It’s the little things that will drive you mad.… “The Gown” is a brand new short story by musician-cum-author Emilie Autumn that explores the concepts of madness and obsession. Over the past couple of years, Emilie Autumn revamped and re-released her pseudo-autobiographical novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, which combines an account of her experiences in the psychiatric ward of a hospital with a dark tale of her fictional Victorian alter-ego trapped in an abusive asylum. (I reviewed the interactive ebook of TAFWVG back in August.) In February, Emilie Autumn surprised her fans by releasing a new short story that presents similar themes. “The Gown” is available now on Amazon as either an ebook or paperback.
“The Gown” begins with the nameless narrator at twelve years old, when she has to change into one of those flimsy gowns at the doctor’s office for the very first time. While getting a flu shot, the child accidentally drips blood onto the gown and becomes irrationally consumed with shame and obsessed with hiding the evidence. As the protagonist ages, she is haunted by the exact same gown, which follows her to every doctor’s visit and hospitalization—recognizable, of course, by that single spot of blood and by other identifying marks that she leaves on it during subsequent encounters. The story is quite short, only 34 pages, but at the end Emilie Autumn includes a study guide consisting of 50 discussion questions. It’s clear from these numbers that the story will leave you with more questions than answers.
“The Gown” is a study in ambiguity and open-endedness. Perhaps the most pressing question at the end of the story is whether we should trust the narrator’s version of events. In this way, “The Gown” participates in the longstanding Gothic trope of the unreliable narrator. It seems factually impossible that the exact same gown should end up in different medical facilities around the country and repeatedly be given to the same patient over a period of many years. The narrator’s obsessive behaviors and irrational anxiety add credence to the idea that it might all be in her head. Yet, the answer isn’t quite so simple. As some of the discussion questions at the end point out, other characters seem to see the same details in the gown that the narrator does. What is real? Who can you trust? These questions are left unanswered by the end of the story.
This story differs significantly in form from Emilie Autumn’s earlier writing. Its brevity sets it apart from the lengthy and intricately-detailed writing in The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. “The Gown” also focuses entirely on the interiority of a single narrator, in contrast to the earlier novel’s complex plot and sprawling cast of characters. Nonetheless, readers will recognize recurring themes in both stories, especially pertaining to the intersection of mental health and the medical field.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of Emilie Autumn or simply someone who appreciates short Gothic fiction in the style of Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson, I highly recommend “The Gown.” If you’ve read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments!