Perspectives
Literary period
The short story “How I Learnt to be a Real Countrywoman” by Deborah Moggach was published in 1995. The story does not follow a traditional plot structure, as most of it is a flashback to the events of the previous year. The main character, Ruthie, is also the first-person narrator, from whose perspective the events are presented. The author uses informal language, which makes the characters more approachable. Descriptive language is also employed when the environment is presented, which makes it easier for the readers to visualize the landscapes. These features indicate that “How I Learnt to be a Real Countrywoman” is a modernist work of fiction.
In modernist literary works, authors also tend to focus on symbols, which highlight the traits of the main characters. In her story, Moggach relies on the symbols of the city and of the countrysi...