Spit in your eye

“Spit in your eye” is Delphine’s terse, irreverent answer to the religious consolations surrounding Eva’s illness. Spoken as Delphine approaches the house, the phrase rejects a prayer she cannot sincerely offer; its force comes from the contrast between its dismissive surface and the depth of suffering she has witnessed.

Use During Eva’s Illness

Delphine repeats the phrase as a prayer suited to the situation. Its brevity sets it against the prolonged work of staying beside Eva: Delphine reads, dozes, knits, and keeps watch, while Eva’s illness leaves Delphine feeling its effects in sympathy. She cannot stop the suffering, but continues to care for her friend without displaying her own distress.

Religious Conflict and Practical Care

Tante gathers Lutheran women who visit to pray around Eva, a Catholic. When Eva becomes too weak to send them away, Delphine tries to keep them from crowding around the bed, though Tante’s higher standing makes this difficult. Delphine’s curse expresses her refusal to pretend to piety; her alternative is practical hospitality. She plans to bake a sugar cake for the visitors, knowing that feeding them will send them back to the kitchen rather than leave them beside Eva’s bed.

Significance

The phrase condenses a tension between belief and care. Delphine does not claim that her irreverence can relieve Eva’s illness; the narration stresses that the curse cannot register the depth of her feeling. Yet it is honest in a way that forced prayer would not be. The line therefore defines Delphine’s response to helplessness: she rejects consolation she does not believe in, stays present through suffering, and acts where action remains possible.