A Short Analysis of "the Dress"

In all sibling relationships there will always be some kind of rivalry, jealousy and clashes in personalities. The story, The Dress by Julia Darling (2006), is about the sisterhood between Rachel and Flora, their rivalry and the trouble it brings for their mother.

The 3rd person narrator jumps between characters, as the story starts with focus on Rachel who is desperately looking for her dress, then to Flora who is wearing the before mentioned dress. And as the story comes to an end, the focus jumps to the miserable and confused mother. It is the evening of the mother's birthday, and the older sister, Rachel, realizes that her little sister, Flora, has taken the dress she was supposed to wear. This is not likely the first time Flora does something that angers Rachel.

In their sisterhood Flora is always copying Rachel's behaviour and the way she dresses. This constant jealousy makes the atmosphere tense and unbearable for the mother. But they are not just children at play; these are young but adult women. Flora is the younger sister, she is the careless sister that do not mind that it is her sisters dress she is wearing. And she seems unemotional when Rachel seems upset, although she is well aware what had caused it. Even when she confesses and Rachel is leaving, she tries to get sympathy from their mother by crying. Rachel do not react any less childlike than her younger sister, as Rachel demands to know where her dress is, on the night of their mothers fortieth birthday.

The mother is embarrassed by the outbreak in the fancy restaurant, and tries to get Flora to confess in the hope of them to stop the fight. As she seems relaxed after both of the girls leave, it seems that these incidents between the two sisters appear often. The dad is not a big part of the girls lives, and most likely has another family. This does not make the situation any less hard on the mother, as she has no one to talk to or handle it with.

Raising two young women is a difficult thing to manage alone, but the sibling rivalry and competition are inevitable. And two sisters close at age is even harder, because women always will have a tendency to be more jealous and verbal than men. It might be easiest just to breathe and keep cover when an outbreak is near.