Varieties of the Fantastic in Fiction

In Carmen Maria Machado’s “The Husband Stitch,” she has the typical girl mind and doesn’t think that this guy likes her back.  She has this thought until this boy she likes has started talking to her. In the boy’s actions he was showing that he did like her and has been nervous to talk to her. He was probably nervous as he thought the same thing she did; she didn’t like him back.

The boy notices me. He seems sweet, flustered. He says hello. He asks me my name. (4)

When they went outside to talk alone,  love struck immediately.  You don’t make out with someone you just started making out with someone unless there is a true connection between the two of you. You can tell that he wants to do more with her and thinks of the girl as more than just friends. The way that he is kissing her shows he is wanting more than that.

He kisses me back, gently at first, but then harde, and even pushes open my mouth a little with his tongue. (4)

Later on when they are at the lake, you get an idea that she has never done the deed before. You wouldn’t think that she is at that time of the month, as she would know and wouldn’t have done this dead with him.

His body locks onto mine and he is pushing, pushing, and before the end he pulls himself out and finishes with my blood slicking him down. (5)

The lake is being portrayed as a woman. By having been claimed as “her creatures” (6), which is the first indication of that time of the moth. As if one isn’t at that time of the month, that means she is creating a human or in the lakes case a creature.  By these two spending so much time together doing the deed when they are children, they are showing their love for each other. Machado is wanting to show that you only do this deed with the one you want to marry one day. She is having these two characters get married so that she can prove her point that it is only done with one person. She wants to show that this deed stitches two together forever.