Summary

"The Elevator Dancer" story takes place in a futuristic dystopia in which divorce and dance are illegal. Every day at work, a security guard watches a woman dance inside an elevator on the security camera. The security guard is fascinated by her. Every day he watches her. As soon as the shifts change, he comes in and looks for her on the security monitor. She only dances when she is alone. At the end of the week, the security guard goes home to his "modest house" and his "modest wife" that the government assigned to him (235). After dinner, he and his wife watch television together. There is a "prayer-and-commerical break" (235), during which the man wonders about the "elevator woman" (235) and what she prays for. Soon, he has grown obsessive. He finds himself living just...