The Incident is what I refer to Jack’s violence towards Danny, referenced in No.7 with Wendy’s conversation with the Social Worker/Dr. and in No.47’s version with Jack and Lloyd.
In both scenes, we hear about a moment where Jack dislocated Danny’s shoulder. In Wendy’s version, Jack is excused for exhibiting normal behavior but using too much strength and in Jack’s version he is dismissive and just thinks it was a fluke.
Jack’s sobriety is tied in with the story, and from Wendy’s side, Jack’s been sober for 5 months, giving the impression that the harm was caused at this time. However, Jack’s version includes the “And it was three goddamn years ago!” creating a conflicting account of the injury and sobriety (“Here’s to 5 miserable months on the wagon”) without resolving which chronology the viewer should trust.
All of this is to say that Jack has harmed his son without the pressure of isolation or forced sobriety.
In this image · No.7
Emotional Factors
Doctor: “Mrs. Torrance, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’m quite sure there is nothing physically wrong with Danny.”
Wendy: “But eh what was the matter with him?”
Doctor: “Mrs. Torrance, most of the time these episodes with kids are never explained. They are brought on by emotional factors, and they rarely occur again.”
Emotional Factors
No.41; No.31; No.38, Image 680; No.45; No.47; No.48; No.50; No.54; No.64, Image 1303, Image 1304; No.71; No.72, Image 1651; No.78.
Reflects Halloran’s “Burnt Toast” analogy: it is accurate for general situations, but in this specific instance of the Torrances, the problems are real and beyond just “the ghosts/smells of the past.” The pains and struggles are in the present because the ghosts of the past have not been dealt with or moved on from. No.19.