The term Oedipus Complex has its roots in psychology and Greek Mythology. In this coming of age story by Frank O’Connor, a five-year-old boy’s ordered life and close attachment to his mother are disrupted, firstly by his father’s return from World War 1, and later by the birth of a baby brother. During the war, the boy’s father is a mysterious, occasional visitor to be prayed for. On his return, his father becomes a fierce rival for his mother’s attentions and later, a fellow victim of the newborn’s demands. Themes include childhood innocence and imagination, mother/father-son relationships, jealousy, anger, understanding. More…
The Eye
In this story from Paul Bowles, a long-term expatriate living in Tangier investigates the death of a fellow expatriate he has never met. The man died from an apparent digestive illness, suspected to be the result of gradual poisoning. Rumor among the expatriate community blamed his night watchman, who had both motive (a reported legacy) and opportunity (he had replaced the original cook, purportedly with a relative). The narrator’s investigation suggests that rather than murder, the dead man was the victim of a ritual healing gone wrong. Themes: expatriate lifestyle (paranoia, detachment, idle gossip), isolation, superstition, criminality vs. fate. More…
Vanka
This poignant Christmas story by Anton Chekhov relates how a young boy recently apprenticed to a shoemaker writes a letter to his grandfather pleading to be taken home. He complains of continually being beaten and mistreated, and has no one to turn to for comfort. The city and its ways are foreign to him, and he misses the Christmas preparations and season’s joy in his home village. Sadly, his incompletely addressed letter will never reach its destination. Themes include social class, child-family separation, child abuse, innocence, loneliness, misery, desperation and hope. More…
Hearts and Hands
As with many O. Henry stories, in Hearts and Hands things may not be as they first seem. An attractive, refined-looking young woman is returning East by train after spending time in the ‘Wild West’. She greets a handsome young man she knows, only to see that he is handcuffed to a roughly dressed, glum-faced companion. One of the men is a marshal, the other a criminal being escorted to prison for counterfeiting. Themes include understanding and compassion, deception, appearance vs. reality (beware of judging people by appearances), crime and justice, the lure of the West. More…
The Last Rung on the Ladder
This heart-wrenching story by Stephen King explores a common feature of modern life: the way many families drift apart as younger members leave home. As children, the protagonist and his younger sister shared a life-threatening adventure involving a broken ladder. The girl’s comment afterwards: I knew you must have been doing something to fix it. You’re my big brother. I knew you’d take care of me. Later in life, he is too busy climbing a different ladder to be there when needed. Themes include faith, family drift, loss of innocence, isolation, despair, guilt. More…