Grace
© 1997
 |
| Technical Aspects | |
| Story length: | 1,294 words/5 pages double spaced |
| Voice: | First person, present tense |
| Genre: | Young-Adult Fantasy |
| Copyrighted: | © 1997 |
| Story information | |
| Main character: | Iris's mother, whose name isn't mentioned |
| Character description: | Mother of six children and member of a nature-based somewhat tribal community. |
| Supporting characters: | Iris: The focus of the story; it is about her coming-of-age ritual. Laurel: Iris's new lover |
| Setting: | Indeterminate time, seemingly primitive; probably in another dimension or another planet |
| General Plot | |
| Iris's mother is preparing her daughter Iris for the ritual to make her a woman. She reflects on Iris's childhood and wonders at the new beauty in her almost-adult daughter. When the ritual begins, Iris performs her duties and her mother watches proudly. Finally Iris goes to the river to select a mate and ends up coming out of the water with another woman, who has to select for her a new name for adulthood. The mother explores her feelings on this unusual choice. | |
| Information, inspiration, and other notes | |
| This is very heavily influenced by Joan D. Vinge's short story "Mother and Child"; though the plot is not at all the same, the general mood and inspiration came from that story. This began as a poem and evolved into this. | |
Read it:
BACKLINKS: