Analyse af Shelagh Delaneys novelle 'Abduction'

Expectations can sometimes be hard to live up to; it can be expectations from your family, your friends or yourself. Being successful today means that you have to promote yourself and do what you can to improve your own and maybe others’ status; sometimes with the cost of losing yourself. You can forget who you are and what’s important in life. Some people manipulate and promote themselves and might even ruin other people’s lives in the process of reaching their goals. They might become someone who people don’t want them to be. And if you do reach your goals in life will you then be happy? Or will you want something more? For example in this short story “Abduction”, Ann has reached her goals but she still misses something in her life. She has money and status, but maybe the thing she is missing is love.

The short story “Abduction” by Shelagh Delaney was printed in the Comma Press in 2002. The story takes places in London, where Ann also lives. In the beginning the story is described and told by a 1st person narrator, which later changes into a 3rd person narrator, who is a limited narrator but with knowledge of the people we meet. Even though the narrator technique changes, it seems to be the same person, who is telling the story. Most likely it is an older brother because, he says: “our parents´ marriage,” (l. 35) and he is going to London from Manchester, maybe because he’s going to the brother’s funeral. He also knows much about the sister, such as she was sterilised, when she was a young woman. The relationship between Ann and her little brother is strange. Ann takes her brother to London, because she thinks she can give him a better life and a better future than their parents can. Of course the brother follows her gladly; he is young and thinks his clever and successful sister has all the answers. The text indicates that she is rich and therefore she gives him a generous allowance. Ann is overprotecting and spoils him. When Marianne says: “Are you sure you’re not really her baby?” (l.81-82) we easily think it could be right, even though the brother says that it isn’t possible.