Structure

The short story “Through the Wardrobe” by Lucy Caldwell has a non-chronological structure. The story focuses on events that take place over a few years, from the moment the main character is six years old to his early adulthood. 

The story begins in media res: 

It starts with the Belle dress. Your mum takes you all to the store in Donegall Place the week it opens (…) Inside is the most magical place you’ve ever seen. Your sisters go hopping and squealing to the cuddly toys at the back, heaped right to the ceiling: but you just stand, clutching your mum’s hand, unable to move or even to breathe. 

The beginning of the story also brings an element of mystery, as the readers are not told anything about the identity of the main character. Furthermore, because of the second-person narrative, readers are drawn into the story, where they identify with the main character. 

The plot twist reveals that the main character, who becomes fascinated by a Belle dress in the store, is a boy, not a girl:

Look at this, your mum says, crouching beside you, and she shows you an Aladdin costume, complete with a plastic scimitar; then Peter Pan’s green tunic, and cap with a feather. (…) everyone looks at you (...