This week, I read the short story "I Live with You" by Carol Emshwiller. The story was, to put it simply, very strangely relatable. To me, it wasn't overtly "science fiction", but the main point of view of this shadow entity that shared the home of the woman was definitely not of this earth. Overall, the story really examined gender, and the way we control our day to day lives.
In the story, the "You" referred to in the title can be any woman--anybody who spends more time alone or working than they do interacting with others. And then there is the extra occupant of the house, the one who sneaks away and goes unnoticed, taking the woman's favorite clothes and nibbling away at her food. As the story progresses, the entity becomes more aggressive, finding joy in it's control over this woman's life. This idea, I think, follows and criticizes the majoritarian culture of the power role women have in today's society. Even when living "alone", the woman starts losing her own freedoms and decisions. Instead of being proactive and doing something about it, she adds more locks to her own bedroom door in an attempt to protect herself. Because who would believe her, anyway?
At the end of the story, the woman pushes back against the entity and takes her life back, right as the entity is starting to REALLY take over her identity. This part was perhaps my favorite line in the short story:
"You'd not have done that before. You've changed. You'll take back your life. Everybody will make way for you now. You'll have an evil look. You'll frown. People will step off the sidewalk to let you go by."When I read that, it made me think of an empowered woman, someone whose in charge and confident. Something which is a rare twist to the societal norms and the entity that had been sharing the house with the woman.
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