Christine's Pistol

Christine's Pistol is a firearm bought by Kenneth Penmark for Christine Penmark. She presents it as a means of personal protection and says she knows how to use it; later, she keeps it in a locked desk drawer beside a letter she has decided not to send to her husband. The pistol's place in the story is defined by this pairing of readiness for danger with Christine's effort to contain her worry in private.

Ownership and Intended Use

When visitors discuss the security of the apartment, Christine says that Kenneth bought her a pistol and that she knows how to use it. Her response presents the weapon as a practical safeguard, not as an object she is afraid to handle. She also remarks on the contrast with New York, where she had understood that owning a pistol could bring serious trouble. Emory Breedlove replies that a permit is required, adding that the law gives victims a chance as well as their attackers. The exchange places the firearm within an ordinary conversation about personal safety and the rules governing its possession.

Kept with the Unsent Letter

Christine later addresses and seals a letter to Kenneth asking what she should do, but recognizes that she will not send it: she does not want to interrupt the work she believes is crucial to his career, and concludes that Rhoda's problem is hers to solve. She puts the letter in the desk drawer she always keeps locked, aligning it evenly with the pistol also kept there. The two objects remain distinct—a plea she withholds and a weapon she possesses—but their deliberate placement together gives material form to her choice to keep both her distress and her response to it close and private.

Narrative Significance

The evidence establishes the pistol as something Christine owns, knows how to use, and stores securely; it does not show her firing or otherwise using it. Its significance in these scenes instead rests on contrast. In company, she speaks confidently of being able to protect herself; alone, she tries to reassure herself that her anxieties are groundless and resolves to manage Rhoda's problem without troubling Kenneth. The locked drawer holds the firearm beside the letter that records her unvoiced appeal, bringing self-reliance and concealed vulnerability into the same physical space.