Structure

“After Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Isaac” by Rachel Cusk has a traditional plot structure. Apart from this, the author also relies on narrative elements like foreshadowing and symbolism.

Title

...

Beginning

The short story begins directly, with the narrator presenting his reflections on having children and his relationship with his son Ian:

One of the things about having children is the feeling they give you that they know all about you. It’s like they’ve come from inside you and had a good look round while they were there. My son Ian gives me this feeling. (ll. 1-3)

...

Middle

The rising action is a backstory. The narrator recounts events that took place in the past, after Ian’s birth.

First, we are introduced to the conflict between Alan and his wife who became depressed after the boy’s birth: “It was right after he was born that I started looking at paintings. After what she’d been through with the birth, Sally couldn’t bear him near her.” (ll. 49-50)

Frustrated by his wife’s attitude towards their son, Alan finds comfort in art and prefers being away from the house with his son. Then, three years later, he enrols in an art class taught by a German woman named Gerte, and immediately falls for her. This makes him question his life choices:

...

Ending

The succinct falling action describes Alan reaching the airport and meeting Gerte, who upon realising his love for her, decides to send him back to his son: “I know, she said. You can go home to your son” (l. 106)

This also marks the resolution of the short story, as the narrator’s wife tells him that staying with Alan was the right thing to do: “That’s when she said that one day Ian would thank me. You’re a good man, Alan, she said.” (ll. 107-108)

...