The Silk, a short story written by Joy Cowley, is about an elderly married couple who seems not scared about death and very much assured that their spiritual love will be eternal after their physical love is gone. The couple showed that how reassuring and hopeful spiritual belief in eternal life is Mr and Mrs Blackie’s eternal love in this story is represented by the silk. An important quote that illustrates the main idea is, “Together they felt the pain as the blades met cleanly”. The blades in this quote serve as a metaphor for death, in reference to Mr Blackie’s death. Cutting the silk represents them being separated physically, and how painful it feels. It also represents their paradise of love, which is the pattern on the silk being torn apart. However, they are both hopeful that their everlasting love will continue in the spirit realm. A quote that symbolises this is, “…he was waving…he was beckoning to her”. This is significant because it reflects how Mr Blackie was saying goodbye to his wife after his death, and at the same time inviting her to join him in the spirit world where they can be together, forever.
The title, The Silk, represents the symbol of their relationship which has a lot of memories. And the memories are woven in the silk. A technique used is the references to the spirit realm. A quote is, “It was a man and he was standing with one arm outstretched on the highest span between two islands”. This signifies Mr Blackie on his way to the spirit world and the forthcoming reunion with his wife, Mrs Blackie. The image of the man at the ending of the story signify a very significant relationship that it will continue even after death in the hereafter. It does not end. The author purpose in taking the Silk that is from China because it is so delicate, expensive, precious, easily damage, and cannot be handled carelessly. The silk from China also is also hard to find and it is known for its uniqueness. Just like the elderly couple relationship. They have gone through a lot of things together, a lot of sadness and happiness shared, and therefore, they seems prepared for the death. Reading through this short story, readers can see that the couple are emerged as a matured couple, there is no such as being “lovey – dovey” to each other. They understood each other very well as there is not much of discussion or communication took place.
“The Silk” demonstrates how impending death is a source of anxiety for elderly couples that have created a strong bond through the years of being together. However, the assurance of eternal life in the spirit world is comforting even though the physical bond is broken. These stories are a call to society about how the aged should be treated with respect and equality as they also have feelings and opinions that are important to them. This therefore will improve their state of mind and will allow them to feel involved, welcomed and important in society.
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