“Strange day. Well, true enough. That was something they could all be sure of.” – pg. 247
When in mourning, the body seems to go into another version of shock. Not the one type that makes you have to lay down with elevated feet and an unbuttoned shirt, but a version that leaves you a floating shell of what you were before the incident. A type that sucks all emotions out once one finishes crying, if it doesn’t prevent you from crying in the first place. It makes you feel strange and hollow and heavy, leaving you in a sort of autopilot that just rolls with the punches of whatever comes until the trauma wears off and you’re able to regain control of your emotions.
In the story, we as readers can assume that Francie is going through the emotional shock that prevents her from crying after receiving word that her mother died. We hear the repeated phrase “strange day” multiple times in the story and it only intensifies the justification of emotional shock. Once she receives the news, her shock settles in and wipes everything out, leaving her with this strange feeling that lasts throughout the entirety of the story. It’s an important line that shows that even though Francie has been abused by her mother, she still mourns for her in her own way.