This dark comedy from Oscar Wilde involves a gullible young aristocrat who believes a palm-reader’s prediction that he will commit a murder. Out of consideration for his fiancé, he decides that he should postpone their marriage until he can get the deed out of the way. Convinced that he is merely fulfilling his destiny, the young man feels no guilt in planning and preparing for murder, or indeed remorse afterwards. When he later learns that the palm-reader was a charlatan, he still has no regrets. Themes: the shallowness and hypocrisy of the Victorian upper class, destiny, murder, morals, karma. More…
The Jogi’s Punishment
The moral of this Indian folktale appears to be that evil will always receive the punishment it deserves. We have a famed holy man who turns out to be not very holy after all, a selfish, gullible rajah who wants to keep the holy man’s talents and blessings all for himself, and an overly curious princess who disobeys her father’s order not to leave the palace grounds. We aren’t told much about the “gallant young prince of Dilaram” but he, too, must have done something wrong to be punished with the disobedient princess as a wife. More…
The Birds
This 1952 horror story by Daphne du Maurier follows a family who, along with all of Britain, come under sustained attacks by flocks of crazed birds. Seen as an analogy of the terror caused by World War Two blitz bombing and concerns about the developing Cold War, the story carries even more ominous implications for today. Consider the suggestion that climate change (shifts in the Arctic air stream) may have upset the natural order, and the death and worldwide disorder a small virus (Covid) recently caused. Themes: the vulnerability of mankind to war/natural forces, human/government complacence/ineptitiude, isolation, family, survival, self-reliance. More…
Mrs. Frola and Mr. Ponza, Her Son-in-Law
In this story by Luigi Pirandello, a respected civil servant rents an apartment for himself and his wife, and another for his mother-in-law. Gossip rages when he doesn’t allow his wife to leave their apartment, or her mother to visit. He explains to a “ladies’ group” that his first wife (the mother-in-law’s daughter) is dead, and he is supporting her mother, who is crazy. The “mother-in-law” later argues that her son-in-law is the crazy one. Readers are left to decide which of the equally plausible stories is true. Themes include gossip vs. the right to privacy, judging by appearances, relativism. More…
The End of Old Horse
In this coming of age story by Simon Ortiz, “Old Horse” is a dog that chokes to death trying to free itself from a rope tying it to a pole. Earlier, two boys had observed the dog chewing at the rope and barking and snarling every once in a while. They mentioned this to its owner, a family friend, who replied that the dog is just being dumb. The rest of the story focuses on the boys’ reaction to what may have been their first experience with death and grief. Themes include freedom, loss, anger, grief, “manliness” and self-control, change. More…