This made the room dark and gloomy, especially since one shutter was stuck shut.

Gervaise was now so fat that there wasn't room for her in the limited window space and she had to lean sideways and crane her neck if she wanted to see the courtyard.
During the first few days, the laundress would continually sit down and cry.

It seemed to her too hard, not being able to move about in her home, after having been used to so much room.

She felt stifled; she remained at the window for hours, squeezed between the wall and the drawers and getting a stiff neck.

It was only there that she could breathe freely.