Literature
Delahoyde
Dorothy Parker:
"The Waltz"
Anyone who does not like this text probably is frustrated by the apparent fact that the narrator perpetuates her own misery -- especially at the end, of course, when she begs persistently, despite everything (!), for the dancing to continue. She could easily get out of further dancing quite politely now, even if she couldn't earlier (which is doubtful).
Notice the subtlety here:
This story also contains my favorite literary quotation: "Trapped like a trap in a trap" (47).
The main point of the story, though, explains the peculiar ending: simply, it's fun to bitch. If the dance ends, so too ends the narrator's ability to entertain herself inwardly and quite wittily. We all do this, and sometimes get on a roll when we're doing our crappy jobs and thinking up song lyrics that insult our bosses. Mowing lawns bring out (well, not really "out") that creative and snide inner voice delivering a killer stand-up monologue that no one will ever hear.
Works Consulted