Which lines from the excerpt directly develop the idea that things are a burden? "I sat before the flickering embers of the open fire, and looked out through the open door to the sea When I was very tired, I chanced to go away to a little house by the sea There was nothing in the house to demand care, to claim attention, to cumber my consciousness with its insistent, unchanging companionship And so I rested. While the spell was still unbroken, I came away. For broken it would have been, I know, had I not fled first."

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The lines that directly develop the idea that things are burden are:

When I was very tired, I chanced to go away to a little house by the sea

There was nothing in the house to demand care, to claim attention, to cumber my consciousness with its insistent, unchanging companionship

Explanation:

This question concerns the essay "The Tyranny of Things", by Elizabeth Morris, published in 1917. As the title suggests, the author discusses how chained we are to things. We wish to posses more and more, only to become enslaved in the end. Things need to be taken care of. Instead of serving us, they end up having us as their servant.

That is what the lines below mean. Morris's word choice is clear: tired, demand care, claim attention, cumber one's consciousness, insistent and unchanging companionship. Things are a burden. They drain us, suffocate us:

When I was very tired, I chanced to go away to a little house by the sea

There was nothing in the house to demand care, to claim attention, to cumber my consciousness with its insistent, unchanging companionship

nautre

nature is sure to be the best thing on earth

the sunshine and beauty is sure to be worth

this can't be sold

for any money or gold

because nature is strongly beautiful and is the best thing to happen on earth