The overlying theme in both Audrey Thomas' "Trash" and Alice Munroe's "The Office." is the relationship between the tenant and landlord. Despite the fact the narrators play different roles – one is a landlady and student, the other is a writer and tenant; both experience similar problems trying to raise a family as a working mom, and dealing with their respective landlords/tenants.
             Both stories begin with the ongoing problem of working Moms facing the challenge of raising a family, and still managing to get their work done. The writer in "The Office" says a man, "can shut a door, [Where as a mother], ...shutting her door, and the children knowing she is behind it; why the very thought is outrageous to them. [The problem is,] she is the house; there is no separation possible." Both women face the dilemma of getting away to complete their work, and come to the same conclusion; they need their own space. The narrator in "The Office" says, "The solution to my life came to me one evening while I was ironing a shirt.... "I think I need an Office."" She has this epiphany while performing the very task that drives her to look for an office. The landlady in "Trash," does not have an epiphany, but has known for a long time she needs her space, " I was longing for a study, a room of my own, tired of always having to remove my books from the kitchen table while I cooked or we ate or played games with the children" This is where the women separate – the writer finds an office, the landlady takes on a new tenant. What would happen if the landlady
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