The Feather Pillow: A Tale of Love, Death, and the Macabre

ARGUMENT

It is the story of a young married couple, Alicia, a young, angelic woman, and Jordan. Both are deeply in love. They live in a stately home in a chilling environment. Alicia spends much time alone until her husband arrives. Her health begins to decline to the point that one day she has to go into the garden leaning on her husband's arm. It was the last day Alicia went outside. The next day, the doctor examined her very carefully without finding any disease, ordering her calm and quiet. The following day, Alicia continued to deteriorate; it was clear she was approaching death, but the doctor did not know the cause. As her illness progressed, she appeared increasingly pale. In her final two days, she raved incessantly and softly until she finally died.

When the maid was tidying the room, she noticed small spots of blood on the cushion while making the bed and called Jordan. Jordan came over and discovered that his wife had died because there was a monstrous animal that sucked her blood every night. In five days, it had completely drained Alicia.

Characters

The story has only two main characters, Jordan and Alicia. The maid appears as a minor character, and the antagonistic character is the monster who killed Alicia.

Jordan

Jordan is Alicia's husband. He is a young man who, despite his rigidity, is deeply in love with her.

Alicia

Alicia is a young woman, blond, angelic, and shy. She is deeply in love with her husband to the point of even enduring living alone in a big mansion, hidden from the world she had dreamed of.

The Servant

The servant is a minor character who appears at the final outcome of the story.

Time and Space

There are no external time references, but it is understood to be contemporary to the author based on the characters who appear in it. The entire story takes place over five days (internal time), the days it takes for the beast to devour Alicia, with the only timing reference being at the beginning of the story with a brief reference to their marriage and honeymoon.

Nor are there any external spatial references. The interior space is emphasized because all the action takes place in the mansion where Jordan and Alicia live. The characters seem to be of a wealthy class: "The whiteness of the silent courtyard, friezes, columns, and marble statues produced an autumnal impression of an enchanted palace. Within the glacial brilliance of stucco, there was an unpleasant sensation of cold. When crossing from one room to another, the steps echoed [...]." This burgeoning sense of family is affirmed when several doctors come to visit the young woman or when the maid straightens the room.

Theme

Love and death are the two central themes of the story. The author narrates a scary story that reflects the anxiety of a lover who watches his wife slowly lose her life helplessly and without being able to express how much he loves her. The author concludes the story with the presence of a "bug".