When you refer to “the lady” in “Thank You, Ma’am,” I assume that you are talking about Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. When you ask about why she shut the door so quickly, you must be referring the end of the story where she closes the door before Roger can do much more than say “thank you, Ma’am.” We are not told why Mrs. Jones closes the door quickly, so we have to engage in...
When you refer to “the lady” in “Thank You, Ma’am,” I assume that you are talking about Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. When you ask about why she shut the door so quickly, you must be referring the end of the story where she closes the door before Roger can do much more than say “thank you, Ma’am.” We are not told why Mrs. Jones closes the door quickly, so we have to engage in conjecture. I would argue that she closes the door quickly because she wants Roger to go out on his own and rehabilitate himself rather than leaning on her.
The main point of this story is that Mrs. Jones is not rehabilitating Roger. Instead, she is helping Roger remake his own life. This is why she does not close the door to her room to prevent him from escaping and why she does not watch him while she cooks. This is why she leaves her purse where he can get it. She wants him to behave properly of his own accord and not because he is being coerced.
If Mrs. Jones wants Roger to rehabilitate himself, she has to discourage him from becoming dependent on her. By closing the door on him quickly, she makes it more likely that he will be independent. He will not dwell on the fact that she has helped him. Instead, he will need to rely on himself and focus on himself. This is, in my view, why Mrs. Jones closes the door quickly at the end of “Thank You, Ma’am.”
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