This story by Kay Boyle explores an empty relationship between a woman and her astronomer husband, and how a brief encounter with a “down to earth” plumber opens her mind to what could be. The astronomer appears more in love with his work than his wife, treating her purely as someone whose role it is to maintain the household order. The plumber, who treats her with respect, communicates freely, and symbolizes the physical world, highlights the dysfunctional nature of her marriage. Themes: control, gender roles, loneliness and lack of fulfilment in marriage, the intellectual vs. physical worlds, epiphany/revelation. More…
The Three Sillies
Not all folktales are designed to teach or explain. Some, like this one, were popular for their entertainment value. In this story, a rich young man finds that the woman he loves and her family are not very clever. He decides that he will only marry the girl if he can find three people sillier than they are. A woman trying to push her cow up a ladder, a man who can’t get his trousers on, and a whole village trying to rescue a shadow from a pond prove that there certainly are sillier people in the world. More…
The Home-Coming
In this heartbreaking story by Rabindranath Tagore, a rebellious country teen who is always in trouble at home jumps at an offer to live with his uncle’s family in Calcutta. However, he finds city life unbearable. Made to feel unwelcome by his aunt, academically backward, and teased at school for his country ways, he yearns for the open spaces and life he had before. The boy runs away, but his journey home ends tragically. Themes include adolescent rebellion and naivety, city vs. country life, homesickness, abandonment and isolation (the need for love and a sense of belonging), reconciliation and death. More…
Was it a Dream?
The question in the title of this Guy de Maupassant story could refer to two things: the blissful year the protagonist shared with his lover, or the vision he had while visiting her grave. Similarly, the feelings of emptiness and loss he experiences could be because of two things: the unexpected death of his lover, or what he learned/dreamed about her death in the cemetery. Themes include blind love (idolization blurring reality), infidelity and betrayal (perhaps on two levels if, as the first priest suggested, the woman was his mistress), obsessive grief, dreams/the supernatural. More…
Carmilla
This 1872 novella by Sheridan Le Fanu was ground-breaking in several ways. It is not only one of the first examples of vampire fiction (pre-dating Bran Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years), but also the first to infer a lesbian element to vampiric attraction. This vampire seems to have a taste for blue blood. Peasant victims die quickly, but two young aristocratic women enjoy her seductive company longer. Could Carmilla have something else in mind for these two, such as spending eternity together? Themes: patriarchy, social class, female sexuality, life and death, the supernatural. More…