In “Inventory,” we encounter a woman reminiscing over her past sexual experiences and telling us about the outbreak of a virus. By the end of the story, we learn that she has been isolated on an island the entire time waiting for death. Now, in movies and even books, we’ve witnessed the tale of “the last man standing” quite a lot. It’s a very different experience getting to hear this type of story from a women’s point of view. There are so few fiction stories (though, movies especially) centered around women. When women are included in stories, it’s typically for eye candy or a background character or even a friend, but rarely ever the centerpiece. Oddly enough though, in these stories, there is no difference. Even though these stories are written by a woman, it’s still all about sex and how the woman must please others sexually. I found this very interesting.
In “The Husband Stitch,” we read about her sexual experiences on almost every page. We even find out that the extra stitch she received after childbirth was to pleasure her husband, not giving the narrator any say. This could relate back to the issue of how women are perceived in fiction. They don’t have a voice and they don’t get a say. Mostly, women are objects of sex and pleasure and they end up meeting their demise. The narrators in both of these stories end up either alone or dead. Even the mini stories woven into “The Husband Stitch” end with women meeting their deaths or problems they cant’t escape. All because they’re trying to please a man.
I believe these short stories, and possibly the other stories in Her Body and Other Parties, will have something to do with women and sex. This could be a nod to something that has bothered women for years in the art of fiction, or simply just the author’s choice. As for the elements of fiction, aside from a women’s head falling off, is how these stories’ realness acknowledge the unreal to not just convey a message, but to heighten the horror.
I like your point about the “last man standing” trope, and how we rarely see women in these positions in media. It would be interesting to see if and how we would read “Inventory” differently if it were told from a male perspective.
I really like this post. I never thought these stories could be commentaries on female representation in the media. I think that in each story the narrators have different relationships to sex, however. In “The Husband Stitch” the narrator is demeaned by sex; it’s the thing that makes her lose her self autonomy and become an object basically. While in “Inventory” sex becomes almost empowering to the narrator, who chooses her own partners and does it for comfort instead of being forced by the other person.
Kate,
I think you make a far point, however, I’m not sure if I agree with your last paragraph. I think the stories are personal expressions for female writers who perhaps had a closely related experience rather it being something they are ‘bothered’ with.
Kate,
While I do agree that there is the common theme of sexual desire and disposable pleasure found within both stories, I argue that “The Husband Stitch” has a significant amount of voice, whereas this one has none at all.
The main goal with “The Husband Stitch” was to paint the narrator as the object of sexual pleasure. The narrator gives all of herself to her husband, leading to her ultimate death.
In this account, while the narrator uses the experiences of sexual pleasure as means of companionship with others, I argue that there isn’t as much of a diegesis. We, as the reader, understand that the fear of loneliness is prevalent throughout, but we don’t receive much else. What happens to the people who are affected with this sickness? How do you catch it? I think that there are more questions unanswered here, than in “The Husband Stitch.”