One Sentence by Amy Hempel Does More Work Than You Ever Have.
“Housewife” by Amy Hempel is a VERY short story composed of a single sentence. That sentence, however, does a LOT of work. In a short amount of time, Hempel shows the power of precisely choosing your words. In this case, the entire story hinges on four words: exploit, incanting, and French film.
Exploit: “make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource).”
Incanting: “to chant or intone (ritual or magic words).”
While there is no exact definition of what constitutes a French film, the words “French film” call to mind gorgeous scenes of sleek, desirable women, impeccably dressed, pouting in beautifully lit rooms as their lovers pine for them just off-screen. Whether or not this is truly the reality of French film, this is what the Housewife envisions.
By stringing these four words together, we understand that the Housewife is trying to magic her life into something more artistic, more cinematic than what it currently is. But we have to wonder, if she is “always” doing this, are her attempts to transcend the mundane working?
At first, I thought the story was funny. Then I found it very sad. It’s impressive that Hempel takes us through a range of emotions in the space of one sentence. It’s also impressive that Hempel gives us so much information about the Housewife (what movies she watches, what her relationships with men are like, what she desires to look like, her belief systems, her ability to analyze the world, etc.) in that same sentence.
Go ahead and read the story at the link below. Then come back here and let me know what you think. Were you as impressed as I was? Did you see the stage Amy Hempel set? Did you hear the film score swelling behind that single sentence? Did you feel the tragedy?
Let me know what you think. I can’t wait to talk about it.
Link: https://biblioklept.org/2010/11/22/housewife-amy-hempel/
