Best Of Alice Munro's "Lives of Girls and Women"

Painting above: Grape Harvest c. 1910 by Dora Hitz

'Why not?'

Why not? Because, I could have said to him,

we do not pray for things to happen or not happen,

but for the strength and grace to bear what does.

A fine way out, that smells abominably of defeat.

But I did not think of it.

I simply thought, and knew,

that praying was not going to stop my father going out

and getting his gun and calling,

'Major! Here, Major—' prayer would not alter that.

-from the story 'Age of Faith'

The gymnastics of his mind I did not admire,

for people only admire abilities similar to,

though greater than, their own.

-from the story 'Baptizing'

Her concern about my life, which I needed and took for granted,

I could not bear to have expressed.

Also I felt that it was not so different from all the other advice

handed out to young women, to girls,

advice that assumed that being female made you damageable,

that a certain amount of carefulness and solemn fuss

and self-protection were called for,

whereas men were supposed to be able to go out

and take on all kinds of experiences

and shuck off what they didn’t want

and come back proud.

Without even thinking about it,

I had decided to do the same.

-from the eponymous story 'Lives of Girls and Women'

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