The story is about Verna, a woman in her sixties. She is on Arctic cruise and abruptly spots a man whom she recognizes as a seventeen-year-old boy who got her pregnant when she was only fourteen. Verna is a woman who is terribly embittered against men due to her experiences. In fact, she has been initially married to four husbands who were wealthy and older than she was. This did not impress her, hence making her perceive men as animals who only aimed at using her. Despite being wealthy, Verna’s four husbands had died of natural diseases. She had helped them die faster through overdosing, encouraging unhealthy eating habits, and taking advantage of Viagra’s threat to individuals with heart diseases. She has never been in love with these men and had only lived with them because of the society. According to Atwood (2011), she hated sex but knew how to use it to revenge against the men she disliked.
Another man named Bob tries to seduce her; she pretentiously accepts his advances but plans to kill him. She kills Bob with a fossil stone that she had found on the shore and lives his body for the ravens. She tries to hide the evidence of the murder by going to the cabin and messing up whatever she found. After the cruise, Bob is nowhere to be seen, and it is assumed that he might have fallen overboard the previous night. Thus, the evidence is concealed, and Verna is safe.
The main character in the story is Verna. She is a woman in her sixties and terribly hates men. Her hatred towards men emanates from her past encounters with men. She had been married to men older than her and was not pleased with this. They had all died from natural diseases, but she had also contributed to their death. Another vital character is Bob. This man tries to seduce Verna, and he is ultimately killed by use of fossil stones. The evidence relating to his murder is concealed through Verna’s tricks, hence she remains blameless.
The story is a set in a cruise in the Arctic. It is during the cruise that Verna meets Bob, who tries to seduce her. She had gone out for fun and not to waste time falling in love with men. According to the author, she had in mind a vacation, and the Arctic could suit her. The point of view is that one’s past experiences matter to a great deal in one’s future. Verna is embittered against men because of her past life. This means that the past is vital in shaping the future of most individuals. Thus, most people would be at peace in the future in case they had an enjoyable past.
The theme of the story is revenge. Verna is not happy being with any man. She feels betrayed by men and does not seem to have ever fallen in love with any man. In addition, she hates sex, but she is adept at using it to revenge against men. Verna is driven by anger and does not want to hear anything about men. She does not care about wealth or love but would only be satisfied by retaliating against all men. Revenge takes control of all her actions. In cases where she encounters a man, she is motivated to kill him and leave him to rot. She asserts that she has no need for wealth or love. Atwood (2011) asserts that her experiences with her past husbands had frustrated her life, and revenge was the only source of peace. The author asserts that Verna had made an inner memo renouncing flirtations and any consequences that would result from them.
The most fascinating part in the story is Verna’s attitude especially towards men. In fact, she asserts that she has had enough of them, and they have to die. She has decided to change her attitude towards tools such as money because the men commonly use money to achieve women. The author asserts that she has had many men and does not need cash anymore. This means that she is satisfied living a life she has and she would satisfy herself without the help of men who use money to flatter women. She has changed from being extravagant and greedy, because she needs to live a stress free life. She has no intention of killing men but does not want them anywhere near her. She hates their seducing attitudes, because they think that women are weaker elements in the society. Men had frustrated her in the past. They had impregnated her while she was still young, and she was not happy with this. Her past sufferings have been caused by men who were older than she was. All that she needed for happiness was fun, and she had made up her mind to enjoy the life. According to the author, Verna did not intend to kill anyone. All she wanted was a vacation, pure and simple. Her attitude towards men is excessively critical. She feels that men are a bother in life and they should be eliminated in cases of any disturbances, which is why he had killed Bob, who wanted to “˜disturb’ her vacation.