It Was All a Dream! (But What If It Wasn't?)
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Dream vision
16 min read
The article critiques the 'it was all a dream' narrative device. This Wikipedia article covers the literary genre of dream visions, tracing its history from medieval literature through modern usage, providing context for why this technique is both powerful and problematic.
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Alexander Pushkin
15 min read
The article analyzes a Pushkin story, and understanding the author's broader literary significance, his role in Russian literature, and his narrative techniques would enrich the reader's appreciation of Saunders' critique.
It Was All a Dream! (But What If It Wasn't?)
First, a quick announcement: On Monday, December 1st (i.e., tomorrow), Paula will be doing an event here, at Godmothers Books in Santa Barbara, interviewed by our dear friend and legendary photographer Stewart Shining - as previously mentioned, it should be a very special conversation, as Stewart and Paula were next-door neighbors, growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota. I’ll be there and hoping to see some of you there too.
On to Pushkin…
One of my reservations about “The Coffin Maker” (and many of you mentioned this as well) is that “it was all a dream” ending. The whole story, any story, is a dream of sorts – it didn’t happen and yet, while we’re in it, we’re asked to believe in it, and we agree to do so – and, in the case of a story with this sort of ending, our trust is, in a sense, violated.
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