Delicate Condition

Anna uses the concept of fairy tales at different moments in her story to create varied commentary about the ways in which knowledge about pregnancy and women’s bodies is established and disseminated. When reflecting on her mother’s matter-of-fact explanation about human reproduction when she was a child, Anna concludes that even this explanation was a construction: “It took me decades to understand that this too was a fairy tale” (11). Here, a “fairy tale” is a story told to children by adults in order to obscure or soften a difficult reality. In Anna’s case, she had to realize that conceiving a child isn’t always as simple as a loving couple having sex; it can be a grueling process that involves much more struggle and much more suffering.

Other connotations of “fairy tale” are also present in the novel. In the Prologue, which is narrated by an older Anna who has been through the events of the novel, Anna reflects on various superstitions surrounding pregnancy. These superstitions, she now understands, aim at keeping women from miscarrying, keeping children safe from external forces, or spreading information about the woes of pregnancy. Anna notes that most people dismiss these tales today: They are “[s]tories told by women and mothers.