Intertextuality (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Mary Gordon
- First Published: 1995
- Type of Plot: Autobiographical, family
- Time of Work: 1959-1960
- Setting: Long Island, New York
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Her grandmother, Her aunt, Her mother
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Memory, Mothers, Parents and children, Traveling or travelers, Twentieth century, Immigration or emigration, Grandparents or grandchildren, Vacations, Houses, mansions, or manors
- Locales: Long Island, NY
The Story
The narrator, a middle-aged woman, frames the story with allusions to the lengthy classic novel by Marcel Proust, À la recherche du temps perdu (1913-1927; Remembrance of Things Past, 1922-1931, 1981), that are significant in interpreting the story. She begins with a brief history of her grandmother's early life as an Irish immigrant. Although she admired her, she never liked her grandmother, a practical, physically imposing woman with a strong work ethic. The narrator recalls two incidents that ocurred when she was ten years old.
The grandmother...
[The entire page is 1441 words long]
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