“The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado was absolutely compelling and did not allow me to stop reading it. The use of the short stories and the instructions to the reader were masterfully done in a way in which the flow of the story is uninterrupted and gives the reader an additional context to the protagonist’s feelings.
While I read “The Husbands Stitch,” the use of foreshadowing to the ending stood out. From the beginning of the story until the end, the author emphasized how sexually active women never have good endings. Additionally, the beginning of the story also foreshadowed how much more the woman cared for her male partner. As she states, “In the beginning, I know I want him before he does (3).” From the very first sentence we are introduced to the idea that the woman is more invested than the male, which ties to how their relationship ended, with the protagonist, in spite of her knowledge that the ribbon will presumably harm or kill her, allowing for her husband to take it off, something which was masterfully placed since the very beginning for the reader to pass through it without much thought. Additionally, the foreshadowing is beautifully followed by the myth and lore.
The myth and lore provided by the author is in third person, which is different from the protagonist first person. This gave me the sense that the author herself was giving me these stories, which would later be tied to the first person story. Additionally, these myths and lore also give the readers the sense of foreshadowing. The myths and lore which intertwines the original story makes me hyperaware that there is another story, and that it must be of importance to the story. Hence, this makes me think that these additional stories are foreshadowing the original stories ending. Another place in which I as a reader get taken out of the story would be during the times when instructions are given. Although, they take me out of the current story they somehow immerse me more into the narrative. The instructions which are provided allow me to become more aware of the feeling which are being portrayed by the protagonist and also allows for me to empathize with the protagonist.
Lastly, the some of the themes that I thought were present in “The Husbands Stitch” were love, fear, rejection, and conformity. For instance, till the last moments of the protagonist she proclaimed her love to her husband; even though, he was the ultimate reason for her demise (31). Additionally, the actions exhibited by her sons’ eventual change from a young child that viewed the ribbon as a part of his mother to something that he could take could show the conformity of how people change due to outside forces and beliefs (21).