Afternoon in linen, By Shirley Jackson (1943)

 Afternoon in linen by Shirley Jackson

8/10

 

Because I knew Shirly Jackson as a famous horror novel writer, I expected this short story to be some kind of horror story itself. After I read it, I concluded that although it’s not similar to major horror stories, it could still be considered as a ‘story about horror’. The interesting thing was that the source of horror in this story was not a supernatural being or a crazy serial killer. Instead, the horror originates from the humane and somewhat childlike will to not be humiliated.

Everyone has an experience of facing a situation where the wrong choice would lead to humiliation. We try reacting to this situation, and sometimes make possibly worse choices. In this story’s case, Harriet lying that she copied the poem is such a choice. We can’t blame her for this. Children tend to find some things to be very embarrassing, which adults can’t understand, just like how the two ladies just took Harriet’s feelings as ‘being shy’. Overall, this story was a detailed reproduction of an embarrassing moment relatable to everyone.

I think the story focused on an interesting topic, so I rated it eight out of ten.

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