Themes and message

Family estrangement

At the beginning of the story “Solo Dance” by Jayne Anne Phillips, we learn that the woman has not been home in a long time (l. 1). This is the first clue that the story deals with the theme of family estrangement. The idea is further developed through the woman’s minimal interaction with her father, which is limited to reading him get-well cards (ll. 7-8) and helping with simple tasks (ll. 11-15).

The father often mentions his ex-wife and their divorce and does not seem interested in his daughter and her life. While the father’s illness brings father and daughter together, their inability to confront and openly discuss their emotions only seems to put more distance between them.

We are also given no details on the woman’s relationship with her mother. Although the father expects his daughter to keep in touch with her mother (ll. 23-24), we do not know if this is the case. We are told that the ex-wife “wanted to be by herself” (l. 24), suggesting that she does not want to keep in contact with her ex-husband, or perhaps even with her daughter.

Both father and daughter are presented as dysfunctional in some way: the father is ill, still emotionally at...

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