Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject

"Forgiveness" by Rebecca Brown
from The Terrible Girls

Apparently, we didn't do enough reading this quarter because I feel the need to offer up some short fiction, "Forgiveness," for everybody to read in delight and terror. Those with a weak stomach might want to avoid this story, but it's incredibly concise and beautiful. All quarter long, I've been thinking about The Terrible Girls because several of the stories are these lovely, grim lenses into the roles of bodies and power.

Included in this very short piece are wonderful sentences like:

"Things I once took for granted became significant. Cutting a steak with a knife and fork, or buttoning my fly, untying a knot around a bag, adding milk while stirring."