story: “A Woman, Young and Old”
author: Grace Paley
year: Grace’s first (of three) story collections was published when she was in her late 30s; this story appeared in that first collection. 1959!
where: mio ufficio, before my Italian lesson
note: The title of this story comes from a Yeats poem, where the poet explores the idea that sex is the only thing the transcends over time.
a line: “’Men are different than women,’ said Joanna, and it’s the only thing she says in this entire story.”
theme(s): Wartime romance, female competition, young love
samantha Neugebauer 