RON BUTLIN

Not dead yet, Lily?

З наближенням грози Лілі ставала все більш неспокійною. Коли повітря

ставало ще більш липким і задушливим, кожен подих застрягав у її легенях,
немов піт. Зовні небо потемніло до синьо-чорного. Вікно було відчинене, але
не було протягу. О четвертій годині, вже майже середина літа, а в
приміщенні досить темно, тому треба ввімкнути світло. Але вона цього не
зробила.

Натомість, насилу піднявшись на ноги, вона стояла в душній передній

слухаючи, як задихається, - краще зачекати хвилинку, перш ніж відправитись
на кухню, щоб випити води. Вона не хотіла, щоб такі як Мс Макдональд
приходили , щоб нарешті знайти її непритомною. Іноді здавалося, що вся
вулиця чекає, коли вона помре. Всі ці сусідські відвідування були нічим
їншим, як перевіркою, чи не померла вона уві сні. Це було люб’язно з їх
боку , і вона мабудь була вдячна, але завжди була невимовна пауза,
перенаправлення погляду на мить , яка видавала справжнє питання: Ще не
померла?

Ron Butlin is a poet, novelist, short-story writer, librettist, playwright, and

journalist, and one of the most versatile and accomplished Scottish writers of his
generation.  He was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Book Award for his first
collection of stories, The Tilting Room: stories (1983), and for Ragtime in
Unfamiliar Bars (1985), his fifth collection of poetry.  His work has been
translated into more than ten languages, and his fiction in translation has won
prestigious international prizes.

Ron Butlin’s ‘Not Dead Yet, Lily’ is a straightforward piece about an old
woman digging her garden in a thunderstorm, based on a woman he’d heard of
who had decided to live her old age however she pleased. Lily becomes
increasingly frustrated with her neighbours and with the dull monotony of life
around her. Her breakthrough moment comes one morning, when she finds
unexpected relief.

The short story ‘Not Dead Yet, Lily’ belongs to the belles-lettres functional style,
the main aim of which is to give the reader aesthetic pleasure. It’s told in the III
person narrative from the viewpoint of an omniscient anonymous narrator. The
predominant narrative compositional forms are narrative proper and
argumentation. The main types of narration are reported inner speech, dialogue,
inner reaction.
The most often self-reported inner speech function was self-regulation, which
includes planning to engage in specific tasks, self- motivating speech, time
management, and planning when to do things.

 Reminders of an old flame. In Victorian times, widows often wore lilacs.

 Lilacs are often the first flowers to bloom when temperatures rise and only
last a couple of weeks, so lilacs often symbolize spring.

 In New Hampshire, lilacs are said to represent the “hearty character” of New
Hampshire residents.

Now for breakfast, she'd thought, breakfast, bloody breakfast. As she pulled on her
dressing-gown she'd started muttering to herself: "Bloody breakfast, bloody,
bloody, bloody, bloody breakfast."
It felt good, stimulating. Like a vigorous marching tune in her head. There she
stood in front of the mirror: a kindly-looking, white-haired, elderly woman, frail
but dignified — those were no doubt the sorts of words her neighbours used when
talking about her — and all the time behind the benevolent smile she was
hammering out full-force, "bloody, bloody, bloody, bloody breakfast." Then she'd
grinned to herself — and she'd not done that in months.

This moment of liberation leads to experiments with stronger words until finally
she reaches the F-word which, at the very end of the tale, she uses to devastating
effect.