Themes and message

Change

One of the themes explored in the short story “Appointment” by Olivia Parkes is change. When the narrator arrives at the hair salon, she is ready to take the first step toward changing her life. Although she has a “mortal fear” of haircuts and never keeps any appointments, she overcomes this challenge and shows up for a haircut. Nevertheless, change does not come easily for the narrator, who is suddenly confronted with the reality of her situation:

I explained that I was afraid of change but wanted desperately to be changed. I was out of control but could not let go. I couldn’t bear another inch of sudden loss. I wanted to look exactly like myself, but also like that Mexican actress in the detective show. 

Although she wants to change, the narrator equally fears it and associates it with a lack of control. When Moira encourages the narrator to let go of the dead strands of hair, the narrator sees it as an opportunity to leave the past behind and focus on the future. 

After the haircut, the narrator feels ready to embrace change: “I could not stop smiling. I looked—how to put it? I looked like a person with a place to go.” Her new haircut makes her feel that her “true life, the next, would come easily.” In this light, the lie about the art gallery becomes a blur between the past and the present: “it was hard to remember m...