| Title | : | The Husband Stitch |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 45 |
| Publication | : | Published October 28, 2014 |
If you read this story out loud, please use the following voices:
Me: as a child, high-pitched, forgettable; as a woman, the same.
The boy who will grow into a man, and be my spouse: robust with his own good fortune.
My father: Like your father, or the man you wish was your father.
My son: as a small child, gentle, rounded with the faintest of lisps; as a man, like my husband.
All other women: interchangeable with my own.
Carmen Maria Machado is the celebrated author of the memoir
In the Dream House and the vibrant story collection
Her Body and Other Parties. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award and the winner of the Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Brooklyn Public Library Literature Prize, a Shirley Jackson Award and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize.
The Husband Stitch Reviews
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you bet your ass the stories i read for class go towards my gr goal
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This week's shortie is a feminist and dark fantasy retelling of one of the stories that totally and completely haunted me as a child
I had heard of the anthology
Her Body and Other Parties that houses this story, but when I found this one online for free I decided to dive right in. I had no idea that it was based on Jenny and her infamous green ribbon
The original story has apparently been adapted and told by several others, including Washington Irving and Alexandre Dumas and is itself based on an old French folktale that nobody remembers the author of. Kind of like an urban legend, if you will. This story is also interjected by several other urban legends, all with a female central figure who is usually the subject of gaslighting and manipulation. These stories were all reminiscent of other tales we've all heard but still have an unknown origin. The author has also inserted some meta-like asides into the narrative, which itself is broken into short vignettes, instructing the reader on how to reenact certain scenes when reading aloud. The technique sounds obtrusive, but is anything but as it sucks the reader in, making the story sound familiar and eerie and brings a realistic tone, despite the obvious fantastical and symbolic elements.
As I am familiar with a variation of the original tale, I knew what was coming but this did not in any way detract from my enjoyment. But for those who are not maybe as familiar, it is probably best to go into reading this with as little knowledge as possible. It is about a woman who falls in love at a young age with the man she will eventually marry. The woman wears a green ribbon around her neck that torments her husband's curiosity.
– I have given you everything you have ever asked for, I say. Am I not allowed this one thing?
– I want to know.
– You think you want to know, I say, but you do not.
– Why do you want to hide it from me?
– I am not hiding it. It is not yours.
We travel with the woman through her marriage and the eventual birth of her son. Her husband continues to nag her about the ribbon until she stops wanting to become intimate with him in an effort to stop him from asking. Eventually her son becomes fixated on the ribbon, and though it breaks her heart, must put a divide between them to stifle his curiosity. The ending is swift and brutal, but effortlessly rendered.
I'm spoiler tagging this next paragraph and strongly suggest that those interested in reading this ignore until after you've read.
I will make a comment that I gave this one five stars originally which is compltely based on my feelings when I was done. 5 star ratings for me are typically a gut reaction. I know as soon as I've finished if a story or book is worth 5 stars or not. And this one was at the time. Until I started reviewing it and finding that this sour aftertaste of radical feminism just doesn't sit as well with me as I'd like. There are insinuations in this story that only women are abused and it is only men who cause abuse. (My spoiler extrapolates upon this a bit). And I just couldn't get behind it. And as much as I wanted to, I cannot give this one 5 stars no matter the other impressions it left on me. It is kinda how I feel about The Handmaid's Tale. Just because I am pro-woman's rights does not necessarily make me anti-man. Feminism itself is about equality. Meaning both sexes are equal. Feminism isn't about women being better than men or that men have caused all of women's problems because both of those statements aren't true. I know a lot of men who have suffered abuse, a lot of times from the hands of women. And I also know a lot of women who have suffered abuse, a lot of times from the hands of men. But overgeneralizing this in a story does nothing to promote understanding and cooperation. And so I dropped half a star.
Because even with that being said, I loved this story.
Read it for FREE here:
https://granta.com/the-husband-stitch/
4.5 stars -
A dark retelling of the classic kiddie horror story, "The Girl with the Green Ribbon". (Why this story was in a early readers' book, I'll never understand!)
This retelling stays true to the essence of the original, but is far more adult in nature, with erotica details added and the plot lengthened out. But it's still an interesting story.
You can read it online for free on
https://granta.com/the-husband-stitch/. -
Wow! An amazing, dark story, brilliantly written. Reminiscent of Angela Carter.
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3.5
yeah i mean it was dark and disturbing but i've read verity soo.... yeah....
i mean i enjoyed it but yeah... -
so, i've found that horror can be written in very short stories and still be incredibly scary...so i went looking for horror shorts.
I was told the story of the woman with the green ribbon many many years ago. I remember being very scared coming to the realization that her HEAD CAME OFF. like...what?? i think i was like 9 when i first hear that story.
SO, naturally, finding this retelling, I was like oh i gotta read this.
at first i was like...uhhhh wow lots of sexy stuff in here...
then i was like...okayyyy?????
and i kept wondering why it was titled "The Husband Stitch"... which, i guess i'm still kind of confused on because....i mean...are they talking about the "extra stitch" he "asks" for after she has their baby?? (perverse and not the right time, husband. i just pushed out your baby and you're asking the doctor to "tighten it up"?!?) i dont know.
There are a lot of people talking about the metaphors here. like in feminism and what not. The husband pushes for years and years for the woman to take off her ribbon and finally, she gives and lets him take it off. Only to have her head roll onto the floor and him be horrified. and that's pretty much what it's like being with a man in general. being pushed beyond your limits (even when you've proven time and time again that you will do almost anything for them), being accused of keeping secrets (even when those "secrets" are literally just parts of you that you don't enjoy talking about), and being shown that your boundaries aren't sacred (goes with being pushed beyond your limits) and being made fun of or being rejected or gawked at.
all of this.....i stilllll don't quite understand why the story was so sexual toward the beginning...and i don't understand why the "original" story was originally in a children's book. AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE REAL MEANING BEHIND THIS.
i wish i could say that i totally got the story...that all the little stories worked in made sense...but....i really can't. i enjoyed the read nonetheless. though, not exactly horror in my eyes, it was a thriller and i very much liked the story was told. -
Stories have this way of running together like raindrops in a pond. They are each borne from the clouds separately, but once they have come together, there is no way to tell them apart.
Read it for free
HERE. -
WHAT THE HELL
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Brilliant and unsettling. Why do men?
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A very well written and uncomfortable read - I recommend researching the husband stitch beforehand.
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“I feel my jaw tighten, and my hand fondles my bow involuntarily. My mind skips between many answers, and I settle on the one that brings me the least amount of anger.”
This excerpt (page 12) takes place when they are talking about their future child. The husband asks if their child will also have a ribbon, and the excerpt is her response. His insistence on this topic angers her each time it is mentioned (the ribbon, not the child). Yet she doesn’t really show her anger. She keeps it in. It reminds me of a quote I read a few years ago. I’m unsure of the author but the quote is along the lines of, “A woman’s first blood is not from between her legs but from biting her tongue.” Women are conditioned to bite their tongues, contain their emotions, shrink their personalities, and act ‘ladylike’.
The ribbon’s symbolism and significance are never outright explained by the author, but its importance is easily understood. Its vulnerability, it's something that’s only hers, and it keeps her together. The ribbon is strong and binding, but not in a restricting way. It holds the thoughts that never come out due to biting her tongue, the emotions she can’t express, and her innermost personality. Following this excerpt, her husband touches the bow while she begs and demands him to stop. Her husband wants to possess all of her, and the ribbon is the only thing he lacks. And, in the end, he goes against her wishes, declarations, and disciplines to take this last piece of her. -
7 year old me read the green ribbon story and ive been horrified ever since. this short story is gorgeous. it’s riddled with absolutely bone chilling interjections for the reader and countless scary stories about being a woman. most of the stories i had either read before or heard about in some form but a few were new and those were just as hard hitting. the title should’ve clicked immediately but it didn’t cause i was so excited and distracted by the green ribbon, but it honestly made the title more upsetting because it only clicked for me when it was referenced and all i can say is i hate men. overall i loved this so much, gonna have to buy the entire collection now cause her writing is so good
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Brilliant
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invented writing
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Welp! Wasn't expecting such an ending
Always wanted where the plot reveals itself in last line ig my wish came true. Other than that idk what to say
READ THIS!!! -
3.6/5
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My favorite short story of all time. Made me cry. I don't know how else to describe it. You'll either get it, or you won't
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This is the story of the lady with the green ribbon around her neck. I read a kids version of this with my son. This is definitely not a kids version. The kids version is more to the point and perhaps more enjoyable. This one goes on fake tangents about “if you’re reading this out load...”. The story seems to be about the curiosity of humans and how even if their life has everything they dream, if something catches their interest (such as the green ribbon around your wife’s neck), one can’t let it go.
In this version, other women also struggle with ribbons in various places. I am uncertain what the ribbons represent. Perhaps it is as simple as a secret. The secret that should be kept and dissolves the relationship of persist in asking?? -
An interesting and adult retelling of a classic folk story. Shades of Angela Carter throughout, and no less enjoyable because of it.
Edit: Couldn't stop thinking about why this piece was titled thusly, and so I'm adding another star for the revelations that occured. -
I'm grateful I didn't read it at night...
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This is quite a book.
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wow, todo el mundo que tenga el mínimo tiempo posible debería de leerlo
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holy shit
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a bone chilling short story about womanhood.
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WHAT DID I JUST READ?!!! As I go along the pages I know it's dark and disturbing, especially the "If you are reading this story out loud" part, but THE ENDING, THAT ENDING 😲😲😲
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Striking, but not my cup of tea.
The story was too graphic and sexual for me. I am a very sensitive person and the ending - and the horror stories throughout the short story - really terrified me.
I love how feminist criticism is incorporated, though.
If you like horror and macabre sarcasm, and critical feminism, you will probably love this story.
(Had to read this for a writing class.) -
I wanted to read The Husband Stitch because somewhere, somehow something mentioned "husband stitches" and naturally it made me fall down a rabbit hole -- google at your own risk; it can make you extremely angry! -- so I was thinking the book would relate to what husband stitches are . . . I was expecting a memoir of sorts. It does not and is not a memoir, but it was quite an interesting read.
This reminded me of another similar fairy tale with quite a similar story. I had that déjà vu feeling but a little different, too. Either way, it's so good.
We take a look at womanhood and what I think is a woman doing everything to protect herself. Perhaps not exactly modesty or virtue, but just to keep a part of herself that she doesn't have to share with anyone. Then what happens when you let go of yourself and give in to others.
I know this book is up to interpretation, plenty of metaphors to be examined. It's a gruesome story that's well written and boggles the mind. -
I'm so confused. Wanted to like it . Wanted to get the metaphors. Wanted to understand it---- unfortunately I'm so confused. Even after reading other reviews and spoilers. I feel like I need cliff notes.
