Short Story Blog: Hairball
I liked the short story Hairball the greatest. It stuck out from the other ones through its use in diction. There is a lot of seemingly random statements in here such as “ It was like being God, only God had never got around to off-the-rack lines” and “ kissing a girl, a woman, a girl, in a little crotch-hugger skirt and skin tight leggings. He likes mirrors.” Each quote having the appearance of non-significance, but in actuality both statements give more information about her character. The first quote shows that Kat views herself higher than god. I believe foreshadowing was used to show that this mindset will lead to her downfall. Later on in the story her “creation” turns on her; moreover, takes over her lives worth, her job! Without this her life has no meaning. The second quote shows that Kat is struggling to find herself. Just like in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a misguided ideal that superficial beauty is the most important aspect of life is seen here. Kat is desperately trying to hold onto her youth in order to keep beauty, but she does not understand that she can be beautiful on the inside. Some of my analytical questions are is the Hairball a symbol of the child she never allowed herself to have and do opposites really attract? To answer the first I believe that the hairball is indeed a symbol of a child because it says” Twice she had abortions…she learned to say that she didn’t want children anyway, that if she longed for a rug rat she would buy a gerbil.” This shows that the hairball which she gingerly takes care of is the child she wishes to have with Ger. The constant reminder of age haunts her as soon as she sees her reflection. The mirror really acts a symbol of the inner evil workings of her soul. She feels old and damaged and I believe that is why she engulfs herself into her work and goes for the basic/boring men. To answer the second question I think opposites do attract most of the time. It says, “Gerald was the kind of man she wouldn’t have bothered with in London. He was not funny, he was not knowledgeable. But he was eager, he was tractable. Kat yearns for easy moldable men because it does not give her a challenge. I believe that if you are generally loud person you will be attracted to someone who is more passive and gentle- voiced. Who would want to fight all the time for dominance in the relationship? Kat is attracted to Ger because he is everything she is not. The complex factor is that she isn’t in love with him until he transforms. She loves what she cannot have because she is always getting what she wants. I believe the theme of this story is every evil deed done in secret will be brought to the light. It didn’t matter that years had gone by and they were secretly having an affair, because Kats jealousy brought about the unveiling of their sins in the end.
I also liked the story of Hairball, but I saw it a little differently than you did.
ReplyDeleteYou stated that Kat leads to her downfall, but I see it as her picking herself back up. Kat was lost for so long, trying to find herself through different names and places and jobs, and she couldn’t. The shorter and shorter her name became the less and less that Kat knew about herself. But when she sent Hairball to Cheryl with a handwritten note that was signed K, I believe that she was starting to let herself go to become someone new. In the end when she stated that she was without a name, I took it to mean that she was allowing herself a clean start and was beginning her new story with a new name. I don’t think that her sending Hairball away and leaving Ger was a downfall, I believe that it was her way of letting go of the past and starting over.
When you say that her creation turned on her and took her job which resulted in her life having no meaning, I do not think that this is the case. She didn’t like her job at Felice because it was dominated by males that did not allow for her to speak her mind. She was trapped in this world and she talked about it “dragging on for five years”, which showed that she did not really appreciate the job. When she was let off, it was a shock, but I don’t think she was ultimately devastated from it. I think what upset her the most was that Ger agreed to it. He had changed so much because of her and she regretted this decision to change him. When she thought back on it after she was let go, she commented on Gerald and the transformation to Ger.
You also end the entry with saying that Kat does not like challenging men because it does not give her a challenge, but Kat is the epitome of a challenging person. She lives and works in a man’s world where she has to stand up for herself and her thoughts every day. She never is in a solid relationship to begin with, and the stereotypical men in these sorts of relationships are never superb fellows. Gerald was very easy to mold, but she also hated herself for doing this. I do agree that opposites attract but in this instance they were too different. Gerald was a family man that was already settled down, and although Kat wanted this, she wasn’t ready for the lifestyle it would bring along. She gets bored quickly in England and that is why she travels to Canada, where after a few years, she wants to move again. Having a family would mean her settling down forever in one place and I do not believe that Kat would be able to live this kind of life.
I think both interpretations can be supported. I have worked with patients for over 30 years and tend to support Ari. SecretAgent026 notes the gradual decrease in letters of her name -- down to 'K'-- allows her 'rebirth'. My more cynical interpretation of the same decrease is that leaves her one step from extinction
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