Questions About The Doll's Alphabet

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Answered Questions (1)

What is it with all the sewing machines? What is it a metaphor/representation of?

Taylor Besser Grudova said in an interview (Publishers Weekly, 2017; Culture Trip, 2017) that her grandmother was a seamstress and that she was fascinated by her gr…moreGrudova said in an interview (Publishers Weekly, 2017; Culture Trip, 2017) that her grandmother was a seamstress and that she was fascinated by her grandmother. Grudova learned to sew as a child and found it very imaginative. She has noted that she thinks writing and sewing are very similar.
I think they are a metaphor for 1.) creativity of women and 2.) the painful intersection of curiousity and cruelty. Women shed their skins and reveal their true form as sewing machines. A spider-like man falls in love with a sewing machine and devours seamstresses in his obsession. In Grudova's stories the sewing machines are harsh and cause pain, but fundamentally require human operation. (less)

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Unanswered Questions (1)

Alright, does anyone have an explanation about the eponym short story? I mean the "the doll's alphabet has eleven letters" one. It's driving me crazy!

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