Analyse af Julia Darings novelle 'The Dress'

In every family there arise misunderstandings, crisis, conflicts and in periods problems. The parents doubt either they're good enough as parents. It can be the parents mutual communication that goes wrong , old problems that have been build up over long time, it can also be communication problems between the mother and the father after a divorce. The children are often those who show the symptoms that something aren't as it should be. The short story '' The Dress'' written by Julia Daring, tells the story of a modern family where the parents are divorced and the children live with their mother. The mother works as a bereavement counsellor. She is vital since she is the only thing her daughters have in common, she therefore has to be the rock in the family, but she is not. Once the omniscient narrator speaks on the mothers behalf , you get the impression that she somehow has given up. '' The mother's head ached- She wanted the meal to be over. She wanted her daughters to make and effort. She filled up her daughters' wine glasses and raised a glass in the air. '' (L. 76-77). She seems tired of the constant warfare between Rachel and Flora but doesn't communicate her thoughts. At the restaurant there's another birthday party. It's a contrast to the mother's birthday since they're loud and happy. The mother's birthday is mostly a duty there has to be done, and is not by any chance seen as a happy occasion. The mother tries to start a conversation, but the two sisters keep arguing. You get the impression that the mother is already filled up with her own issues and as a result by that she doesn't have any energy left. When Flora in the end admits that she stole the dress, the mother should have acted differently. She judges her to fast. Flora wants to be approved for her personal values.