Essay Questions

What is the difference between the Blue ribbon and the dead lady? What is the significance of the contrast?

The blue ribbon is lively and brilliant whereas the dead lady appears genderless and she is lifeless. Additionally, Bertie Shields finds the blue ribbon to be dear, clean and twinkling. It is ironical that the wearer of the blue ribbon is ‘withering’ whereas the blue ribbon is blooming. The stark difference between the two, underscores Bertie Shields’ obsession with the Blue Ribbon.

What is the meaning of the sentence “ it is unstirring and stirs not” in “ A Blue Ribbon Affair”?

This paradoxical sentence refers to the blue ribbon. The paradox depicts the metaphysical repercussions of the blue ribbon which make it difficult to Bertie to discern the instincts that it stirs in him. The blue ribbon is mystical as it triggers an affair in the most unlikely place.

How similar are the stories: “The Consultation” and “ A Blue Ribbon Affair”?

These two stories are similar in the sense that they incorporate a theme on spontaneous eroticism. In “The Consultation”, the doctor gets involved with a prostitute for a single night after which it becomes evident that the affair will not continue. In “A Blue Ribbon Affair” Bertie Shields and Joyce get intimate in a morgue, their decision is as spur-of-the-moment as that in “The Consultation”. The similarity in the stories demonstrates that even medical workers have sex lives, no matter immersed they are in with medical issues. Sexual drive is inherent in all humanity including doctors, and nurses.