Family Dynamics Within Bad Dreams and Other Stories
- Lauren Bruce
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
The following is an excerpt from our Bad Dreams and Other Stories Study Companion, available on the resources page of our website.
The families portrayed by Hadley often appear as fractured entities rather than cohesive units. In ‘An Abduction’, Jane’s attempts to play with Frances and her friends are met with hostility. Similarly, her brother maintains that she is not allowed beyond his “threshold” further reinforcing the distance between them. It is unsurprising that Jane’s family hardly notice that she has been abducted, with her parents more concerned with themselves and their own activities. Jane’s father, Mr. Allsop who was “supposed to be her ally” instead regards his daughter “vaguely, through a fog of fond concern” and appears to avoid his parental role.
‘The Stain’ also features a distant relationship between the old man and his daughter, Wendy. Marina is able to see past the “cantankerous and shaky” behaviour of her employer and instead see “that he was depressed”. In contrast, Wendy is “awkward in his company” and they behave as “almost strangers”. As the old man’s affection grows for Marina, he describes her as “his treasure” and a person who “doesn’t know her own goodness.” Wendy’s decision to renovate her father’s home is set against Marina’s refusal to accept any proceeds from the home which further cements the humility of the housekeeper and highlights her moral fibre.
Claire, the protagonist in ‘Flight’, explores the concept of divisions between siblings. Reliable Susan is pitted against jet-setting Claire whose success has set her apart from her family. Claire’s return to celebrate the birth of Calum details Claire’s efforts to assuage her guilt through buying them gifts “as if this choice were the problem, rather than anything between them in the past.” Hadley subverts the notion that the birth of a new baby can unite a family and instead it becomes apparent that Susan remains unable to forgive Claire despite her efforts to ingratiate herself with the family. Claire is portrayed as having a materialistic bent which she uses to distract herself from “anything between them in the past.” Her hesitancy is clear as she observes the “flattening and grudging” ways of her home that were always a “shock at first.” Claire’s distance from her family is made more palpable in her reactions to baby Calum who is described as a “damp live package of baby” that she gushes over to her niece although “not quite sincerely.” Any potential for a happy domestic scene is thwarted with Susan’s “shut[ting] down” upon realising Claire’s unexpected arrival. Hadley’s poignant description of Claire’s crossword letters allowing her to feel “closely in contact with her sister” further underscores that this level of contact may be all that is available. Susan’s decision to return the scarf unopened solidifies the notion that their sibling relationship remains damaged with little hope for redemption.
Hadley continues her depiction of young people who feel marginalised within their own families in ‘Her Share of Sorrow’. As the shortest story within the collection, this vignette provides a snapshot of Ruby’s efforts to engage in her new-found passion for writing. Ruby is described as a “changeling in that family” with the rest of her immediate family described as “distinguished and beautiful and tall.” Ruby’s unexpected interest in reading is initially hidden from her family and takes place in the attic to the “amused perplexity” of her family. After announcing her foray into writing, Ruby holds back with “uncharacteristic restraint” and intimates that “something delicate in her story needed her protection.” The young protagonist’s heartbreak is made all the more real by her brother’s unbidden reading of her work which results in her mother’s shoulder “shaking” with laughter. Ruby is understandably “inconsolable” as her family had “hollowed out the best thing she had ever done.” Indeed, Ruby’s path to “writerly triumph” is a hard fought one and sees her experience her “share of sorrow” as the title affirms and echoes the experiences of the characters she develops.
Did you notice?
Straggling in through the front of the house and then out again at the back almost immediately, as if the bright indoors were an optical trick, not absorbent like the gloomy interiors Jane was used to, which were dense with family history
The violence was worse because it was frozen in silence – had lain in wait, gloating, while she suspected nothing.
Hadley’s vivid descriptions of domestic interiors almost serve as characters within their own right and mirror the unsettled behaviors of their inhabitants. Here, Hadley usurps the typical notion of home as a type of haven from the outside world and portrays her characters as facing a range of challenges in both their interior and exterior landscapes. In personifying the features of familiar spaces, her settings suggest the potential for chaos to ensue.
We have lots more to say about this text! If you’d like for Ben to speak to your students or to your teaching team, please contact hello@englishlab.com.au
Please also look around our website for further resources and services that can help your Year Twelve teachers and students get the best out of themselves. Our study guide (of which this post is an excerpt from) is available by clicking on the ‘Resources’ tab at the top of this page.
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