Julia Armfield’s “Salt Slow” was an interesting read. What caught my attention the most of the reading was the allegory which seems to stem from religious ideologies. This story in particular made me think of Noah’s Ark, in the sense that during a disaster a male and female of every species is put into the ark to repopulate the earth. However, in this case the protagonist and her partner are the male and female counterparts that are reproducing in the midst of a disaster.
However, this story allows the reader to delve into the thoughts of the ones who must repopulate, which in this case are the protagonist and her partner. This in a strange way allows for the reader to be introduced into the thoughts and fears of the protagonist, instead of looking at it from the perspective of a being that has been granted divine protection from God (Noah). In a way this perspective emphasizes the idea that the protagonist is changing along with her partner. Her partner seems to grow more weary as time goes on, while the protagonist seems to be looking forward to life after the disaster. For instance, now that the protagonist has accepted her baby being different the partner in fear beats the baby and tosses it to the sea. This shows the change in the protagonist from not wanting children to developing an acceptance to having children, which also contributes to the protagonist feeling foreign in her own body and in her relationship with her partner. This all seem to work together to emphasize the duties of women to please all aspects of themselves: as people, as partners, and as mothers.