In the Waiting Room Foreignness and 'The Other' Quotes Page 2

Again, Elizabeth brings up her fear of the women in the magazine, but this time it's in the context of the other adults in the poem – Aunt Consuelo, the dentist's patients. She's part of the collective humanity that Elizabeth joins together here. But she focuses not on the women, but on their breasts. Perhaps Elizabeth is more disturbed by their nudity than by their skin color? We can't know for sure, but it does seem interesting that Elizabeth refers specifically to these body parts, which are often symbols of both sexuality and motherhood.