... been drinking, and he came home about three hours late, so he wasn't exactly in the greatest mood that night. And well Danny had scattered some of his school papers all over the room... and my husband grabbed his arm, you know, and pulled him away from them. It's...it's just the sort of thing you do a hundred times with a child - you know, in a park or on the streets - but on this particular occasion my husband just... used too much strength and he injured Danny's arm. Anyway, something good did come out of it all because he said: "Wendy, I'm never gonna touch another drop and if I do you can leave me", and he didn't and he hasn't had any alcohol in eh five months.