The Knife Sharpener's Bell gets its title from the sound the narrator, Annette, hears inside her head as a young child whenever she is afraid. She imagines the sound of the tarnished bell rung by the old man on the street, his sharpening wheel beside him. When she tells Mr. Spratt, her upstairs neighbour, he tells her that "sometimes, we're more afraid of what's inside us than what's outside us. Or maybe, we're afraid that what's inside us isn't strong enough to fight what's outside us."
This feeling would not be surprising given the circumstances. Annette is living through one of the most difficult times in history, the Great Depression. Her father, recently returned from Russia, is trying to move the entire family back to their home country. This would be unsettling for anyone, let alone a young child. She cannot control the situation or make any decisions, she is just pulled along with her parents' desires.
Annette describes the sound of the bell as a "dah-dong, full-bellied, swaying. The opening note light, and then the second note a gap in the heart, a falling. No way out." The sound paralyses her to the point where she is unable to do anything, her heart pounding in her ears. These symptoms are the cause of great anxiety for Annette. Until she confronts her fears and figures out why she is reacting this way, she will not be able to eliminate these panic attacks.
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