Answer:
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
