This week, for class, I read the epistolary short story, “The Gift,” from Emma Donoghue’s novel, Astray. “The Gift” was a series of letters sent back and forth between a biological mother, Sarah Bell, and the adoptive father, Mr. Bassett. Sarah Bell gave up her child since she was unable to provide the child with a stable living environment. However, she was under the impression that she would be able to get her daughter back when she was able to provide for her. The family Sarah Bell’s child was placed with ended up adopting her. The letters span from when Sarah Bell gave her daughter up in 1877 to Mr. Bassett informing Sarah Bell that her biological daughter got married. Sarah Bell named her daughter Lily May Bell and refers to her that way in all of her letters. Mr. Bassett, on the other hand, says early on that he and his wife decided to change her name to Mabel:
“Her first [name] will be Mabel which keeps two of her old names—May Bell—in a hidden way…”
Pg. 157; “The Gift” in Emma Donoghue’s novel, Astray
The effect the story has on the readers would not be the same if it was not told through letters. Without the letter format, we would lack the ability to fully grasp the emotions of Sarah Bell and Mr. Bassett. I found “The Gift” to be very intriguing since Mabel appeared to be the main character even though none of the letters were written by her.
