comment on structure

Margaret Atwood’s short story collection “Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales” is a collection of nine short stories written by Margaret Atwood. The first three stories in the collection, “Alphinland”, “Revenant”, and “Dark Lady”, form something of a novella taken together, as they are three different perspectives on events from the same interconnected lives that revolve around Gavin. The remaining six stories (“Lusus Naturae”, “The Freeze-Dried Groom”, “I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth”, “The Dead Hand Loves You”, “Stone Mattresss”, and “Torching the Dusties”) stand alone. While the first three stories are united in common plot, all nine stories taken together share the theme of death. Others all share certain similar themes between them.