And so Jackson reveals the true horror that lies beneath mundane American life: the women omitted to the margins, the missing, the lost, the forgotten.Chilling Miniature Stories Author- Shirley Jackson Pages- 54 Penguin Modern Classic Book 20 They are the figurative ‘X’, hard to identify and without a sense of belonging in the world. She cannot escape observance, every twist and turn she takes is monitored and broadcast to the world.Īll of the women featured in these short stories remain elusive to the reader. In the same way that the media continues to scrutinise women according to their looks, actions and choices, female exploitation is also the goal in this competition to single out Miss Morgan. Ultimately, Nightmare represents society’s insatiable search for a feminine ideal. Find Miss X, and claim the prizes.”‘ The Missing Girl, p. She will be wearing blue- a blue hat, a blue suit, blue shoes blue gloves. ‘Miss Morgan looked around nervously, and found she was standing next to a poster that began “Find Miss X, find Miss X,” but went on to say, “Miss X will be walking the streets of New York TODAY. This speaks powerfully to the ongoing discussions regarding sexual assault and victim blaming as Miss Morgan is still targeted despite changing her dress and the route of her journey. Miss Morgan is unable to escape this street harassment which only continues to intensify as the story progresses.
Upon entering the world, Miss Morgan is bombarded by a competition to ‘find Miss X’ which describes a woman who happens to look exactly like her. ‘Nightmare’ tells the story of Miss Morgan, a receptionist in an office who is sent away on an errand by her boss to deliver an unknown package.
The last story in the collection is called ‘Nightmare’ and happens to be my personal favourite. Both stories feature women who are trying to escape their circumstances, although we are left questioning what these circumstances are and how they came about. On a train journey to visit his grandfather nine-year-old Joe Wilson befriends a woman trying to evade capture from the police after stealing some money.
Martha’s identity remains obscure throughout in the same way that the woman from another short story entitled ‘Journey with a Lady’ remains a mysterious figure. Despite attempts made to uncover her whereabouts the story seems to reach a dead-end, both in terms of where Martha is and who she is. The first short story, ‘The Missing Girl’ is about a girl called Martha Alexander who is reported missing by her college friend, Betsy.
0 kommentar(er)
