Short Stories - "Spelling" And "Differently": Female Relationships

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from a patient Rose met at the nursing home whose only
communication was spelling words. After meeting this patient, Rose dreamed
that Flo was in a cage and spelling words like the old patient she met in
the nursing home. Rose tells Flo about her visit to the nursing home and
is obviously trying to influence Flo into going to the home. Flo is
suffering from some sort of dementia, perhaps Alzheimer's. In this story
the author doesn't tell the characters ages, Rose's occupation, and other
information necessary to develop a clear picture. Instead, Munro makes the
reader use more of ones imagination in developing the story. Although
Munro is not explicit, the story is about an unhappy relationship between a
daughter and mother.

In the story the narrator flashes back to a time in Rose's career when she
was in a play with her breast exposed. Flo showed her displeasure by
writing her a letter that said "shame" and adding that if her father was
not already dead, he would wish ...

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Flo has a humorous personality. Her dementia appears
to leave and she is clear-headed.

The irony of the story is that although Flo, who has had no relationship
with her daughter Rose for most of her adult life, now needs assistance or
nursing care and finds that Rose is the one who is at her side through this
transition period.

In the second short story "Differently" Munro is also talking about the
relationship of two women, Georgia and Maya. Munro points out that these
women become friends on more than one level, sharing stories, secrets, and
special times together. The mood of the story changes abruptly with the
introduction of an illicit love affair and the betrayal of a ...

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