The Anatomy of Desire (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John L’Heureux
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: An apocalyptic future
- Setting: Unspecified
- Principal Characters: Hanley, The nurse, The general
- Genres: Short fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Family or family life, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, War, Soldiers, Nursing or nurses, Torture, Saints or sainthood, Dopplegangers, Gifts, Skin
The Story
Hanley has been flayed by the enemy and is unable to find anyone to love him; not even his wife and children will spend time with him because he is raw, and he will never be any better. Only one nurse, known as the saint, stays with him and applies blood retardant to his flesh. Although he does not find the woman pretty, he does find her saintly. He asks her to love him, to possess him. She says that she will perhaps love him if sometime she finds out that she must.
The narrator recalls how Hanley's flaying occurred. He was sleeping in a trench when soldiers...
[The entire page is 1409 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
