The 1940 painting, “Office at Night,” by Edward Hopper, depicts a man and a woman working late into the night at their office. The room lacks any personality, with its baron white walls and dark green carpet. The man is sitting at a desk, staring at a piece of paper under a lamp. The woman is standing behind him and to the left, holding onto an open file cabinet. She is looking at the man sitting at the desk, almost as if she is waiting for instructions from him. The man at the desk looks as if he wants to say something to her, but for some reason, cannot get the words out. Though this painting could be interpreted in many ways, Rolondo Perez chose to write about their secret affection for each other in his poem of the same name, “Office …show more content…
Because of his nervousness and built up emotion, he declares, “This office at night is a bit stuffy.” (Line 6) The action of opening a window and getting fresh air is a common symbol of taking the measures to think more deeply or openly. He is trying to build the courage to act upon his feelings. But his opening of the window has caused at least one of the neatly stacked papers on his desk to drift away and onto the floor. The more he acts upon his feelings, the more his office and work become in disarray. This also symbolizes the idea of the problems that can surface from a workplace relationship, as neither of them seems to care about the paper that has fallen to the floor. Perez then continues to exhibit the man’s thoughts by saying, “Will she bend over to pick it up?” (Line 13) Though this could be interpreted as the man’s curiosity if his co-worker will pick up the paper from a professional standpoint, the poem as a whole suggests otherwise. Perez uses the phrase “bend over” (Line 13) when that would be implied since we already know the papers were on the floor. One could assume that he wants to watch her as she bends over so he can admire her in that