"Tiny, Smiling, Daddy" Mary Gaitskill
(from the archives)
"Tiny, Smiling, Daddy" is in the collection Because They Wanted To. Gaitskill is an extremely dark writer and pleasure (for me) is derived from recognizing truths in her stories and in the quality of her writing. I like a story that makes me examine issues I have known or been made aware of in myself and others and this one does. Who doesn't know a father (or mother) who lacks what they need to connect with their child.
In this story a father has shunned his daughter since her teenage announcement that she is a lesbian. His feelings toward her had already been affected by things like nose piercings and her failure to set the table correctly. As a small child, Kitty was close to her parents but that changes as she changes. This announcement leads to Stew (and his wife) telling Kitty she's free to leave and make her own way in the world.
The story begins with a phone call from a friend telling Stew that Kitty has published a story about their relationship in a magazine titled "Self." Stew gets a copy of the magazine and although there is really nothing surprising in her article, it sort of sums up what their relationship has been, which is sad and shocking for Stew. He then thinks back on his relationship with his father, which was distant, harsh and short.
The success of this story for me is that although Stew behaves badly in this story, by the end you feel some sympathy for him because he is so clueless about nearly everything in his life. You know he won't change.
6 comments:
Well, we certainly do see too much mindless aping in society when not also in our families as well...indeed, Gaitskill is skilled, andshe's not here to hand one a laugh in what I've read from her, except when it's on e that (as Avram Davidson used to put it) has a bubble of blood in it.
I've read some of Mary Gaitskill's stories and found them disturbing.
Sounds pleasant! I don't ever remember reading her. The world is depressing enough. I read and enjoyed Dorothy M. Johnson's THE HANGING TREE collection. Now reading (again) a Barry Malzberg collection.
Though, Jeff, both those writers could lean into the grim themselves...
And I have one, bumping my previous one out of the way, as I was moved to write about the "lost" John D. MacDonald story in the "new"/current issue of THE STRAND...https://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2025/02/ssw-john-d-macdonald-accomplice.html
This story sounds interesting to me. I never had a difficult relationship with my parents, but once I got into adolescence, I felt like my father was more distant from me. Although in my family, it seemed like the more troublesome children got the most attention. Your description of the ending of the story sounds good. However, if Gaitskill's writing in general is dark, I probably would avoid her stories.
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