Featured Stories

Roselily

Roselily: Short story by Alice WalkerIn this story by Alice Walker, a woman daydreams through her wedding ceremony about how her life is about to change. She is not sure if she is in love with the man, and is marrying him primarily for the sake of her young children from previous relationships. Although both are African-American, their future faces significant challenges. She is from the rural South, he is from Chicago; she is Christian, he is Muslim. She reconciles herself to a life of ropes, chains and handcuffs away from family and friends. Themes include alienation, loneliness, motherhood, compatibility, religion, change and hope.

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The Erlking

The Erlking: Short story by Angela CarterThis “fairy-tale” by Angela Carter is derived from a European myth. A magical being living in harmony with nature seduces young women traveling through his forest domain. The women are powerless to resist. When he tires of one, he transforms her into a bird, cages her, and adds the cage to a collection of similar cages adorning the walls of his house. The protagonist, sensing her fate, decides that the only way to free herself and his “bird” collection is to do away with him. Themes include connectedness to nature, the supernatural, power and objectification, sexuality, entrapment, liberation.

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Wedding Night

Wedding Night: Short story by Sait Faik AbasıyanıkIn this touching story by Sait Faik Abasıyanık, a Turkish father belatedly registers the birth of his sixteen-year-old son so he can get married. Fortunately, the boy looks much older than he is. The minimum marriage age is twenty, and he must be registered as being twenty-four because his bride, who he has never seen, is twenty-six! The poor boy has been plied with alcohol, and is trembling like he did at his circumcision four years earlier. After a shaky start, they emerge from the bridal chamber happy. Themes include tradition, arranged marriages, naivety, anxiety, confusion.

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Camp Cataract

Camp Cataract: Short story by Jane BowlesThis story from Jane Bowles examines the toxic relationship between three troubled sisters who share a city apartment. One of them is midway through a ten-week holiday in a Camp Cataract cabin as part of a long-term plan to move out and live independently. When another turns up uninvited, hoping to convince her to cut the holiday short, they arrange to meet for lunch the next day. Both have different recollections of what happens the following morning. Madness intervenes, and only one of them survives the day. Themes: self-analysis, identity, independence, mental illness, spinsterhood, female relationships.

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Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: Short story by Rudyard KiplingThe major themes of this famous children’s story from Rudyard Kipling’s Second Jungle Book are duty, loyalty and courage. When viewed from a Western perspective, the story’s motif is the triumph of good over evil. However, as the cobra is a revered Hindu religious symbol, the plot can also be interpreted as an allegory of colonial conquest: the victory of “benevolent” British imperialists (Teddy and his family) and the Indians who support them (Rikki-tikki) over those resisting domination and change (Nag and Nagaina). Other themes include family, the balance of nature, progress and peace under British colonialism.

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Footnote to Youth

Footnote to Youth: Short story by José García VillaThis story by José García Villa provides a stark warning about the consequences of marrying too young. A seventeen-year-old Filipino boy from a poor farming family insists on marrying his girlfriend. Whatever his reason (love, tradition, desire for independence), neither is happy in the marriage. Amid the daily grind of farm life and the responsibilities of raising a family, both experience disillusionment and regret. Sadly, the cycle begins again when their oldest son turns eighteen. Themes include immaturity, impulsiveness, the romance vs. reality of marriage, lack of fulfilment, disillusionment, regret, the cyclical nature of life.

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The Demon Lover

The Demon Lover: Short story by Elizabeth BowenIn this horror story by Elizabeth Bowen, a woman returns to her large, war-damaged city house to collect personal items. The house had been locked up, nobody knew she was coming, yet there is a letter addressed to her sitting on a table. It had been hand delivered earlier that day and is an anniversary greeting ending with the words: You may expect me at the hour arranged. Someone (possibly the spirit of a former soldier-lover) may be in the house or coming for her. Themes include the trauma of war, gender stereotypes, doubt, imagination and fear, betrayal and revenge.

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The Blue Umbrella

The Blue Umbrella: Short story by Ruskin BondIn this story by Ruskin Bond, a poor girl from the Himalayan foothills trades her tiger’s-claw lucky charm for a magnificent, though impractical silk umbrella. She is the envy of her village, and vainly parades it everywhere she goes. The village teashop owner covets the umbrella, and tries to acquire it by fair means and foul. Ultimately, the girl and shop owner realize their mutual folly. The girl gives him the umbrella, which he shares with the whole village, and she is greatly rewarded for her kindness. Themes include innocence, beauty, vanity, envy, materialism and greed, compassion, kindness and generosity.

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