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 Third Wish
This story from Joan Aiken takes the form of a “three wishes” fairy-tale. The protagonist does something very unusual for someone given three wishes. He decides not to make the third wish. When asked why, he says: I’ve learned that even if your wishes are granted they don’t always better you. Themes: 1) change (it is wrong to force change on someone who is happy as they are); 2) family (for many people, family ties are just as important as a happy marriage); and 3) sacrifice (true love means being prepared to let someone go if it makes them happier). More…
The Sisters
Several themes in this story by James Joyce (paralysis, corruption and abuse of authority) are said to represent major issues facing both Ireland and its Catholic Church in the early 1900s. The story, which takes place shortly after the death of a Catholic priest, is narrated by a boy who was friends with and mentored by the cleric. He is angered by insinuations the priest was involved in a scandal but also feels “freed”, presumably because he can resume a normal boyhood. Other themes include religion, secular vs. religious education, fall from grace, mental illness, loneliness, death, “freedom”. More…
Emergency
Our objective is to include stories from as wide a range of well-known authors as possible. Occasionally this entails featuring a story that some may find frivolous or offensive, but others rave about. So it is with this humorous drugs-fiction tale from Denis Johnson. Two friends, a hospital clerk and orderly, stumble through their shift (and manage to save an emergency patient’s eyesight!) while high on stolen medication. They then embark on a drug-addled drive involving a carnival, famous guru, dead rabbits, mistaken military graveyard, and AWOL soldier. Themes: death, despair, escapism, drug abuse, responsibility, and illusion vs. reality. More…
The Piece of String
This Guy de Maupassant story involves a frugal farmer whose reputation is forever tarnished after a rival falsely accuses him of finding and failing to return a lost pocketbook. Sadly, he is the victim of a stereotype about “Norman craftiness”. No matter how much he protests that he picked up a piece of string, and even in the face of another peasant coming forward with the pocketbook, nobody will believe him. This weighs so much on the proud man’s mind that he wastes away to an early death. Themes: false accusations, stereotyping, injustice, pride, obsession with image/reputation. More…