First off, a strand of time can be identified when May's mother says: "She has not been out since girlhood... Not out since girlhood... Where is she, it may be asked" (241). This quote by May's mother can be determined as a strand of time because it is emphasizing the disconnect May has with modern day. May's mother is suggesting that May has been both physically and emotionally confined during her girlhood, and her thoughts and experiences in the real world have not developed much past that. This quote highlights the uncertainty of May, and also supports the lingering effects that could still be haunting her of having to take care of her mother at a younger age. There is a pattern throughout this play of May constantly asking her mother if she needs any sort of assistance, such as propping up her pillow, which also underlines the time warp she is stuck in of having the natural instincts of always having to be there for her mother.

Moving forward, a strand of voice can be deciphered when May explains, "Still speak? Yes, some nights she does, when she fancies none can hear" (241). Although it is hard to determine if May is speaking about herself or her mother, there is an overall theme of insecurity and loss in terms of voice. Especially when May mentions how "she" speaks "some nights," it proposes that this voice is not consistently expressed and lacks confidence. This quote could also explain why May takes so many pauses when she speaks; she wants to make sure she voices herself assertively, as she may have struggled with this in the past or even her whole life.

Lastly, a binary of presence and absence is displayed in every moment of the play, but most importantly towards the end of the play when Amy (possibly an alter-ego of May) remarks: "I mean, Mother, that to say I observed nothing of any kind, strange, or otherwise. I saw nothing, heard nothing, of any kind. I was not there" (243). But then in response, Mrs. W (possibly an alter-ego of May's mother) rebutes: "Not there?... But I heard you respond... I heard you say Amen" (243). This conflict and misunderstanding between May and her mother presents how May is still present with the relationship she had with her, but is absent from realizing that no one is actually there conversing with her, that is why she finds herself in disagreement. May did not hear her mother because of inconvenience, she did not hear her because she does not exist anymore. There is also a binary between presence and absence when the lights fade into darkness, bringing the play to an end but leaving the audience with the presence of May's unresolved ideas.