This story by Robert Aickman describes the frightening first night of a delayed honeymoon. The bride, much younger than the groom, wanted to spend their time in a remote coastal village neither had visited before. The moment they arrive, a church bell starts ringing continuously. It is out of tourist season, the streets are empty, the hotel staff act strangely, and there is a sickening, rotten smell in the air. Later, the bells of every church in the village begin ringing with urgency, heralding a macabre annual festival involving the walking dead. Themes: marriage, insecurity, isolation, class, fear, the supernatural. More…
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This F. Scott Fitzgerald story recounts the life of a man who grows “younger” by getting “older”. Themes include identity, social standing, and self-centeredness. The major theme, identity, is explored in the context of chronological age dictating expected behavior (e.g. “young” Benjamin obliges his father by constantly breaking things, whereas his “old” body would rather be smoking cigars). The people around Benjamin care more about protecting their reputations against gossip and scandal than they do about his condition. Finally, Benjamin proves himself as heartless as they are by hiding the problem and luring an unsuspecting woman into a doomed marriage. More…
The War of the Wall
This story by Toni Cade Bambara is about a wall in an inner city neighborhood in the Southern United States. The wall is special to the local community: old people sit in its shade; children play handball and other games against it. Two boys watch in dismay as a strange and seemingly rude woman from New York begins to paint some kind of mural on the wall. When the woman refuses their demands to stop, the boys make plans to sabotage her work. What she paints changes their mind. Themes include community, rash judgement, rudeness, tolerance, respect, remembrance. More…
The Quilt / Lihaaf
In this story by Ismat Chughtai, a mother leaves her young daughter in the care of her adopted sister. The sister’s husband spends his time entertaining young, fair and slim-waisted boys, while she spends her day being “attended to” by a personal servant/masseuse who also shares her bed. The girl, who sleeps in the same room, is frightened by what seemingly goes on under her aunt’s quilt. Disturbingly, when her aunt’s servant is away for a few days, she tries to groom the girl for the role. Themes include patriarchy, sexuality, female desire and fulfilment, child grooming and sexual abuse. More…
The Oval Portrait
This Edgar Allan Poe story demonstrates the sinister side of how beauty can live on through art. An injured traveler takes shelter in an empty mountain chateau. There are paintings on and around the walls of his room. On his pillow is a book describing them. His eyes fall on the portrait of a beautiful woman that seems a little too lifelike. Disturbed, he finds its entry in the book. The woman’s story suggests that although art can preserve beauty, artistic obsession can destroy it in the making. Themes include art and artistry, rare beauty, love, obedience, obsession and death. More…