In this story by Horacio Quiroga a healthy young woman slowly wastes away and dies over the three months following her wedding. Her husband’s impassive manner, coupled with spending her days alone in his cavernous, unwelcoming house, destroy her childhood fancies of married life. Her fate is sealed when she decides to cast a veil over her former dreams and live like a sleeping beauty in the hostile house. Later, we learn that it is not their house that is hostile, but her feather pillow. Themes include innocence, love and marriage, isolation and loneliness, disillusionment, depression and death.
The irony of the story is that by the time Alicia’s husband finally expresses his love and concern, it is too late. With the poor woman confined to bed and too weak to move, the “monster” in the pillow had already begun its deadly work.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (1,350 words)