Mortality (“A Blue Ribbon Affair”)
The broadly-gauged theme in “A Blue Ribbon Affair” is mortality. The story takes place, mostly, in a morgue whereby a body a woman that has just passed away is being preserved. However, mortality does not bar medical workers, at the hospital, from indulging in sexual flings. Mortality catalyses the sexual desire in “A Blue Ribbon Affair”.
Infatuation (“A Blue Ribbon Affair”)
Bertie Shields and Joyce get intimate on the first day that they meet after storing a corpse in the morgue. The affair cannot be described as a serious relationship although it is characterized by a fiery passion. The infatuation flourishes in the backdrop if death and dead bodies.
Cancer (“The Consultation”)
The lump in “The Consultation” means that Gloria, if she does not have a mastectomy in time, the cancerous lump could consume her entire body. The doctor’s physical assessment of the lump, though it is not conclusive, hints at the possibility of cancer developing from the lump.
Private versus Professional Life (“The Consultation”)
The doctor’s encounter with the prostitute exemplifies the dilemmas, personal and professional that are pervasive in vocation of medicine. After realizing that Gloria has a lump, the doctor faces a predicament on how to deal with Gloria. He is torn between treating her as a casual sex worker and his patient. As a result of the dilemma, the doctor rejects Gloria’s payment for the consultation.
