Power Is a Spirit Animal

Short story review

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Where there is a need, contradictions are justified by giving attention to the unconventional.

The difference between aggressive and assertive behavior is the ability to confidently exercise authority without hostility or violence. Even so, The Huntress¹ gives credence to the fact that the exhibition of either by a woman evokes admiration and fear.

Like hard currency, influence intimidates, and despite being desired, both must be responsibly managed. Told from the point of view of a younger woman with traditional responsibility, readers quickly learn that inclusion is not limited to corporate spaces, and of the flaw in the theory that men evolve to hunt.

Unnamed, upwardly mobile, and non-descript, the protagonist is a writer with enough celebrity for recognition, but not enough for the paparazzi. Awareness of the benefits and value of a symbiotic relationship prompts her to align with the older, more dominant antagonist despite trepidation suggesting otherwise.

An independent widow with affluence, and the character to boldly operate outside of more conventional norms, the antagonist is unknowingly labeled a huntress. Unaccustomed to excuses, her charisma is accented by measured words, a fixed gaze, creative patronage, and elegance. Revered by a loyal yet dissimilar assistant, she is the personification of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

Written by Mayra Santos-Febres, a multifaceted Afro-Latina known for documenting modern, yet complicated Caribbean Society, the title euphemistically beguiles in more ways than initially imagined. Filled with cloaked references and layered allusions, it is a tale of how lean-in has the potential to become an elixir of power.

Consistent with wedding mints, this contemporary narrative is small, textured, infused with spicy references to the human longing for material gain, and leaves lasting appeal.

Rating: 5+ stars

Additional shorts with clearly defined characters:

Sweat, by Zora Neale Hurston

Sonny’s Blues, by James Baldwin 

1. Translated by Valeria Piña Fonseca.