Some time ago we featured Distance of the Moon, the first story in Italo Calvino’s Cosmicomics collection. In this, the fourth story, we travel back to before the beginning of time. Everything (and everyone) in the universe existed in a single point in space. Things were rather crowded and people had no chance to move about and meet others. However, everyone knew and loved Mrs. Ph(i)Nk_0, whose wish for enough room to make noodles caused a burst of positive energy that resulted in the “big bang” and universe as we know it today. Theme: the power of selflessness and love. More…
The Darling
In psychological terms, Anton Chekhov’s ‘darling’ (Olga) suffers from Codependency Personality Disorder. More specifically, she is a vicarious codependent – someone who suspends their identity and gains fulfillment through the accomplishments of another. Olga’s ‘attachments’ in life include her father, a theatre manager, a timber merchant, a veterinary surgeon, and a young boy. Her relationship with the boy differs from the others. Being forced to assume a ‘motherly’ role rekindles Olga’s female identity. Sadly, motherhood and codependency don’t sit well together. In rediscovering her own identity, Olga begins to smother that of the boy. Themes: codependency, subservience, death, abandonment, identity, motherhood. More…
The Fly
Katherine Mansfield‘s The Fly is about death, grief and aging. Two old men handle their sons’ wartime deaths differently. Six years have passed. Mr Woodifield, in poor health physically and mentally, has come to terms with the loss of his son. “The boss”, healthy and successful, still grieves… but not for his son. He laments the sacrifices he made in preparing the boy to take over his business, and shows his true character by torturing a fly. This leaves him feeling wretched and frightened. Could the fly’s struggles have reminded him that even the strongest (himself included) eventually die? More…
Mechanopolis
In this story by Miguel De Unamuno a man dying of thirst in a desert is saved when he stumbles upon an oasis in which there is a mysterious train station. He boards a seemingly empty, waiting train and is whisked off to a magnificent, deserted, fully functioning city of the future. The city’s machines and infrastructure continue to operate with no apparent human involvement. His curiosity turns to horror when he realizes the machines are sentient and concerned about his psychological and emotional state. Themes include human extinction, the ascendency of sentient machines, loneliness, paranoia, mental instability. More…
The Ingredients
A major theme of this story by Jason Reynolds is dreams vs. reality. Four African-American boys on the way to hang out at one of their homes after a day at the swimming pool try to outdo one another with descriptions of the exotic sandwiches they would like to eat when they get there. What they are served is very different to what they imagined. The sad message of the story is that in later life they are likely to encounter many similar reality checks. Other themes include Brooklyn life, social inequality, friendship, individuality, imagination, disappointment, acceptance. More…