This story from Jane Bowles examines the toxic relationship between three troubled sisters who share a city apartment. One of them is midway through a ten-week holiday in a Camp Cataract cabin as part of a long-term plan to move out and live independently. When another turns up uninvited, hoping to convince her to cut the holiday short, they arrange to meet for lunch the next day. Both have different recollections of what happens the following morning. Madness intervenes, and only one of them survives the day. Themes: self-analysis, identity, independence, mental illness, spinsterhood, female relationships.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (14,750 words)