Analysis

In this section of the book, we focus on the most important points of analysis in the short story "Mrs Vadnie Marlene Sevlon" by Jackie Kay. These elements are relevant to study if you are to write an analytical essay or the like about this text.

First of of all, we investigate the structure of the short story and determine that this short story does not follow a traditional plot structure as flashbacks and portions of stream of consciousness influence the story heavily.

The title of the short story introduces the name of the main character, so naturally we take a deeper look at the character in terms of inner and outer characterisation.

We move on to deal with the setting of the short story, which takes place in London in a contemporary environment. The social setting reveals that the story is about loneliness and social isolation.

The isolation has made the main character dream up a marriage with a husband who never existed making her point of view unreliable. Much of the story is told in a an unedited stream of her thoughts and we can't be sure about everything she tells us. In the chapter about Narrator and point of view, we also give an explanation of what the concept of stream of consciousness means and how it is seen in the story.

The short story uses literary devices such as metaphors and symbols, which we explore. However, we also pay attention to the contrasts used in the story as a literary device, and we point out some of these contrasts to help you understand and interpret the story.