Paranoia in "Once upon a Time"

Paranoia in “Once Upon a Time”

      Nadine Gordimer portrays the married couple in “Once Upon a Time” as alert and overprotective people who try to turn their home into a safer place. At first, they only seem cautious  when it comes to their security, but as the story progresses, they make more drastic changes, turning their home into an uncomfortable place. Towards the end, the couple’s need for protection makes them paranoid and causes the death of their own child.Gordimer portrays the couple as alert and overprotective to warn others against resorting to extremes because the results may be catastrophic. 
When Gordimer introduces the couple, they are aware of possible dangers, and so they have the basic means of caution. They are careful about what people they bring into their house and so they have, "a housemaid who [is] absolutely trustworthy and an itinerant gardener who [is] highly recommended by the neighbors" (Gordimer 232). These are people they can count on to contribute to the security of their home because they are not strangers that might be dangerous or have bad habits, they are people who can be trusted. In addition, Gordimer also says that the couple is, "inscribed in a medical benefit society, their pet dog [is] licensed, they [are] insured against fire, flood damage and theft , and subscribed to the local Neighborhood Watch"(Gordimer 232). The couple has medical insurance and protection against some things that they can’t control, like their dog running away or natural disasters. In addition, they volunteer to keep the surrounding neighborhood safe as well. These are all common precautions that many people take, which only makes them conscious about the dangers that surround them. 
However, as the story unfolds, Gordimer makes the couple seem more and more worried about their safety. Since the couple is afraid of housebreaking, they install burglar bars and, "from every window and door in the house where they [are] living happily ever after they now [see] the trees and sky through bars"(Gordimer 233). Gordimer makes the couple cage themselves in in order to keep the danger out. Also, in order to prevent burglaries, the couple has a security system installed which doesn't end up serving its purpose well. This happens because, "When the little boy's pet cat [tries] to climb in by the fanlight to keep him company in his little bed at night, as it customarily [has] done, it [sets] off the alarm keening through the house" (Gordimer 232). Instead of warning from attempts of breaking in, the alarm announced the whereabouts of the cat and so they get used to the sound of the alarm. Having the burglar bars and the alarm system installed makes the couple lose some of their comforts because they are bothersome mechanisms that disrupt their peace.
At the end, Gordimer makes the couple's need for protection turn into an obsession and their son suffers the consequences of their actions. Their ultimate response to acquire security is to get, "a gang of workmen [come] and [stretch] the razor-bladed coils all around the walls of the house"(Gordimer 235). The couple installs a very dangerous mechanism and it comes with dire results. While playing a game, their son gets tangled in it and," the bleeding mass of the little boy [is] hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they [carry] it the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener into the house" (Gordimer 236). Instead of serving as protection from people on the outside, it turns out to be deadly for their child.
The couple's paranoia to keep their family safe from any outside threat ends up backfiring at them. Their incentive to keep their home safe ends up dying not because of any outside threat, but because of their overprotection. Gordimer portrays the couple as cautious people that eventually become paranoid to prove her point that too much of anything is bad for you. Things are only good in moderation because if you over do, the results might be tragic.