Through her short stories Janet Frame explores many diverse and often inter-related themes. These themes are inter-woven within the plot, into the thoughts of the characters and expressed through her imaginative and detailed descriptions of the settings. In many of her works the same themes are recurring, often a reflection of her own personal experiences or outlook on life.

In her short stories, especially those involving children, Frame explores the tumultuous experience of the passing from the sheltered and protected world of their childhood into the somewhat darker and daunting adult domain, where suddenly, life and it's many complications seem no longer so clear cut. Important in this transition, is the gradual realisation by children that their parents are not infallible, but flawed humans, not so removed from the children themselves.

This theme is prominent in Swans as their Mother who had unfortunately misinterpreted the instructions takes Totty...