What’s Up With the Title?

We suspect there are a lot of things up with the title in this case, but it may have an extra-special something to do with Mrs. Travers saying:

I suppose that's just how your sympathies change as you get older. Passion gets pushed behind the washtubs. (58)

We tend to speak about passion with positivity. "She's got a passion for running," someone might say, or "He's passionate about blowfish," or "They went walking on the beach at sunset and shared a passionate kiss." It's a word with a lot of implied meaning rolled into it: love, intimacy, motivation, and attachment. It's like a big, mysterious meaningful burrito.

So what happens to people who lose their passion? Do we all tend to push passion "behind the washtubs" as we get older? What makes us do it? Can life be enjoyed without it? Can we get it back once we've lost it? There's a lot to ponder, and Munro is whetting our appetite for reflection and introspection with the story we have here.