Featured Stories

A Wagner Matinée

A Wagner Matinée: Short story by Willa CatherWilla Cather’s A Wagner Matinée highlights the gulf between the hard, isolated life of the American West’s early settlers and the civilized, cultured life of the cities they left behind. The contrast is even greater for the protagonist’s Aunt Georgiana who is not only highly educated, but also accomplished in and passionate about classical music. Her state of almost catatonic shock upon returning to the city and tearful reaction to the musical performance may also indicate regret over her rash elopement thirty years earlier. Themes: hardship, isolation, loneliness, kindness, appreciation, the inspirational/healing power of music.

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The Pose

The Pose: Short story by Anwar KhanIn this story by Anwar Khan, an attractive Indian college student makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to exchange places with a mannequin in a shop window. She feels an immediate sense of comfort in being able to watch passers-by without inhibition. Shortly afterwards, she realizes that she is as much an exhibit to them as they are to her. Thinking she is a mannequin, men and boys openly lust over her and women stop and admire her beauty. She leaves the shop empowered by the experience. Themes include identity, (repressive) social conventions, performance, liberation, self-discovery. empowerment.

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Ribbons

Ribbons: Short story by Laurence YepThis excerpt from Laurence Yep’s book of the same name is about three kinds of ribbons: the satin ribbons on protagonist Stacy’s ballet shoes; the silk ribbons traditionally used in Chinese foot binding; and the invisible ribbon binding grandmother, mother and daughter at the end of the story. The central theme is understanding. Already unhappy about interrupted ballet lessons and resentful of her brother’s seemingly favorable treatment, Stacy reacts angrily to her grandmother’s inexplicable rage over her ballet ribbons. Things change when she learns the old woman’s painful secret. Other themes: family, cultural adjustment, courage, passion, sacrifice, connection.

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A Country Doctor

A Country Doctor: Short story by Franz KafkaIn this dream-like story by Franz Kafka, a country doctor experiences an existential crisis when his response to a call for help during a severe snowstorm sets off a surreal chain of events. The doctor’s horse has died, and a mystery groom who appears out of his pigsty with two unearthly horses rapes his housemaid as he leaves. When it becomes clear that the patient’s wound is incurable, the doctor is stripped naked in a pagan ritual and laid beside the dying man. Themes include isolation, duty, powerlessness, inner conflict, existentialism, loss of faith (in himself and his profession).

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The Cherry Tree

The Cherry Tree: Short story by Ruskin BondThe Cherry Tree from Ruskin Bond contrasts the enduring cycles of nature with the changing world of man. An allegory of parenthood in which a young boy plants a cherry seed and watches as it grows into a tree. He nurtures and protects the tree and, once it is grown, asks: What’s so special about this tree? When his grandfather answers that it’s because they planted it themselves, he responds with pride: is this what it feels to be God? Themes: the beauty and bounty of nature, change, growth, responsibility, caring, achievement, pride.

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A Father-To-Be

A Father-To-Be: Short story by Saul BellowIn this playful story by Saul Bellow, a successful scientist in an illuminated state of mind makes his way to have dinner with his fiancée. As he contemplates fellow passengers on the subway, he is shocked to notice the resemblance between his future wife and the “flat-looking dandy of respectability” sitting next to him. He begins to wonder what her children will look like, and is so disturbed by the thought he decides to end the relationship. Fortunately, her soothing hands erase the memory. Themes include “duty”, financial stress, pride, self-discovery, appearance, heredity, self-delusion, submissiveness.

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Cranes

Cranes: Short story by Hwang Sun-wonHwang Sun-won’s Cranes shows how humanity can outweigh ideology. Two childhood friends find themselves on opposite sides in the Korean War. One, a village commander, is captured and the other assigned to take him for interrogation and probable execution. When asked why he did not flee, the captured man talks about his aged father’s connection to the land. The other man can relate to this, because he carries the guilt of having left his family when he went away to war. This prompts the captor to suggest they go off on a crane hunt, as they did once as boys.

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Women in Their Beds

Women in their Beds: Short story by Gina BerriaultGina Berriault’s protagonist is a struggling young actress who has just begun a day job as a social worker in the women’s ward of a city hospital. With no qualifications or experience, she finds it hard to maintain clinical detachment and begins to identify with the suffering, often troubled women in the ward. She reflects on turning points in her own life, and concludes that women are shaped by the beds (a metaphor for common life experiences) they have chosen, or someone else has chosen for them, to lie in. Themes: empathy, choice vs. superstition/destiny, identity, aloneness, connection.

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