What Feminism Is by Louise Nealon, 2017
The magic trick:
Contriving the plot to build toward a specific observation
“What Feminism Is” won the Sean O’Faolain story competition in 2017, so you won’t be surprised to learn it’s a good one.
The story builds to what essentially is an ironic observation.
Does that mean it’s an underwhelming conclusion? No, not really.
It does, however, mean that the story feels contrived. It’s set up to build an example of what becomes this ironic observation.
Is that a problem or a weakness? No, I really don’t think so at all. In fact, I’d argue it’s the story’s main strength. It knows where it’s trying to go.
And that’s quite a trick on Nealon’s part.
The selection:
We push open our tins and slug down the warm suds that bulwark us from thoughts of the morning. He examines my collection of postcards and quotes I have scrawled on scraps of paper and blu-tacked to my bedroom wall. This makes me feel more exposed than if I whipped the duvet off the bed and gave him a lap dance, but I’m glad he notices them.
“Why are there so many women writers who stop?” He looks at me with his big brown eyes until I realize he expects me to answer him. I whip down the postcard of Heath Ledger playing the Joker in The Dark Knight and hold it over my face as a mask. “Why so serious?” I ask. He laughs.
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