1. How does a woman like Jessie become “molded to the smallest space possible”? What signs might appear in her life? What did Jessie mean when she said part of the problem was her chronic inability to astonish herself?

I think it's easy for a mother to get "molded to the smallest piece possible" because we put our children and most times our husband's first until we can no longer see ourselves at all. I think the chronic inability to astonish herself was that she was caught up in such a routine, she wasn't doing anything different or trying anything new. She just needed to get away for a bit (although her trip wasn't any kind of "getting away" I would want to do) and be re-inspired by life.