Story #2: The Embodiment
Synopsis:
This is the second story in this collection. This is about a woman who becomes pregnant as a side effect of taking too many birth control pills. The doctor blames her for failing prescription instructions, and heavily pressures her to quickly find a husband, or else the fetus will not properly grow. This scares the woman, who decides to go on multiple blind dates in order to find a man to be the father of her baby. However, none of them turn out well, and many men run away after finding out that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, her tummy starts to grow bigger, and she feels a “slight twisting or trembling in her womb”, but she recognizes that those aren’t normal feelings that she should be experiencing. She goes to the doctor for help again, but is criticised for still not finding a father. She gives up for a little while, until one day she receives a phone call from a man that seems very eager to be the father. He tells her that he saw her unique story in the newspaper, but the woman is put off by the man’s overjoyed attitude. It is later revealed that the woman’s family had put her information in the newspaper out of desperation. This strategy proves to be terrible, as it backfires and she receives a ton of prank calls that bring down her spirits even more. Finally, she receives a seemingly promising call from a successful young man, but is catfished by an older man who wants to make her his mistress. She flees and gets on a bus, where an older woman comforts her and gives her an encouraging pep talk about unconditional love for children. Afterwards, the woman realises that she is beginning to love her baby (awww), and feels compelled to eat something delicious for her baby. But when she gets up from her seat, she faints and goes into labour. The ambulance arrives, and she is taken to the hospital. On the way, she grabs a nearby paramedic and the driver and begs them to be the baby’s father. She is unsurprisingly unsuccessful, and ends up giving birth. According to the book, the baby “was a black and red, slightly iron-smelling, enormous blood clot.” The doctor tells her that this is the result of the baby not having a father, and that it is all her fault. She holds her “baby”, but suddenly, the blood clot bursts, and the baby is gone. The final few sentences of the story describe her crying, and how she herself couldn’t understand why she was crying.
Meaning:
This story is a reflection of a patriarchal society in which women are told that they cannot achieve anything on their own without a man by their side. It skillfully employs the usage of body horror in order to dissect the stigma of single mothers and power dynamics in society.
Rating: 5/5!
I have no complaints about this story. It was written so creatively, and the author’s intelligence can be clearly seen through their writing. The writing style draws in the reader, and has potential to make them emotional.