The Darts of Cupid: Stories

I picked up this book without knowing that the story from which this book is titled "The Darts of Cupid" caused a scandal after being published in the New Yorker Magazine in 1968. After reading it, I could understand why. It must have been intolerable for the general public to read, even in fiction, that women could behave a certain way and not have any regrets about it. But my favorite stories from this book's collection are "The Equality Cake" and "Nymph and Faun". What is true for all stories is that the main characted is always a complicated and intriguing woman, usually of foreign origin, who for reasons only known to her, puts herself in somewhat compromising situations. She is not easy to figure out and it seems that although married, or widowed she is still looking for love, only to find it elusive. Love seems ot be a mistery to her becuase men are not what they seem to be and in spite of everything, she is insecure and lets them convince her that she is inferior, does not understand anything, can be isolated from the rest of the world and kept in house as some sort of ornament that is never dull and never fully understood - even to her own self sometimes. Te author of this work, Ms. Templeton belongs to a group of women writers who have their unique voice and are mystical at the same time. She belongs with Wharton, Dinesen and Godden - women who have lived in many countries but never truly belonged to one, women who were never truly in love and happy, and when they were in love have sufferred on the personal level in order to create a great art. If you love literature, beautiful in its storytelling and language, you must read this book.

The title story of this collection, "The Darts of Cupid," shocked readers of "The New Yorker" upon its publication in the magazine back in 1968. In the story, a young woman who is employed in a U.S. medical office during World War II has a one-night stand with a married major which forever changes her life. Each of the ten stories in this collection by Edith Templeton features strong female characters, mysterious older men, and unflinching observations about the world. I think everyone will enjoy this elegant collection of prose.

Normally I'd rather read a novel than a short story collection, but in the case of "Darts of Cupid and Other Stories", Ms. Templeton writes enough detail into each of her stories that I was left with the feeling that I had read a novel. The stories are absolutely amazing.