The Girl on the Plane (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Gaitskill
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The 1970's and the early 1990's
- Setting: A jet plane; Choate, Minnesota
- Principal Characters: John Morton, Loraine, Patty LaForge
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Traveling or travelers, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Rape, College life, 1990’s, Airplanes or jets, Minnesota, Compulsive behavior
- Locales: Minnesota
The Story
“The Girl on the Plane” concerns a chance meeting between John Morton and a woman seated next to him on the airplane. Their conversation and the memories it brings up for Morton raise issues of responsibility and complicity and reveal their shared lack of empathy.
The story opens with Morton taking his seat on the plane. He is still angry over his interaction with the airline clerk from whom he collected his ticket. Soon a woman whom Morton finds attractive sits down next to him. As he studies her appearance while she leafs through a magazine, he tries to...
[The entire page is 1467 words long]
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