"Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags" by Shena MacKay
(1) "Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags". The title has rather contradictory words that leave the reader with no clear explanation regarding its meaning. Why are handbags - not just a particular one, but of dead women in general - the subject of a dream? To dream of something means to indulge in day dreams or fantasies, typically about something greatly desired, whereas to dream about something means to experience dreams during sleep. One can dream of a better life, of becoming successful etc., but to dream of "dead women's handbags" is rather unusual. A dead woman's handbag can offer some clues regarding its owner. It is said that one can know about a woman by looking into her purse. Usually, women's handbags are very intimate and what they carry inside them are things that they need or things that they cherish.
Crocodile skin handbags in a conservation exhibit ...
English: Vintage faux crocodile skin blue pocketbo...
English: Photo of a handbagThe kind of things a woman puts in her bag and even the way in which they are arranged shows a lot of her character. Once dead, a woman's identity is imprinted in the bag she used to own, it is all there is left from the time when she was alive. Dead women's handbags have stories to tell.
(2) "It was a black evening bag sequined with salt, open-mouthed under a rusted marcasite clasp, revealing a black moiré silk lining stained by sea water". The incipit is formulated in such a way that it looks like an answer to a possible question such as: "What kind of bag was it?" The author begins the story with the description of a "black evening bag sequined with salt". "Black" and "evening" create an atmosphere of mystery and together with the adjective "dead" from the title contribute to the...