Despite the title, this acclaimed story from John McGahern has almost nothing to do with Korea. Set in Ireland, a father opens up to his teenage son about his traumatic experiences during the War of Independence. He was clearly scarred by them, and may have suffered what we now know as PTSD. The son is about to leave school, and the father encourages him to consider emigrating to America for a better life. The son later learns that what the father is really hoping for is a better life for himself. Themes: war, father-son relationships, desperation, betrayal, coming of age. More…
Category Archives: Short Stories
Woman Hollering Creek
Cleófilas, Sandra Cisneros’s Mexican protagonist, finds the grass no greener when she marries and moves to a town “on the other side”. Poverty, language and distance leave her with nobody to turn to when her dreams of love and passion become a nightmare. Fortunately, her father has foreseen the possibility and left the home door open. Thanks to a kind woman with a pickup truck and piercing scream, she returns stronger and, one hopes, empowered to strive for a better future. Themes: parental vs. romantic love, cultural traditions (wives as ‘property’), gender roles, isolation, marital abuse. More…
House Taken Over
Said to be Julio Cortázar’s first published story, this suspenseful tale is about a middle-aged brother and sister who, having never married, live quiet but contented lives in their aging family mansion. One night, their solitude is interrupted by strange noises coming from a disused wing of the house. The brother locks and bolts the door leading to that part of the house. Unfortunately, the title foreshadows the final outcome. The brother and sister know the identity of the intruders (referred to only as “they”), but this is not shared with the reader. Themes: the idle rich, isolation, fear, change. More…
A Passion in the Desert
This story by Honoré de Balzac recounts the adventures of a French soldier lost in the Egyptian desert during the Napoleonic conquests. He finds a small oasis, but soon realizes that it is already occupied… by a leopard! He befriends the beast and the two manage to co-exist, with the leopard becoming more and more trusting and playful. Although he describes the (female) leopard in increasingly sensual terms, he later learns that the desert holds other passions: (In the desert there is everything and nothing… it is God without mankind.) Themes: isolation, animal/human bonding, distrust, betrayal, finding God in nature. More…
The Green Leaves
This story from Grace Ogot reads like a folktale. With an overall theme of culture conflict between the modern world and the traditions and beliefs of a Kenyan tribe, the plot can be divided into three sections. The first (ending with Nyagar’s death) has themes of crime, tribal justice, violence, superstition and greed. The second, involving the British authorities, emphasizes colonial arrogance and cultural insensitivity. The third, in which Nyagar’s wife laments his death, introduces a feminist theme. Her chant reflects not only her own loss, but also the powerlessness and complete dependence of all village women on their husbands. More…
A Worn Path
In this Eudora Welty story, an aged woman makes a long, dangerous trek through the Mississippi woods. Its power lies in the vivid descriptions of nature and the various obstacles she encounters. Once in town, she struggles to remember the purpose of the journey. Although we learn later that she has come for the regular medicine needed by her ailing grandson, many readers question if the boy still lives. Her confusion suggests that such visits may simply be a way of handling the grief (or guilt) associated with his death. Themes: nature, old age, perseverance, duty, poverty, dignity, racism, redemption. More…
Han’s Crime
The crime referred to in this fascinating psychological narrative by Shiga Naoya is either murder or manslaughter. A theatre performer (Han) kills his wife during a knife-throwing act. At the end of questioning, the judge asks: Do you not feel the slightest sorrow for your wife’s death? Han answers: None at all! …I never could have imagined I would feel such happiness in talking about her death. The judge (and readers) must decide if the death was a crime or terrible accident. Themes: illegitimacy, infanticide, toxic marriage, conscious vs unconscious actions, legal vs moral guilt, doubt vs certainty. More…
Dog Star
Dog Star illustrates science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s sentimental side. Despite the title, the story has nothing to do with stars of the celestial kind. It does however feature a dog. An introverted astronomer finds and raises a lost puppy. On two occasions, the dog’s heightened senses save his life. The second time, the dog had been long dead. If you love animals, especially dogs, you are sure to be moved by the story. But BE WARNED… the conclusion has been known to bring tears to the eyes. Themes: kindness, human/animal bonding, career sacrifice, supernatural connections. More…
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Flannery O’connor is known for emphasizing her themes through flawed, often thoroughly dislikeable characters. In this story, she has paired a bigoted mother living in the past with a callous, disrespectful son. The son, a college graduate, considers himself intellectually and morally superior to his mother and delights in antagonizing the poor woman. The unfortunate climax comes at the end of a city bus trip when the mother insults her African American “doppelganger” by offering the woman’s young child a penny. Themes include (through Mrs. Chestny) sacrifice, heritage & appearance vs. character, racism; (through Julian) lack of respect, cruelty, self-deception. More…
Toba Tek Singh
This month marks the 75th anniversary of the partition of British India into two countries: Hindustan and Pakistan. Some years ago we featured Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Lajwanti, a Partition story from an Indian viewpoint. In honor of the occasion, we are pleased to provide this story from the Pakistan side by controversial writer Saadat Hasan Manto. This is not your usual Partition story of mass displacement and violence. Instead, it is a clever satire of the governments of the two countries, as reflected in a decision several years later to exchange institutionalized lunatics. Themes: insanity, separation, religious segregation, nationality, confusion, belonging. More…
Life
Bessie Head sums up this story in a song title: “That’s What Happens When Two Worlds Collide”. Life, an attractive young prostitute, is forcibly relocated from the bright lights of Johannesburg to her home village in Botswana. Although premarital sex is an integral part of village life, payment for it is unheard of. Life shocks the villagers by taking up her old profession. They are even more shocked when she marries the village’s most eligible bachelor. Themes: village vs. city life (monotony vs. excitement, subsistence vs. easy money), cultural traditions (sexual norms, male domination, women as property), change, oppression, emancipation. More…
Sweet Potato Pie
Like the titular pie, life is sweet for a professor and his cab-driving older brother. The themes in this heart-warming Eugenia Collier story (poverty, family, sacrifice, education and gratitude) lie in how the two got where they are. A close-knit family works together to survive poverty, with the older children caring for the young and leaving school as soon as possible. The family can afford for only one child (the professor) to complete his education. Although his brother proudly hails him as a “somebody”, it is clear that their childhood experiences have helped both make successes of their lives. More…
Walker Brothers Cowboy
Although set in rural Ontario, there isn’t a cow to be seen in this Depression-era story from Alice Munro. The “cowboy”, once a successful fox farmer, is now a door-to-door household product salesman. The story’s central themes are father-daughter relationships, poverty, pride, dealing with reduced circumstances, and nostalgia. The man’s wife is bitterly resentful of the extent to which the family have “come down” in the world, while an arguably worse-off ex-girlfriend he and his children visit during one of his rounds is still able to enjoy life. Understandably, his daughter (the narrator) is somewhat disturbed by the meeting. More…
Yesterday was Beautiful
With the devastation currently taking place in Ukraine, we have decided to feature a story highlighting the misery of innocent victims of war. Roald Dahl’s short stories are known for their dark comedy and unexpected endings. There is nothing funny about this story. However, he does manage an unexpected twist that emphasizes the overall theme reflected in the title: In war, things can go from “beautiful” to your worst nightmare overnight. Other themes: (for civilians) indiscriminate bombing, senseless death and destruction, psychological trauma, anger, revenge; (for combatants) collateral damage, personal survival. More…
The Summer Solstice
This story by Filipino writer Nick Joaquin takes place over the final two days of a “hybrid” religious festival. Because both take place over the summer solstice, the Catholic feast of St John and pagan Tadtarin fertility rituals are celebrated together. Tadtarin is performed exclusively by women (or men dressed up as women), invoking their power to ensure a bountiful harvest. Events lead to an unsettling climax where a usually submissive wife pitilessly humiliates her rich landowner husband. Themes include gender stereotypes (especially male domination and cruelty towards women) and cultural changes brought about by Westernization. More…
A Perfect Day for Bananafish
The major theme of this J. D. Salinger story is an extension of another we have featured by the same author. In For Esmé with Love and Squalor, a teenager’s friendship and compassion help a young soldier recover from PTSD. Here, a returned soldier is suffering its long-term effects. He copes by trying to avoid the company of adults (including his vain, materialistic wife) and finds pleasure in music, poetry and spending time with young children. Major themes: the effects of war on mental health, alienation, loneliness, childhood innocence, vanity and materialism, suicide. More…
The Red Bow
This dystopian story from George Saunders is often referred to as a metaphor for the post 9-11 Afghan and Iraq Wars. It is also an allegory of a much older, far-reaching problem: ethnic cleansing. A small group of dogs (people) is seen as a direct threat and are eliminated. After this, paranoia sets in. All dogs and cats (minority groups) become suspect and must also be removed. The dictatorial rise of Uncle Max by exploiting fear of the perceived “enemy” is also symbolic of the way many world leaders have come to power. Themes: tragedy, grief, paranoia, protection, authoritarianism. More…
And of Clay Are We Created
This confronting story from Isabel Allende is based on the real life plight of Omayra Sánchez, killed in a volcanic eruption in 1985. It highlights the confusion and suffering that often accompanies natural disasters, and the human and psychological tolls on both victims and responders. The irony of the story is that despite the massive resources employed by news agencies to cover the incident, they were unable to locate and bring in a pump to save the girl. Themes include man against nature, compassion, courage, faith/acceptance of fate, the healing effect of facing and sharing past tragedies. More…
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
This almost clinical account of Tadeusz Borowski’s holocaust experiences explores an often overlooked aspect of the so-called “final solution”: how general prisoners forced to assist in sending the condemned to gas chambers became so desensitized to the brutality that many actively participated in it. Because of their access to discarded food and clothing, these men formed the “elite” among the prisoner hierarchy. In camp, their insensitivity to suffering prevailed and many looked down on and showed little compassion for the plight of “less fortunate” fellow inmates. Themes: man’s inhumanity to man, death and suffering, the survival instinct, detachment, guilt, rationalization. More…
The Minister’s Black Veil
In this Nathaniel Hawthorne story, a church minister frightens and intrigues parishioners by spending most of his life hiding his face behind a black veil. themes include uncertainty (Why the veil?), alienation and loneliness, hidden sins (for which the veil may be a symbol), moral superiority, guilt, fear, and death. Most readers consider the story from the parishioner’s side. However, it is interesting to contemplate how dark the world must look to the minister. Is the veil the equivalent of the dream by a character in another Hawthorne story (Young Goodman Brown): a reminder of the evil in every man? More…
The White Horses of Vienna
This story from Kay Boyle reflects the rise of Austrian Nazism in the early 1930s. Its main characters are an injured doctor (and Nazi sympathizer), his anti-Semitic wife, and a Jewish locum sent to work with them. The story neither condemns nor condones Nazism. A puppet show alludes to the injured doctor’s political ideals; a tale about Vienna’s famed Lipizzaner horses is a metaphor for the fall of the Austrian Empire and the dire economic circumstances that will soon encourage the government to welcome Hitler’s armies. Themes include isolation and natural beauty, family, racism, fascism, activism vs. acceptance. More…
God Sees the Truth, But Waits
This is one of Leo Tolstoy’s earlier short stories, published between his two epic novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and thirteen years before What Men Live By. It has themes of injustice, acceptance, forgiveness and redemption. The protagonist suffers a dramatic fall in worldly terms, which is more than matched by his growth in spiritual grace. The plot was not new. It is a re-working of an almost identical tale from War and Peace related by peasant character Platon Karataev. The novel was written for the Russian nobility; this version was targeted at its common people. More…
One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts
The protagonist in this story from Shirley Jackson initially appears too good to be true. A seemingly ordinary man fills his pockets with candy and peanuts and walks the streets of New York, helping strangers and acting “Mr. Nice Guy”. The apparent theme is making a difference… how a good deed, a kind word, or even just a smile can brighten up someone’s day. It is not until we reach the end of the story that we are presented with two other themes: things are not always what they seem, and the duality of good and evil. More…
The Snob
In this story by Morley Callaghan, a young man shopping with a new girlfriend shames his poorly dressed father by not acknowledging him when they find themselves close to each other in a department store. The girl’s family are more affluent and sophisticated than his, and he is self-conscious about the difference. Ironically, although he is guilty of snobbery in ignoring his father, his anger at himself over having done so causes him to lose his temper and wrongfully accuse the girl of being a snob. Themes include identity, class, judgement by appearances, shame, guilt, hypocrisy. More…
A Great Day
An unusual aspect of this story from Frank Sargeson is that it is largely made up of superficial conversations between two ‘friends’ out in a boat for a morning fishing trip. Readers are given sufficient clues to piece together the men’s backgrounds and the major issues between them. However, they must make their own judgements about the grim climax. An important question in assessing Fred’s character is the timing of his plan. Was it a callous, premeditated decision made before the “Great Day”, or a spur of the moment, opportunistic idea? Themes: envy, jealousy, class, self-esteem, masculinity. More…
Hominids
In this story by Jill McCorkle, a woman hosting a dinner party for a group of her husband’s old friends is disgusted by the way the men joke about the bodies of women they had encountered at a strip club earlier in the day. She muses about modern man’s obsession with breasts, and the contrast between the privileged life of the wives present and the circumstances that might lead other women to take up such work. She confronts the men, along the way cynically threatening to open her own club called “Peckers”. Themes include machismo, sexualization, misogyny, beauty and womanhood. More…
The Man Who Was Almost a Man
At seventeen, Richard Wright’s naïve protagonist (Dave) is old enough and strong enough to do a man’s work. Unfortunately, his family and co-workers treat him like a boy. Dave buys a gun, believing that having one will win him the respect he deserves. Instead, a wayward shot when he first uses it brings humiliation. Despite the accident, the gun gives Dave a sense of power. Faced with losing it and resuming his former life, he leaves town to look for somewhere a seventeen-year-old with a gun can be a man. Themes: class/racism, coming of age, respect, rebellion, the gun debate. More…
The American Embassy
Set following Nigeria’s 1993 military coup, this Chimamanda Adichie story includes themes of corruption, civil unrest and army brutality. The protagonist has a seemingly perfect case for U.S. asylum. Her anti-government journalist husband has already fled to America, and some troops searching for him accidentally shot their four-year-old son. Yet mid-way through the visa interview, she decides not to continue. The shooting has caused her to question their future together. This introduces two additional themes: the strong ties Africans have to their roots, and the importance of traditions… in this case the need for someone to tend the boy’s grave. More…
Dry September
William Faulkner’s Dry September deals with events leading up to and shortly after the vigilante murder of a presumably innocent man. Set in a racially prejudiced community in America’s South, a misplaced or malicious complaint from a middle-aged spinster incites hatred against a local negro. Only one man (the town barber) stands up for him. A decorated ex-soldier leads a mob to avenge the woman’s honor. After the killing, the reliability of the woman’s story is called into question, as is the mental condition of the soldier who is shown to be violent by nature and possibly suffering from PTSD. More…
Evening Primrose
It is always nice to find a story with a quirky, innovative storyline. John Collier’s Evening Primrose is in the form of a journal describing the experiences of a failed poet who gives up the outside world to spend the rest of his life living in a department store. He plans to hide out by day and wander the store at night collecting food and other necessities. To his surprise, he finds that a small community of like-minded people already inhabit the store. The only things they fear are discovery by the night watchman and the gruesome “Dark Men.” More…
Dante and the Lobster
For me, this early story from Samuel Beckett suffers from over-use of allusion. The assumption that readers will be familiar enough with Dante’s Divine Comedy to understand its nuances suggests a writer out of touch with his audience. Hidden among the allusions is an absurdist comedy spanning an afternoon in the life of a solitary, eccentric student having trouble with his studies. He is fanatical about unimportant things (such as making the perfect toasted sandwich) and apathetic towards the things that matter. Themes: the meaningless and futility of life, death and dying. More…
Everyday Use
Alice Walker’s study of mother-daughter relationships explores contrasting attitudes towards heritage. A self-centered college graduate (Dee) visits her mother, a poor farming widow. The mother values her African-American heritage; Dee tries to exploit it. Their positions are exemplified in a family heirloom: a hand-stitched quilt that has been promised to Dee’s sister. Dee demands it, claiming that such things are now trendy and valuable. She claims it will be wasted on her sister, who will probably put it to “everyday use”. Themes: heritage, racial identity, connection through tradition, appearance, materialism (the effect of higher education / city life on values). More…
The Pardon of Becky Day
A motif of this classic Western by John Fox, Jr. could well be the scheming nature of women. A neighbor misled the community as to Becky’s virtue to win her boyfriend Jim’s heart; both women manipulate the men around them to maintain their “honor”; a missionary uses the threat of a deathbed curse to force the reluctant neighbor to seek Becky’s forgiveness; and, based on the smile on Becky’s face when she dies, her words of forgiveness may have been feigned to make sure that she will “git thar” [where Jim is] first. Themes: deception, hate, lawless violence, forgiveness, superstition. More…
The Imitation of the Rose
If you are looking for a light read, this story by Clarice Lispector is not for you! The protagonist (Laura) has just come home from hospital following a nervous breakdown. Her husband has expectations about a having a “normal” night out together with friends. The story has little more by way of plot, taking place mostly in Laura’s mind. The main themes are mental health, gender identity and family roles. By nature a submissive and withdrawn person, Laura is successfully adjusting to life back at home. Unfortunately, deciding on what to do with a bunch of roses rekindles her anxiety. More…
An Upheaval
Major themes of his story by Anton Chekhov include social class, pride, respect, dignity and courage. A young woman in her first job as a governess returns from a walk to find the woman of the house searching her room for a missing brooch. She is so offended and incensed that, despite entreaties by the woman’s husband, she decides to leave. An unusual (for Chekhov) aspect of the story is that here we have a relatively powerless woman stand up to the humiliating treatment of her aristocratic employer, even though it may cost her and her parents dearly. More…
The Son from America
The major theme of this moving story by Isaac Singer is contentment. Set in a Polish farming village during the late 19th century, an old couple eke out a meager existence following their traditional way of life. Hidden away in their hut is a small fortune, saved from money sent over the years by their son in America. When the son visits with plans to provide further help and improve the amenities of the village, his offers are rejected. Additional themes: family, materialiam (money vs. happiness), religious faith, community spirit, change (urbanization, invention), pace of life (city vs. country). More…
Knock
This story by Fredric Brown begins and ends with what may be the shortest horror story ever written: The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door… A scientist wakes to find himself alone in a cell. The previous night Alien invaders had collected 217 animal species, including him, for study. They then destroyed all other animal life on the planet. He convinces them that Earth is a dangerous place to live. After they have gone, he hears the second knock on the door. Themes include exploration, genocide, deceit, solitude, “duty”. More…
The Faith Cure Man
In this story from Paul Dunbar, a faith healer provides the last hope for a desperate woman who has been told that medical science can do nothing more for her seriously ill daughter. Despite the narrator’s skepticism, the tragic ending neither proves nor disproves the validity of faith healing. Although the mother certainly has the “faith”, the poor child is too young and/or sick to understand or even care about what is happening around her. The major theme of the story is that distraught people are easy prey to those offering false hope. Other themes: love, desperation, hope, faith, death. More…
The District Doctor
The major themes of this story by Ivan Turgenev are duty, lying, love, death and betrayal. A doctor becomes infatuated with a beautiful 20-year-old patient. As the woman’s condition worsens, he lies to her family about her chances of recovery. On sensing her coming death, the woman tells the doctor she loves him. He replies that he also loves her, accepts her ring, and promises to ask for her mother’s blessing. When the woman confesses their love to her mother, the doctor denies everything and blames her fever. Broken-hearted, she for asks his forgiveness and re-affirms her love before dying. More…
Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon
In this bittersweet story by Ken Liu, the myth behind China’s annual Qixi Festival comes to life to help two young women in love face a forced separation. On the eve before parting, flocks of magpies magically appear to transport them to the ‘bridge’ upon which the Qixi lovers meet once a year. The message they receive from the mythical couple is that if one loves someone and moves on, their love remains true no matter how many times they fall in love with others. Themes include culture, tradition, change (Westernization/commercialism), love, separation, moving on, sexuality, the supernatural. More…
Chivalry
This Neil Gaiman fantasy features a nice old lady with nice friends, who lives in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. She was also living a nice, peaceful life until one day her routine was interrupted by Sir Galahad on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Having recently bought the Grail at an op-shop, the woman refuses Galahad’s offers of the Sword of Invincibility and Apple of (eternal) Life in exchange. Fortunately, the lad finds two other items she thinks would look better on the mantelpiece. Themes include civility and respect, patience, perseverance, and contentment in old age. More…
The Fence
This story from Hamsad Rangkuti is an allegory of the biblical concept do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Many people are uncomfortable interacting with those who are different or less fortunate. Their solution is to establish social boundaries (fences) that block concerns about them from their lives. The story’s message is two-fold. First, no fence offers complete protection. Second, as exemplified by the vagrant gang, the mere existence of such a fence can bring about the result it is intended to prevent. Themes: (the mother) fear, lack of compassion, selfishness; (the father) kindness, sharing, faith. More…
Button, Button
Most readers will identify the major theme of Richard Matheson’s Button, Button as greed: the immoral pursuit of ‘easy money’ by pushing a button in a mysterious box that will result in the death of an innocent stranger. One character comments that this may be OK if the person that dies is some old Chinese peasant ten thousand miles away. This suggests that the story may also be an allegory. Pressing a button to launch a missile in war, and dealing in commercial quantities of drugs in peacetime, have one thing in common. The victims are all faceless strangers. More…
Some Families, Very Large
Central themes of this “Christmas Offering” by Jose Dalisay Jr. are the unconditional love and acceptance of obvious flaws that young children exhibit for their parents, and the bitterness of grief when there is no one with whom to share it. It is Christmas, but nine-year-old Sammy’s con-man father is more interested in gambling than celebrating it with him. Later a grieving mother, desperate for company, welcomes them both into her “family”. The Christmas message of the story (hope!) comes as the three close their eyes and imagine a better life. Other themes include childhood innocence, poverty, loss, responsibility. More…
The Street-sweeping Show
This story by Feng Jicai provides an insight as to how Chinese bureaucracy functioned under the Mao regime. A town Mayor, surrounded by groveling officials, puts on an artificial media show to be seen supporting National Cleanup Week. The event needs no publicity, as the town’s population is already out sweeping the streets. Moreover, the carefully choreographed newspaper and T.V. shoot is held in the Central Square, which has already been swept clean. When the Mayor’s grandson points out that he is on TV, he comments: It’s not worth watching! Themes include social class, propaganda, media manipulation, appearance vs. reality. More…
The Star
This apocalyptic story from H. G. Wells describes a near miss of Earth by a huge planetary fragment from outside the solar system. A somewhat disheartening theme is how insignificant the human race and its achievements are in the grand scheme of the universe. Part of the story’s appeal lies in questioning whether people would respond in a similar way if the same thing were to happen today. At first, people view the new “star” with excitement and anticipation. When a master mathematician makes dire predictions, many flee their cities in panic. But surprisingly, most do nothing until too late. More…
Average Waves in Unprotected Waters
The ironic title of this story from Anne Tyler is said to be symbolic of protagonist Bet’s life. Like her fisherman father, Bet faces “average waves” (life challenges) in “unprotected waters” (alone). All her life, Bet has allowed herself to be battered by the waves, taking comfort from enduring. Unfortunately, the major challenge she has faced, raising a special needs son, is far from average. Her courageous decision to institutionalize Arnold suggests an attempt to take control of her life, but leaves her feeling empty and even more alone. Themes: memory, family, life-changing choices, motherly love, identity, courage, self-determination. More…
Foreign Shores
A feature of this story from James Salter is its ambiguity, starting with the identity of the protagonist. Is it Gloria, the young divorcee who is too caught-up in partying to take proper care of her demanding six-year-old-son? Or is it Truus, her conscientious nineteen-year-old au pair? And although Truss is certainly the erotic focus of the story, does she really develop the morals of a housefly? Alternatively, could she an exploited victim, guilty only of misguided love, or is everything an unfortunate misunderstanding? Themes: sexual grooming / exploitation, appearance, motherhood, condescension, judgmentalism, jealousy, insecurity, emptiness. More…
Story in a Mirror
In this intriguing story by Ilse Aichinger, a woman’s life “flashes before her eyes” as she dies in hospital from an infection following an illegal abortion. During her death struggle she looks forward, picturing her burial, and then travells backward in time, re-living key events all the way back to her birth. An interesting concept is that the journey brings redemption… In the mirror one does everything so that it may be forgiven. For example, it becomes clear that she didn’t want the abortion, but rather was ordered to by her controlling lover. Themes include, death, time, memories, regret, redemption. More…
The Golden Honeymoon
This story from Ring Lardner describes an elderly couple’s “second honeymoon” to celebrate their 50th (golden) wedding anniversary. Related in the folksy language of the 1920s, the story is a gentle satire of the shallow lives and petty concerns of the aged, and the way long-term marriages can evolve into lives of constant, albeit affectionate, bickering. Larder’s narrator (the husband) is a likeable old windbag: vain and insensitive; a good winner but poor loser; quick to find fault in others but never in himself; and always wanting things to go his way. Themes: aging, enduring love, jealousy, competitiveness, pettiness. More…