Short Stories

Mystery in the Short Story

The term short story can be a bit deceiving. The idea of a short story seems that it may be lacking something, that some of the essential elements of plot and other aspects of literature may not be found in these stories as they would in novels. Eudora Welty in her essay “The Reading and Writing of Short Stories” states that “Every good story has a mystery-not the puzzle kind, but the mystery of allurement”(164). This mystery can be found in her own short story, “Why I live at the P.O.” and Anton Chekhov’s story “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” Although these stories develop their mystery and allurement in different ways, both use the elements of plot such as point of view and setting as well as narration to develop their stories in a way that keeps building mystery and attraction to the work throughout the whole story.

Welty continues in her article stating, “As we understand the story better, it is likely that the mystery does not necessarily decrease, it simply grows more beautiful”(164). By incorporating different aspects of plot into short stories, authors are able to create allurement in their works. When using these elements Welty concludes that “All this is delightful to us not only for itself but for its function of play or assuring of anticipation.” This anticipation can be derived in many ways as seen in Welty’s and Chekhov’s stories.

Chekhov’s story holds mystery within each of the four parts of the story. As the plot sets on there is an attraction between Gurov and Anna Sergeyenvna. The mystery does not lie in their attraction, but the setting. “The stories told of the immorality of Yalta are to a great extent untrue, he despised them, and knew that such stories were made up for the most part by persons who would have been glad to sin themselves if they had the chance” (136). Though the thought that these stories are untrue about Yalta, this thought of Gurov’s still puts the thought in the reader’s mind that there may be something coming from the possible encounter for the two main characters.

As the mystery evolves in the story, part two holds the suspense of the long awaited uniting of Anna and Gurov. “Then he looked at her intently, and suddenly embraced her and kissed her on the lips, and the moist fragrance of her flowers enveloped him and at once he looked round him anxiously, wondering if anyone had seen them” (138). Although this union may not have been unexpected, the plot starts to thicken. The conflict is now whether the couple will continue the love affair and how they will continue to keep it a secret. This union is also gratifying for the reader and “creates allurement” in the story because what Gurov had thought was just a myth about Yalta had now just come true in his life. The setting now becomes even more important in the mystery of the story because their affair has now just become a clichÐ"© in Yalta.

The third part of the story derives mystery and conflict in the fact that the couple is now apart and in their own lives at home. Gurov had previously referred to women as “the inferior race.” How will his feelings affect him now that he is back to life in Moscow? Will he still carry on with this feeling of women meaning nothing to him? This section is important to the creation of mystery in the story because now there is the conflict of what will Gurov and Anna do about their growing feelings for each other. This section flows directly into the last major question in the story in part four. Now that the couple has finally discovered the love they have for each other, what will they do about it?

The story even ends in mystery. Although there is very little dialogue in the whole story, there are very powerful words at the end. Gurov repeats the question, “how.” The last line states that the mystery was successfully built throughout the entire plot and now there is mystery left with the reader after. This is the type of mystery that Welty describes that renews itself every time.

Welty’s own story, “Why I live at the P.O.” follows her definition of creating mystery. The plot in the story creates many questions that lead to the overall mystery of the story. The main character, Sister seems to be the outcast in her family even though she is depicted to be the hardest working one. The conflict lies between she and her sister. The reason for the conflict is never really stated. This leads to a reoccurring sense of mystery in the whole story. Every time Stella-Rondo turns someone else against Sister it really never makes sense why.

Another aspect that creates this continuous mystery is the narration in the story. Sister is the narrator and she is telling the story to someone but it is never outwardly stated that she is telling her story to a customer who comes into her new home at the post office. This fact finally becomes unraveled at the end when she states that she has been living at the post office for the last five days. Throughout the entire story the reader can tell that she is clearly talking to someone, but it is only at the end that they realize whom she is actually talking to.

The setting is also very important in context of the story. Welty’s depiction of a Southern family leaves its own mystery for the reader to figure out. There are many things about Southern culture that will always remain a mystery. Sister is a term of endearment in the South for many families, but it is also important that this narrator is nameless besides this nickname. Another family dynamic that causes mystery is why the mother will not believe what