Summary

The speaker's mother tells her that the spirit of Jane lives on through her (the speaker), attempting to give the speaker a sense of understanding about her identity. Instead, the speaker says she feels like a character in a horror movie who notices a strange resemblance between herself and one of her ancestors portrayed in a portrait on the wall. She notes that she and this ancestor might be wearing the same necklace around their necks.

The speaker's grandfather, she says, has always made a similar comparison, this time in the form of a mental slip. In the kitchen, he will stare at the speaker with his blue eyes and announce that he is having another cup of coffee. In his announcement, he calls the speaker "Jane."

Analysis

"Spirit" depicts the unease and discomfort associated with the aftermath of loss, especially for those who...