Shapeshifting or transformation stories can be found throughout all history and cultures. In almost all of these stories, the transformation is never just a simple one. Instead, it is used as a symbol for what is happening in the character’s life.
After reading the stories “Mantis,” “Fatso,” and “Beast,” I found the symbolism of “Mantis” the most interesting. The girl’s transformation into a praying mantis is the symbolic representation of her growth into a woman, viewed through the lens of a girl with a very sheltered view of the world. Her mother is more focused on her daughter’s beauty, and the protagonist is doing her best with the very natural desire to fit into the mold that has been presented to her. By fully transforming into a praying mantis and eating the boy she was talking to, she embraces who she is now. She has accepted she doesn’t need to keep a certain “beautiful” image she’d been focused on maintaining. Since a praying mantis will eat the males when they mate, I took her eating him as going against what her schooling had taught her, and sleeping with him is truly embracing who she really is.
I, however, liked the story of “Fatso” the most. A man’s girlfriend transforms into a fat hairy man every night. The man ends up making the best of the situation, and the hairy man version of his girlfriend becomes his best friend. The story’s plot seems to represent the changes that happen in a relationship once you start to get comfortable with someone. You don’t feel like you need to put on a perfect image of yourself and relax. While it might be a little odd at first, when you really love someone you accept these imperfect parts of them, and it ends up making your relationship stronger.