Magnificence

Magnificence: Short story by Estrella AlfonThis confronting story by Estrella Alfon explores one of a parent’s worst nightmares: the sexual abuse of a child by someone they know. An after-school tutor, loved and trusted by his two students, “loses control” and soils the dress of a seven-year-old girl he had placed on his knee. The major theme is the “magnificence” of the mother in confronting and humiliating the man. Set in 1950s Philippines, a secondary feminist theme is gender reversal and empowerment – the need for women to fight back against male mistreatment. Other themes include innocence, motherly love, child abuse, betrayal, absentee parenting (the father).

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A Conversation from the Third Floor

A Conversation from the Third Floor: Short story by Mohamed El-BisatieMohamed El-Bisatie’s writing is known for its visually stimulating descriptions of setting in which any drama or romance is subdued or inferred. Here, a woman tries to visit her husband in an Egyptian prison. She is allowed to leave a package (cigarettes) but not to see him. As she stands in the street below, her husband calls out from his third floor cell window. They have a brief but superficial conversation in which a lot of things are left unsaid. Themes include loss (of family and freedom), powerlessness, disappointment, uncertainty, struggle.

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The Wives of the Dead

The Wives of the Dead: Short story by Nathaniel HawthorneThis early story from Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to have the same effect on most who read it. We think we know what happened to the two recently married and even more recently widowed young women, but are not 100% sure. Their husbands were brothers, and the four shared a small house. After mourners leave, the women retire to their bedrooms. At different times during the night, each wakes to a messenger with news that their husband has survived. Was either of the messages real? Themes include loss, grief and mourning, dreams vs. reality, and consideration for others.

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Heart is Where the Home Is

Heart is Where the Home Is: Short story by Thea AstleyThis Thea Astley story is set during period of the Stolen Generations: sixty-years over which up to 100,000 Australian aboriginal children were forcefully removed from their families, placed in missionary schools, and trained to work in white society. Although the story recounts an aboriginal mother’s desperate attempt to save her child, a major theme is the strong connection her people have to “home” (their clan and land). When a white farming family offers her a safe haven away from the wretched camp she lives in, her answer is Not same. Other themes include racism, brutality, family, motherhood, courage, compassion.

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Cell One

Cell One: Short story by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieSome websites describe Nnamabia, the young protagonist in this story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, using terms such as ‘a wayward, rebellious son’. This is treating him too kindly. At the beginning of the story, Nnamabia is an entitled, spoiled, manipulative brat… too weak-willed to resist imitating the petty thefts of his peers, yet so cowardly that the only person he is game enough to steal from is his mother. Although he did not deserve the punishment he received at the hands of the so-called Nigerian justice system, he learnt some important lessons and came out of it a man.

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Rain Frogs

Rain Frogs: Short story by Shiga NaoyaIn this story from Shiga Naoya, the naïve wife of a rural businessman is either seduced by or coerced into having sex with a predatory novelist. Surprisingly, in addition to appearing remarkably understanding, the woman’s husband is sexually aroused by her experience. The woman’s reaction is equally surprising. Initially, she is described as being a pleasure to look at but having no light in her tea-brown eyes. After the encounter, she has a knowing smile and “dreamy” eyes, as of someone experiencing a very sweet dream. Themes: tradition, attitudes to women in Japanese society, lack of fulfillment, sexual predation.

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The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher: Short story by Edgar Allan PoeThis Edgar Allan Poe story is a masterpiece of the Gothic Horror genre. A man visits a childhood friend in his crumbling family mansion to help him cope with an acute attack of depression. An interdependent relationship exists between the friend, his twin sister and the house (some say a shared soul), which ends in the downfall of all three. The story’s most remarkable feature is the almost total lack of physical action. The feeling of terror and impending doom develops solely from Poe’s descriptions of setting, characters, and atmosphere. Themes: isolation, friendship, fear, madness, the supernatural.

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The Mezzotint

The Mezzotint: Short story by M. R. JamesIn this story by M. R. James, a bookshop sends a mezzotint depicting an early 1800s manor house to a university lecturer on approval. The methodical don, who is also responsible for collecting rare topographical drawings and engravings for the university library, initially dismisses it as being of little interest. However, he soon changes his mind as the image on the mezzotint changes several times over the next day, finally revealing a heinous crime. Intrigued, he feels duty-bound to find the location of the house and discover its secret. Themes include mystery, crime and punishment, revenge, the supernatural.

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