Christian Bérard
The focus falls on a woman who remains unnamed but who the narrator can assume is "Christian Bérard’’. The narrator lists everything the woman ate over the course of a few days, being sure to transmit the idea that for the woman in question, eating was the most important thing in life. The contents of the woman’s diet are called "her subject’’ meaning that the woman used the food she ate as inspiration. Among the food items listed are pigeon, soufflé, thin ham, deserts, cakes, fish, veal, grapes and so on.
The preparation of the food becomes almost a ceremony, each type of food preparation technique having its own day. The reason why the woman puts so much effort in preparing food is because it is the way through which the woman communicates with the rest of the world, the way through which the woman makes friends and ties new relationships. ‘’Gaining’’ is used here with a double sense, to refer to weight gain but also to suggest the way through which the character managed to make new friends and keep them close to her.
A "he’’ is introduced into the story as well, someone who may have also been attracted to the major character because of the food she makes. He is described as "strong and sturdy’’ which makes the major character feel attracted to him. He was invited to eat with the major character and this prompted the two to become closer to one another.
The narrator then discusses about love and how it is possible for every person to learn to love, no matter the circumstances in which they lived and in which they grew up. Repetition is described as being the main way through which a person learns to love and also, language. And while love is presented as being powerful, it is also something extremely fragile which must be cared for and protected at all costs.
How She Bowed to her Brother
From the beginning, the narrator calls the story as being the story of how a girl bowed to her brother and how the brother owned his sister. The story is told as being a long one and as continuing to this day. The times when the sister did not bowed to her brother are called as being ‘’accidents’’ but then the sister started to stand up because she wanted to and the girl started to believe more in herself and in her capability to live on her own. The act of bowing is compared here with the process through which a person learns new things, highlighting thus the idea that for the sister, the experience was not completely without purpose.
In time, not bowing, or rather not listening to every word the brother said became natural for the sister. From that point on, they became equals, the brother bowing to the sister as well. Thus, the narrator transmits the idea that a person must demand respect in order to receive it from those around her.
In the second part the narrator talks about how they were few people outside the family who knew about the sister’s actions and about her habit of listening to her brother. the narrator claims this is a positive thing because of more people were who knew about her bowing to her brother, they will never be able to understand her reasons and would criticize her instead.
The narrator assures the reader towards the end that the sister and the brother became equals, riding side by side as they went through life and bowing to one another from time to time.
Idem the Same: A Valentine to Sherwood Anderson
The narrator is once more represented by ‘’I’’ who talks about another person, ‘’he’’. The narrator knows something important about ‘’he’’, something which explains the reason why ‘’he’’ acted in a way which shocked other people who had no idea why ‘’he’’ acted in a certain way.
Men are presented as hunters, carrying knives on them while women are dressed in blouses and carrying packages under their arms. The impression left is that the men and the women lived separate from one another but would sometimes stumble upon the places where each would live. Despite having almost no contact with the other sex, they were not scared but rather saw the whole process as being something natural.
The narrator then describes what she sees, starting with a ‘’little snail’’ followed by other animals and even trees. She then claims that every wife is the same, a reference made here to the way in which almost all women like to sit around, talk and watch others as they go through their lives. Women are also described as being possessive when it comes to the men in their lives, claiming them as their own and doing everything they can to keep them that way.
The narrator then discusses the reason why we perceive change and goes as far as to claim there is no change between one thing and another in this world but rather these changes are produced by our own minds and thus can’t be trusted.
The narrator returns to the packages women were carrying under their arms and the narrator mentions how the women are willing to give them away to the men in their lives. These bundles are extremely important for the women but once they reach the hands of the men, they are no longer appreciated. The bundles could be used here to refer to the affections women give the men they love and how at times, these feelings are one sided and not appreciated. Despite this, the women continue to give away their bundles, knowing full well there is always the possibility that the gifts will not be appreciated.
If I Told Him, A Completed Portrait of Picasso
The story is told from the perspective of a first person narrator who wonders if another person ‘’he’’ would like ‘’it’’. The term ‘’it’’ remains ambiguous but the pronoun ‘’he’’ is quickly replaces by Napoleon. The narrator continues to pose the same question over and over again, to an obsessive point until the narration changes and the narrator starts discussing ‘’kings’’ and how they are always excessively proud and always ‘’full of it’’ or rather expecting to be given everything they want immediately. Queens are mentioned briefly as well, being called here ‘’shutters’’.
The narrative returns to Napoleon who is called as being the ‘’first’’, most likely a reference made to his appointment as Emperor of France. The writing ends with the narrator claiming that everything until now was a history lesson which every person must take seriously and accept as truth.
