The Stoat by John McGahern
In The Stoat by John McGahern we have the theme of selfishness, fear, responsibility, rejection and honesty. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realises after reading the story that McGahern may be exploring the theme of selfishness. The protagonist’s father on hearing that Miss McCabe has had a heart attack decides to abandon any notions he had of getting engaged to Miss McCabe. It is as though the protagonist’s father doesn’t want to care for Miss McCabe should the need arise. This may be important as it suggests that the protagonist’s father is being selfish. Thinking only of his own feelings rather than on how Miss McCabe may feel. It seems to be a case that if the focus is not on him he does not want to get engaged to or marry Miss McCabe. If anything Miss McCabe has become a liability rather than an asset to the protagonist’s father. It is also possible that the protagonist’s father fears the outcome should he end up marrying Miss McCabe. He has already buried one wife and may not wish to have to bury a second. Miss McCabe is no longer of any use to the protagonist’s father and as mentioned she has become a liability. Where previously the protagonist’s father had been happy to get engaged to Miss McCabe this is no longer the case. Driven by his own sense of importance the protagonist’s father decides to go back home without discussing the break-up with Miss McCabe.
If anything the protagonist’s father is not taking responsibility for his actions. It would be more appropriate for him to be honest with Miss McCabe rather than simply abandoning her without any type of explanation. Not only is the protagonist’s father acting selfishly but he is also avoiding having to tell Miss McCabe as to why he no longer has any interest in seeing her or getting engaged. His actions lack any type of honesty. Similarly his fears that he may have to take care of Miss McCabe suggest that the most important person in the protagonist’s father’s life is himself. He had been seeking companionship however everything must be on his terms. Something that is noticeable by fact that the protagonist’s father was unhappy with many of the women that he had seen before he choose Ms McCabe. It is possible that the other women may have been too much work for the protagonist’s father. He is looking for something easy in life without having to put too much effort in. Miss McCabe fits the bill till she has a heart attack.
Though the protagonist’s father has every right to choose the woman he wishes to marry some critics might suggest he is acting spinelessly by abandoning or rejecting Miss McCabe. It may also be a case that the protagonist is rejecting his father (and Miss McCabe). Something that is noticeable by the protagonist’s desire to ‘avoid the trout dinner and anything more got to do with them.’ As to why the protagonist wishes to reject his father and Miss McCabe is uncertain. He may have tired of their interaction with one another. Where previously he had no objection to his father finding female companionship. The protagonist has now changed his mind. The protagonist’s relationship with his uncle is also interesting as he appears to have more constructive dialogue with him than he does with his father. Throughout the story the father has been concerned only with his own goal of finding a companion. Whereas it seems his uncle listens to him. Something that is noticeable by the fact that they go on a four-mile walk together and then go to the Grand Central for a drink. It is as though both the protagonist and his uncle share common interests not only professionally but personally too.
The end of the story is also interesting as McGahern repeats a paragraph. This may be important as McGahern could be suggesting that just as the stoat will kill again so too symbolically will the protagonist’s father. Just as the stoat has killed the rabbit. The protagonist’s father has killed off his relationship with Miss McCabe and he may do so with any other woman that does not match the strict criteria that the protagonist’s father has set out. Though the protagonist’s father is looking for companionship he also seems to be looking for perfection yet he is not able to offer this himself. As a man he is flawed. He has abandoned Miss McCabe for no other reason apart from the fact she had a heart attack. The standard that the protagonist’s father has set and which many women have not been able to attain in all possibility may not be realistic. The protagonist’s father himself has very little to offer. He is stuck in his ways something that is noticeable by his reading habits when it comes to the newspaper. Yet the woman that the protagonist’s father seeks must be able to accommodate his idiosyncratic way of living and at the same time have no quirks of note themselves. Again the protagonist’s father is a selfish man who thinks only of himself. If the woman does not tick all the right boxes the protagonist’s father doesn’t want to know. Yet he cannot tick some of the boxes himself.
What are some of the symbols in this story?
Thanks for the comment Afia. In many ways the stoat and its actions mirrors the protagonist’s father. Just as they stoat has the ability to kill the rabbit. So too does the protagonists father have the ability to break Miss McCabe’s heart and other women’s heart. The holiday home may also have some symbolic significance. It is possible that McGahern is using the holiday home to highlight the fact that the protagonist’s father doesn’t really take his relationship with Miss McCabe seriously. He won’t be there for her. Just as a holiday is a time to relax. The protagonist’s father might be a little too relaxed. The fact that the protagonist’s father also was unhappy with a lot of the women he met before meeting Miss McCabe may suggest that the protagonist’s father is too picky. It is more likely that this is the case rather than the fact the women the protagonist’s father met were unsuitable. The protagonist’s father is looking for perfection from an imperfect situation.
can you describe the narrator”s relationship with his father?
The narrator’s relationship with his father is strained. The narrator does not agree with how his father is treating Miss McCabe. He would also view his relationship with his uncle as being more father-like than his own relationship with his father.
Thank you a lot.
You’re welcome Abdulaziz.
Gracias.
You’re welcome.
I am leaning toward idea that the stoat represents death and the that rabbit is a representation of the father. I sensed that the father was fearful of death; therefore influencing his choice to try to marry so quickly and be willing to abandon his former ideas as well. What do you think?
Sounds like a good idea. I like it. It fits in well with the story.
Isn’t the stoat represented as the father as they are both “Hunting their prey” and every time it mentions the rabbit, Ms McCabe is used after that implying that Ms McCabe is the rabbit as she had “pale tweeds” and other things were described to portray her as a rabbit.
You’re right Leo.
What is the setting for the stoat?
The story is set in a holiday home (in Ireland). Though it does move to different locations in the same town.
Why is rejection also a theme?
The protagonist’s father rejects Miss McCabe. Also the protagonist at the end of the story may be rejecting his father.
We were told to write a summary using the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution for this story but I am having trouble doing it. May you pls help me out. Thanks
Perhaps this link here will help you out.
Hey, I have to write about how the author makes the introduction to the story so interesting and memorable for the short story the stoat
I’m not really sure of an answer. Perhaps the comparison of the nature of an animal (the stoat) and that of a human being (the father). Both act on instinct.
How would you describe the structure of the short story?
It’s difficult to say. McGahern opens the story and ends the story with the protagonist apart and departing from his father. With the mid section being a setting of conflict (for father and Miss McCabe). However the real conflict may be the fact that the protagonist is distancing himself from his father. Which would explain the reasoning behind having the protagonist alone at the start and end of the story.
instances of selfishness and death in the story
Once instance is the boy’s father dumping (insensitively) Miss McCabe.
Instances of death in the story
There’s two I think. One where the stoat kills the rabbit (double check this) and the death of Mrs McCabe’s relationship with the boy’s father.
Could you please explain then repetition of the last paragraph? What’s its significance?
If you check out the last paragraph of the post you’ll find an answer.
Hi I was wondering what you think the purpose of the author repeating the passage at the end of the story is?
If you check out the final paragraph of the post you might find what you are looking for.
Thank you for this, helped me a lot.
You’re welcome.
What is the setting of the story?
The story is set in a holiday home (in Ireland). Though it does move to different locations in the same town.
What are the symbols of this story
This link here might help you.
Did the stoat cause miss McCabe’s heart attack and why?
No the stoat did not cause Miss McCabe’s heart attack.
Was the stoat the cause of Miss McCabe’s heart attack?
No the stoat did not cause Mrs McCabe’s heart attack.
I have to write on “How can the narrator’s observation of the stoat and the rabbit be seen as an allegory for his observation of his father and his father’s relationship with Ms McCabe? ” Please help, for I do not really understand
I wouldn’t know where to start it’s been a while since I read the story. Perhaps if you take into consideration the stoat ‘stalking’ the rabbit. Likewise the boy’s father ‘stalks or looks for a female companion. When the chase is over and the rabbit is killed so too is the boy’s father’s love for Miss McCabe. The fact that final paragraph is a repeat of another paragraph in the story suggests that the stoat and the boy’s father will do it all over again.
Thank you so much! Very, very useful for Cambridge IGCSE’s, will 100% reccomend this website 🙂
You’re welcome.
In this story is the father depicting the stoat or the rabbit ?
The father would be symbolically depicted as being the stoat while Ms McCabe would be represented by the rabbit.
In the story, he is shown as the rabbit and not the stoat. Ms. Mc Cabe is the stoat who is relentlessly pursuing him and wants to get married to him against his wishes after a change of her circumstances.
However, the roles are interchangeable as like the stoat, he is selfish and preys on her interest in him in the beginning while Ms. Mc Cabe is the rabbit left at the mercy of the selfish school principal.
Thanks for that Atiya.
How is the rabbit and stoat a motif?
Just as the protagonist’s father will kill any chances he has of love with others (Miss McCabe as an example). So too will the stoat continue to kill rabbits.
Hi I have to answer a question on what mood is created through the use of language at the paragraph where the son describes his return to where the rabbit had been attacked.Can you help me out please?
The mood may be one of fear for the son. He doesn’t like what is happening just as he doesn’t like what his father is doing.
Are there any conflicts in this story?
The son is in conflict with the father.
Please help me write on the theme of responsibility with regard to this story!
One way to look at it is. The son wishes that his father would act responsibly when it comes to telling Miss McCabe that the relationship is over. Rather than the son having to tell her.
Could you please describe the climax of the story? Thank you.
The climax of the story occurs when Miss McCabe falls ill and the father decides not to remain in contact with her.
Pls tell me about the father’s character in the beginning
The father appears to be excited at the prospect of meeting Miss McCabe and does not foresee what will happen between the two of them.
Can u give me some examples for predator and prey being seen in the father , Miss McCabe , uncle and the boy
The father may be acting like a predator when he advertises for companionship and Miss McCabe may be his prey. He does attempt to control her throughout the story as well. Eventually discarding her when she is of no use to him. With regard to the uncle and the boy. Their relationship appears to be based more on friendship and equality rather than on predator versus prey.
The character of the father.
The father is selfish and thinks only of himself. Also he may be insecure due to the fact he has to ask his son to tell Miss McCabe that the courtship is over.
Can you please explain what purpose does the uncle serve in the story? The uncle is not autobiographical, so why would McGahern invent him?
The uncle may represent everything good in a father figure. At least for the boy.
What can you tell about the decision of the father to reject Miss McCabe
You can tell that he is acting selfishly because of Miss McCabe’s poor health (or perceived poor health). His primary focus is on himself and not on Miss McCabe. Who he had planned to continue a relationship with till she feel ill.
Give a description on the student.
The student has lost his mother though appears to have live a balanced life not through his father’s actions but because of his close connection with his uncle.
Can you pls give more description?
I would need to read the story again.
Can you further explain to me about the relationship between the student and uncle?
The student looks upon his uncle as being a father figure. He enjoys his company more than he does his own father’s. It is as though the student feels more content in life when he is with his uncle.
a little description more pls
I’m afraid I would need to read the story again and at the moment I’m focused on other stories that I also have to read.
what can you tell about student and his mother
I’m working from memory and I don’t recall a relationship between the student and his mother (though I could be wrong). As I’ve previously mentioned I would need to read the story again.
what was his job?
You’re going to have to read the story for yourself to figure that out.
Thanks for your help and time.
I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.
Can you talk about the theme of death in the story?
The students’s mother is dead. The rabbit is killed and the father kills off any chances of a romance with Miss McCabe. McGahern possibly using each incident to suggest the prevalence of death in both the students and his father’s life. Nothing grows.
I am not sure if the father is the stoat and Ms McCabe is the rabbit or the father is the rabbit and Mc McCabe is the stoat?
Thank you for your explanation
The father is the stoat while Miss McCabe is the rabbit.
What is the Rising action, the falling action and resolution?
I would need to read the story again.
Can you explain about the. character sketches of the father and son
Working from memory. The father is selfish, thinks only of himself and asks his son to inform Miss McCabe that the relationship is over. With regards to the son. There appears to be a void in his life which his uncle seems to fill. As a son he does not really like his father.
Working from memory. The father is selfish, thinks only of himself and asks his son to inform Miss McCabe that the relationship is over. With regards to the son. There appears to be a void in his life which his uncle seems to fill. As a son he does not really like his father.
Also can you tell about the father
There’s not much really to the father. As mentioned he is a selfish, cold man.
Thanks a lot and it is useful for IGCSE Cambridge examination
I’m glad you found the post helpful. Good luck with your examinations.
Thanks for all that you have answered me for my questions and it was useful not only for me but also for shevon too. We are writing the IGCSE examination on 2019. Thanks.
You’re welcome. Good luck with the examination.
I’ve got some confusions! The story is not too clear for me…..Can I have the fully fledged summary of “The Stoat” Please? Thank you……..
I’m sorry but I would need to read the story again to be able to provide you with a fully fledged summary and at the moment I have a back log of stories that I need to read.
Can explain the relationship between father and the son
Have a look at the other comments. I think I’ve answered the question before.
Can you give me the answer pls
If you go through the previous questions that have been asked. You will find your answers.
I have doubt about the father’s rejection of Miss McCabe. Can you explain?
What do you doubt? The father asks the son to tell Miss McCabe that he won’t be seeing her again.
This is a very helpful website for the people who sit for the IGSCE examination . Pra bath, shevon and me are friends in school who sits for the exam held in next year . .Good job..
Good luck with your examinations.
can you pls explain at which stages that Miss McCabe becomes the symbol of stoat and rabbit
Miss McCabe symbolizes the rabbit while the father symbolizes the stoat. Firstly Miss McCabe is pursued (or courted) by the father and then she is killed off (not literally) when the father gets his son to tell Miss McCabe the relationship is over.
Did you mean that Miss McCabe is killed by the son’s father?
No. The relationship comes to an end very much like the rabbit’s life comes to an end.
Miss McCabe still continued to have plans for the future with the father. It is as though she wasn’t listening to the son.
Did the father accept then to live with Miss McCabe or something else happen to their family?
No the father abandoned Miss McCabe and went home. Ending his holiday early.
I don’t have an clear idea of the ending of the story (not about that repeating paragraph. I understood it easily by your post). Can you pls explain me the whole ending because it is much useful for o/l?
The father leaves Miss McCabe in the hotel and returns home. The relationship is over. Though Miss McCabe can’t see this. By repeating the paragraph the writer (John McGahern) may be suggesting that the father (who symbolizes the stoat) will repeat his actions with another woman (or rabbit – symbolism for Miss McCabe or other women).
Does the uncle and student represent any symbolism other than father and McCabe?
The uncle might symbolize the type of relationship that the son wants to have with a father figure.
Can you please tell me after father left her what happens to McCabe’s and son’s life? and how does the uncle may involve? (this is much needed answer)
The son goes to visit his uncle. As to what happens next is uncertain. The father returns home and the reader is left assuming that Miss McCabe will eventually realise that the father has left her.
I can’t understand it clearly please explain me the answer more
At the end of the story the son goes to visit his uncle. Where he feels more comfortable. Miss McCabe we assume will understand that she has been abandoned when she goes to the holiday cottage and the father and son aren’t there. The uncle and the role he’ll play with the son is not known.
Is it that the son lived happily with uncle, the father left them and lived along and also mother lived along in McCabe, Can you please explain about this?
I don’t know if the son stayed with the uncle. McGahern never tells the reader. As to what happens Miss McCabe (who is not the mother) is also difficult to say as no information is provided by McGahern.
Thanks for second time also. You spend your time and thanks for you. All you answered and the post gave me a clear understanding. I will ask if I have any question later. Thanks for all you have done.
You’re welcome.
what is the tone and language of this story?
I would need to read the story again to answer your question. It’s been a while since I read the story.
Can anyone please tell me what are the conflicts in the story?
Two that spring to mind are the father’s relationship (particularly the end of the relationship with Miss McCabe) when he gets the son to tell her that the relationship is over because he himself is unable to tell her. The other noticeable conflict is the son’s dislike in having to do as his father wants him to do when it comes to Miss McCabe. Which may be leading the son closer to his uncle.
can you please explain the theme of fear
also amazing analysis nice work!
One element of fear in the story is the fact that the father feels as though he may have to look after Miss McCabe. Having already buried a wife. He does not wish to have to bury another one.
thank you
You’re welcome.
Having a discussion with my student, she suggested that the stoat could also be Ms McCabe as she was the one chasing McGlaren and targeting him to stay with him like a stoat and McGlaren is trying to run like a rabbit.
Dermot how would you consider this analysis? Is it valid to think it otherwise?
Your analysis have been of great help to me Thanks a lot
It’s a valid point and one that can’t be ignored. Miss McCabe certainly does have the traits of the stoat.
BUT Neha yes McCabe might have chased down McGlaren but in no way was he like the rabbit cause he eventually left the rabbit could not leave unlike McGlaren so yh
Nice, that really helped me thanks
You’re welcome.
can you please please please please explain the theme of rejection to me?
The father rejects Miss McCabe because of her illness. The son may also be rejecting his father in favour of his uncle.
Please do help me write on the theme of selfishness as portrayed in the story
The father acts selfishly by getting his son to tell Miss McCabe that he is no longer interested in a relationship with her. Rather than having the decency to tell Miss McCabe himself. the father uses his son to tell her.
Can someone tell some quotes that shows that the father is selfish? please, thanks
I would need to read the story again. However some of the selfishness is implied by the lack of what the father does.
Thanks.
and again, can you explain this quote ‘ who wants to marry a woman who can pop off at any minute?
It means who wants to marry a woman who could die at any moment.
Dermot, you are the man 🙂 thanks for this summary
You’re welcome.
This really helped a lot. But I was told that Miss McCabe is compared to the stoat as she still insisted on getting married to the boys father even after her attack. Just as the stoat held on to the rabbit to suck it’s blood so it’s kind of confusing me because that isn’t what I read here. Help please!
There is a slight confusion. Miss McCabe represents the rabbit while the father represents the stoat. She may have insisted on getting married but that was because she was still caught in the father’s grip.
I need help with the charactersketch of both the father and the boy
The father is selfish and thinks only of himself. While the son is caught between his father and Miss McCabe. When the reality is he would prefer to spend time with his uncle.
OMG! Thank you so much Dermot.
You’re welcome.
Is love a theme in the stoat?
It could be. Miss McCabe may very well be in love with the father. While the boy may not actually love his father at all.
Hi, thank you very much for the helpful insights you have given in this story . Please can you answer one question.
How father is vividly portrayed by Mac Gahern in the story The stoat?
I would be highly obliged Thank you
I’m afraid I would need to read the story again to answer your question.
Aww it’s ok Thank you for replying so quickly. I have an idea i will try to write it myself. Thank you once again
Can you list me all the themes please?
I list and go through each theme in the post.
Can you tell me the Structure, and importance of the structure, in the story?
One noticeable thing about the structure of the story is the fact that McGahern repeats the final paragraph. By doing so he is re-emphasizing that the father (and the stoat) will continue to act as they do.
Why does the writer say “ it was the stoat the Father has glimpsed in Miss McCabe’s hotel room” . Does that mean that Ms. McCabe was the stoat ? How would we justify that ?
It is more likely that the father got a glimpse of himself and knew the direction he was going to take.
How about the Father being the rabbit as he was the one running away from the harsh reality of death ( inevitability of death) . He had kept his eyes closed to the reality that he would also die one day. The writer says that they all were running . In that case , death is the stout as it is the one chasing him.
That makes sense. Good thinking.
I think the stoat could represent a person’s fears. So when it says that the father had seen the stoat in the lady’s room, it could mean that the father had ‘seen’ his fear of having to deal with (another) death and being alone.
The fact that the father tries to run away from his fears is one of the things that the son dislikes about his father.
The moral of the story could be to face your fears rather than try to run away from them as your fears tend to chase you…
You have a good grip of the story.
Thank you for providing this discussion platform and for your analysis and feedback too!
No problem. You’re welcome.
The irony is that the son is also running away – from his father!
Very true.
Where are the settings of the story?
The story is set in two different locations. The town where the uncle lives and the town where the father and son are renting a holiday home.
Hey…I was asked to relate the killing of the rabbit by the stoat to how the boy’s father treated Miss McCabe after her heart attack.
There would be similarities. Just as the rabbit is left to die. So too is Miss McCabe (symbolically). Also the stoat has no concern for the rabbit. Neither does the father have any concern for how Miss McCabe may feel when it comes to their relationship coming to an end.
What is the connection between the story of the stoat and the main story
The stoat can be seen to represent the father and how the stoat treats the rabbit is symbolically similar to how the father treats Miss McCabe.
can you tell me the character the uncle has and also Miss McCabe?
love the summary
The father is a selfish man who thinks only about his own needs. While Miss McCabe is prepared to give her life to the father. She acts selflessly throughout the story.
Which ways does the author convey the idea of ‘selfishness’
Through the father’s character and actions. He acts selfishly towards Miss McCabe and thinks only of himself.
Would you elaborate on the theme of death in the story the stoat?
There is the death of the rabbit. There is the close call for Miss McCabe and there is the death of Miss McCabe’s relationship with the father. All three are interlinked with the rabbit symbolizing Miss McCabe. While the stoat would represent the father.
Thank you sooo much
You’re welcome.
I am studying this for school and I would like to know why the protagonist wants to kill his father
It’s difficult to say. Perhaps because of how he (the father) treats Miss McCabe. Also the protagonist’s mother is dead. She may have had a difficult life with the father.
How would you end an essay for the stoat for the question theme of death
Perhaps by suggesting that the father will continue to act the same. Destroying every relationship he has. Just as the stoat killed the rabbit.
Wow you just saved my essay. Thank you.
Good luck with your studies.
Does the father miss his wife ?If he does ..why does he?
It’s difficult to say as he shows a selfish streak throughout the story.
What is the relationship that exists between the father and the son?
The relationship appears to be strained with the son preferring to spend time with his Uncle.
hello,
is it that the father is the stoat and mcCabe the rabbit or vise versa?
could you please explain with reference why?
also that how is the title suitable for the story and the happening inside it?
The father is the stoat while Miss McCabe is the rabbit. The father (or stoat) preys on Miss McCabe (or the rabbit). Discarding her at the end of the story. The title is suitable because the stoat follows the actions of the father.
How has death been portrayed in John McGahern’s “The Stoat”?
As a cruel part of life. Firstly the stoat killing the rabbit out of instinct or necessity and the father ending the relationship with Miss McCabe.
How has the author portrayed the strange relationship between the father and the son. this is my 25 mark answer for school which has an ib board… can you help me in any way
The son is reluctant to tell Miss McCabe that she is no longer wanted by his father. The son feels as though the father has never changed and he is disappointed by this. If anything the father should tell Miss McCabe himself. Also by introducing the uncle into the story (as a second father figure) McGahern manages to highlight the strain on the father son relationship.
Also the father is a selfish man so it is difficult for the son to have a relationship with him.
Hello Dermot how are you? I learnt many things from all the posts related for o’levels and got good results for term tests. Can you remember I asked about 15 questions from you and you helped me a lot. I just went through other stories also and went some of posts too. Great work! I just want to say you are doing a great service for children who don’t understand these big concepts also. So good day Dermot.
It’s great to know that you get some benefit form the blog Prabath. Congratulations on your good grades.
It also tells that protagonist is sensitive about its family relations that he does not want any other person like Ms McCabe to take the place of his mother also he is fearful that Ms McCabe might also die which would repeat the incident and would grieve his father so the protagonist is caring to his father and having good relations with his father. What do you think?
Thanks for that insight Haseeb. I think you could be right. The protagonist may be protecting himself.
how does the author affectively bring out the strange relationship between father and son?
One way is by introducing the uncle’s character. Who acts more like a father to the son than his own father does. Which would highlight the struggles in the father and son relationship.
what does the story tell us about the protagonist and how does the authors writing make you feel about the protagonist??
The protagonist is tired of his father’s ways. The reader is also left supportive of the protagonist. The father is a selfish man who thinks of nobody but himself.
Thanks a lot for the help.
You’re welcome.
what about the humour brought out by McGahern?
I would need to go through the story again.
What the literal and metaphoric meaning
The literal meaning is the meaning that is derived from the literal. While the figurative or metaphorical meaning is the non literal or often symbolical meaning of the word.
Hi there what do you think about the 4 characters and describe them using adjectives
The Son-
The father-
Miss McCabe-
The uncle-
I’m sorry but I would need to read the story again.
The Son- independent
The father- selfish
Miss McCabe- selfless
The uncle- kind-hearted
Thanks Alisha.
how can you describe the father’s character?
I would describe him as being selfish and self-centered.
how can you describe the heart attack being significant to the boy as he took away the rabbit from the stoat hence they are both running from Miss McCabe because of her heart attack since the father said earlier that who would want to marry a woman who can pop off at any minute..
I’m not sure I understand your question.
which is the setting of the story?
The story is set in two different locations. The town where the uncle lives and the town where the father and son are renting a holiday home.
How is the theme of honesty represented?
I go through the theme of honesty in the second paragraph of the post.
thanks a lot! 🙂
You’re welcome.
At first I did not understand the story but now I do. Thanks
That’s great I’m glad you found the post helpful.
How does McGahern’s writing make this a powerful story
McGahern normalizes everything and brings nature into the story. The nature of the stoat is the nature of the father.
please describe the plot and structure of the stoat
I would need to read the story again to figure out the plot structure.
please do it i will appreciate it and tell me because i have a presentation
I’m sorry I simply don’t have the time to read the story again.
Exposition – the father and son are in a holiday home and the father has a love interest in Mrs McCabe.
Rising Action – the father and Mrs McCabe become closer.
Climax – Miss McCabe has a heart attack and is abandoned by the father.
Falling action – The father wants the son to tell Mrs McCabe that they no longer have a relationship.
Resolution – The father returns home without Miss McCabe and the son heads to his uncle’s.
Can you tell me the characters plz
The son, the father, the uncle and Miss McCabe.
thanks, mate ur analysis helped me understand this story.
That’s great.
https://prezi.com/fnzzg9_sgpn0/the-stoat/ this guy has plagiarized do report him
Thanks Pl.
Comment in detail on the central themes of selfishness, responsibility, and rejection as portrayed in The Stoat.
I go through each of those themes in the post.
May you please send a short summary of the story?
I would need to read the story again.
Good people could you please help me with literature thought questions.
Do you have a question Relebohile?
So I understand that selfishness is a theme but what about selflessness
I suggest it could be viewed as a theme. Miss McCabe is acting selflessly throughout the story.
How is the father compared to the stoat?
One way in which the father is like the stoat is by the cruelty the father shows. Which mirrors that of the stoat. Just as the father kills off Miss McCabe’s dreams so too does the stoat kill the rabbit
I just have a question, how does the writer effectively convey the son’s disdain / contempt for his father?
One way it is noticeable is by the way the son distances himself from his father. He spends time with his uncle at the beginning of the story and again at the end of the story.
thanks
You’re welcome.
Can you help me with this question? In what ways does the writer convey a distinctive voice for the character?
Possibly by having the character being so strong. He is not dependent on his father.
In what ways does the writer convey a distinctive voice for the main character(son)?
Check my answer above.
thanks
You’re welcome.
what do you mean by strong?
The son is independent of the father.
Sorry for all the questions. But can you tell me in what ways does the writer convey a distinctive voice for the father?
Thanks
The father is a determined man. Once he makes a decision he sticks to it. As can be seen when he decides to break off his engagement with Miss McCabe.
Quotes in the story that shows the relationship between the narrator and his father
I’m sorry but I would need to read the story again and at the moment I have a backlog of stories I need to read first.
How does the allegory of the stoat presented at the beginning of the story and the rabbit help to support the theme of the story?
The allegory mirrors the father’s relationship with Miss McCabe.
Amazing work ….. just wanted to confirm that when the father left miss McCabe he was the stoat and when he ran away from that place in the end he was the rabbit right?
I had Miss McCabe as the stoat. Preyed upon by the father but if you can link the rabbit to being the father. Go with it.
how would you summarize the plot in a few sentences?
I’m not sure. I would need to read the story again.
How does McGahern make this extract so sad?
I’m sorry but I don’t have access to the extract you are referring to.
How does McGahern make this extract sad?
On Friday afternoon she bought cut flowers – daffodils, anemones,a few twigs of a red-leaved
shrub, wrapped in mauve waxed paper, for Saturday was the seventeenth anniversary of her
husband’s death and she planned to visit his grave, as she did each year, to weed it and put fresh
flowers in the two jam jars standing one on each side of the tombstone. Her visit this year occupied
her thoughts more than usual. She had bought the flowers to force herself to make the journey
that each year became more hazardous, from the walk to the bus stop, the change of buses at the
Octagon, to the bitterness of the winds blowing from the open sea across almost unsheltered rows
of tombstones; and the tiredness that over came her when it was time to return home when she
longed to find a place beside the graves, in the soft grass, and fall asleep.
That evening she filled the coal bucket, stoked the fire. Her movements were slow and arduous,
her back and shoulder gave her so much pain. She cooked her tea – liver and bacon – set her knife
and fork on the tea towel she used as a tablecloth, turned up the volume of the polished red radio
to listen to the Weather Report and the News, ate her tea, washed her dishes, then sat drowsing in
the rocking chair by the fire,waiting for the water to get hot enough for a bath. Visits to the
cemetery,the doctor, and to relatives, to stay, always demanded a bath. When she was sure that
the water was hot enough (and her tea had been digested)she ventured from the kitchen through
the cold passageway to the colder bathroom. She paused in the doorway to get used to the chill of
the air then she walked slowly, feeling with each step the pain in her back, across to the bath, and
though she knew that she was gradually losing the power in her hands she managed to wrench on
the stiff cold and hot taps and half-fill the bath with warm water. How wasteful, she thought, that
with the kitchen fire always burning during the past month of frost, and the water almost always
hot, getting in and out of a bath had become such an effort that it was not possible to bath neither
every night nor even every week!
She found a big towel, laid it ready over a chair, arranged the chair so that should difficulty arise as
it had last time she bathed she would have some way of rescuing herself; then with her
nightclothes warming on a page of newspaper inside the coal oven and her dressing-gown across
the chair to be put on the instant she stepped from the bath, she undressed and pausing first to get
her breath and clinging tightly to the slippery yellow-stained rim that now seemed more like the
edge of a cliff with a deep drop below into the sea, slowly and painfully she climbed into the bath.
—I’ll put on my nightie the instant I get out, she thought. The instant she got out indeed! She knew
it would be more than a matter of instants yet she tried to think of it calmly, without dread, telling
herself that when the time came she would be very careful, taking the process step by step,
surprising her bad back and shoulder and her powerless wrists into performing feats they might
usually rebel against, but the key to controlling them would be the surprise, the slow stealing up on
them. With care, with thought …
Sitting upright, not daring to lean back or lie down, she soaped herself, washing away the dirt of
the past fortnight, seeing with satisfaction how it drifted about on the water as a sign that she was
clean again. Then when her washing was completed she found herself looking for excuses not to try
yet to climb out. Those old woman’s finger nails, cracked and dry, where germs could lodge, would
need to be scrubbed again; the skin of her heels, too, growing so hard that her feet might have
been turning to stone; behind her ears where a thread of dirt lay in the rim; after all, she did not often have the
luxury of a bath, did she? How warm it was! She drowsed a moment. If only she could fall asleep
then wake to find herself in her nightdress in bed for the night! Slowly she rewashed her body, and
when she knew she could no longer deceive herself into thinking she was not clean she reluctantly
replaced the soap, brush and flannel in the groove at the side of the bath, feeling as she loosened
her grip on them that all strength and support were ebbing from her. Quickly she seized the
nail-brush again, but its magic had been used and was gone; it would not adopt the role she tried
to urge upon it. The flannel too, and the soap, were frail flotsam to cling to in the hope of being
borne to safety.
She was alone now.
Please is for an exam
thank in advance
There \are several ways. Firstly McGahern sets the scene with the woman being alone. He also introduces the graveyard. Secondly the woman is in physical pain, as though she has noting to live for or there is no joy in her life. Which may suggest to some readers that the woman is preparing herself for her own death.
The fact that the bath is the only comfort for the woman also highlights how lonely or sad she feels.
can you discuss about the theme of death in the story please?
The only thing I can suggest is that the rabbit’s death is mirrored by the death in Miss McCabe’s relationship with the father.
thanks but can you elaborate a little more about the theme of death please?
You have to link the stoat to the father and Miss McCabe to the rabbit. The father terminates or kills his relationship with Miss McCabe. Also Miss McCabe becomes unwell in the story ( a weak heart).
is the death of the mother also part of the theme pf death?
It would be.
ty for everything!
You’re welcome. Good luck with your studies.
What is the atmosphere throughout the story?
I would suggest that the atmosphere is downcast.
can you tell me the relationship between miss cabe and the father?
Miss McCabe loves the narrator’s father but the love is not reciprocated when the father discovers that Miss McCabe has a bad heart.
Could you describe the relationship of the protagonists father with Ms McCabe .
The father is in a romantic relationship with Miss McCabe. However when she gets ill, he ends the relationship. Which may suggest that he is non-committal towards Miss McCabe. In reality the father thinks only of himself and not Miss McCabe.
How is Miss McCabe presented throughout the story?
I would need to read the story again to answer your question.
How does McGahern portray the relationship between the boy and his father
One way he does so is by introducing a third party (the uncle).
Thank you
May you please give me more points on how the writer portrays the relationship between the boy and his father
McGahern allows for the reader to get an insight into the boy’s feelings over his father ending his relationship with Miss McCabe. He is displeased with his father.
Sir can you tell me what types of literary devices are in this story?
I’m sorry but I would need to read the story again to answer your question.
why is the name of the story “The stoat”?
Possibly because a stoat is mentioned at the beginning and end of the story and acts as a mirror to the father’s actions.
Hey I just wanna say thanks a lot for doing what youre doing, answering questions in the comments and writing these essays. You’re really helping us a lot.
Thanks Joel. I’m glad you find the posts helpful.