Genre
Short Stories
Setting and Context
The Stories are set in Iceland, presumably in the 20th Century.
Narrator and Point of View
Svava often uses a third-person narrator in her stories.
Tone and Mood
The stories are often disturbing and frightening in tone.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of "A Story for Children" is a housewife, who is devoted to her husband and children.
Major Conflict
Svava's stories often center around the conflict between a person's true desires and societal expectations.
Climax
The climax of "A Story for Children" is when the mother has her heart taken out.
Foreshadowing
At the beginning of "A Story for Children," we are told that the children cut off their mother's toe. This foreshadows the later sacrifices the mother makes.
Understatement
The presence of the lodger is understated by the husband in "The Lodger," who does not react appropriately to the presence of a stranger in his home.
Allusions
N/A
Imagery
Imagery is used to describe the gruesome injuries experienced by the mother, as her brain and heart are cut out. This use of imagery emphasizes the sacrifice she is making for her children.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
In "The Lodger," the husband and the lodger are paralleled, and ultimately merge together.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Svava uses the metonym of the "heart" representing a person's feelings in "A Story for Children."
Personification
The mother's heart is personified as "breathing" by itself at the end of "A Story for Children."
