In this story from Muriel Spark, a group of friends watch home movie footage of protagonist Sybil’s life in Africa as she recalls memories of the time. Her observations highlight the difference between the vain way the characters in the films see themselves (or want to be seen) and their true personalities. Sybil was an intellectual but weak-willed girl/young woman who allowed herself to be dominated by others. In a favorite childhood game, the words “bang-bang you’re dead” always led to submission. Later in life, gunshots became “freeing” events. Themes: class, isolation, dominance and submission, false opinions vs. unpleasant truths.
At the end of the story, Sybil asks herself a question: Am I a woman, or an intellectual monster? The cold detachment with which she considers the accidental death of her husband is reminiscent of the way Louise Mallard felt about her husband’s death in Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour (Free! Body and soul free!). Her brutal honesty in ending her affair with David, and the calculating way she hides the secret behind ‘friend’ Désirée’s murder, reveal more chilling aspects of her personality. Sybil says the question needs no answer. For readers, it is the crux of the story.
Original Text / PDF (10,000 words)