This series focuses on stories that are both well-written and do something that I find interesting from a technical perspective. This week, let’s discuss strings.
No, not those strings. They’re completely useless! I mean, who needs five-inch…nevermind. We’re not talking about this.
The Red String of Fate, the red string that ties each person to their one destined true love across any distance, is usually referenced by name only in East Asian stories, but an analogous idea shows up in stories from many other cultures. Every time a character invokes “destiny” to explain their relationship, that’s a tug on the red string. Authors need to be careful, though, because if they tug too hard, they might be accused of strangling their characters with it.
In other words, this is one trope that’s ripe for deconstruction. Deconstructing tropes in serious works is difficult, though, because it’s so easy to fall into didacticism. “Strung,” by Xinyi Wang and published in Diabolical Plots, creates a world where one god really does tie couples together with an intangible red string, and then uses that world to elegantly unspin the trope into its component fibers. I especially appreciate how Wang takes the time not just to deconstruct the trope, but to explore its appeal in the first place. The result is a thoughtful examination of long-term relationships, and I think it will speak to everyone who’s ever been in one.