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“Baglady” Is a British Short Story Written by A. S. Byatt

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“Baglady” Is a British Short Story Written by A. S. Byatt
Baglady

“Baglady” is a British short story written by A. S. Byatt, it was published in the collection “Elementals” in 1998.

The main character in this story is Daphne Gulver- Robins. Daphne accompanies her husband on a business trip to the Far East. The main reason she is on the trip, is for her husband to be able to impress his boss, by showing his family side. Daphne would have preferred staying home taking care of the animals on the farm, because she knows that her and the other wives have nothing in common:” Most of the other wives are elegant, with silk suits and silky legs and exquisitely cut hair” (9:16) this quote indicates that the other women are sophisticated to superficial. In their social group the exterior means everything. Daphne is aware of the shallow and superficial environment she is stepping in to. Even though Daphne is not exited about the trip she still makes an effort to try and impress the other wives by loosing weight for this specific trip:” She has tried to make herself attractive for this jaunt and has lost ten pounds and had her hands manicured” (9:22) Daphne is very insecure and feels inferior compared to the other women, her weight loss is a desperate attempt to fit in, but she ends up being an outsider.

They women entertain themselves by going to The Good Fortune mall:” The Good Fortune shopping mall resembles an army of barracks or a prison block,…“(10: 26) The mall represents the rich part of the society and all the chaos around. This mall is secured well so that the poor, thieves and unwelcome guest can’t get in. While in the mall the other women leaves Daphne behind and she ends up wandering around the mall by herself. Daphne explores the mall but quickly gets confused because everything seems to be chaotic and out of place. Daphne’s frustration begins when she realizes that her camera is missing, which I would interpret as point off of no return. She goes to the bathroom to restore her make up, and discovers that
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