“The Posting” is an original fiction piece penned by the talented Sara Freeman. To celebrate its publication in The Atlantic, Freeman engaged in an enlightening discussion about the story with Katherine Hu, an assistant editor for the magazine. The conversation has been gently edited for the sake of clarity.
Hu: Your short story, “The Posting,” takes place in West Berlin where a family resides for a year while the father embarks on a reporting assignment. Amidst the German reunification, the narrative delves into the mundane experiences of this family. Can you elaborate on this contrast?
Freeman: Rather than overtly relaying a historical event, the story seeks to explore how history can impact an individual or a family on a more impressionistic level. The child narrator, Frankie, experiences a sense of constant change, both within herself, her family, and the place they reside. It is within the delicate interplay between these three elements that the essence of the story lies.
In “The Posting,” Frankie assumes the role of the family’s journalist. As her father covers significant global events, she reports on the intimate details of their daily lives. As the writer, it was important for me to stay true to Frankie’s perspective and see the world from her vantage point. Through her keen observation of everyday experiences, Frankie’s reporting becomes a sensory and emotional account. However, since the narration is retrospective, these day-to-day occurrences take on a historical significance when viewed through the lens of over two decades.
Hu: At a public pool, the mother forms an unexpected bond with a young couple named Frank and Sabine. Sabine and the mother share a surprisingly intimate connection. What do you believe motivates Sabine’s involvement in this friendship?
Freeman: I wanted this story to offer readers the opportunity for multiple interpretations of the various relationships within it. One can certainly read the situation as Sabine taking advantage of the family’s naivety, using them for their relative wealth and capitalizing on their temporary vulnerability. Alternatively, one might view it as a genuine friendship born out of the mother’s quiet charisma. Finally, it could be seen as a more trivial encounter – Sabine, a student, simply seeking a momentary distraction on a summer day, meeting a Canadian woman at a public pool. In this last reading, the sense of threat felt by the narrator and her brother is simply a projection stemming from their unfamiliar surroundings and their separation from their father. These children, far from home and missing their father, are primed to perceive danger even in the most innocent of situations.
Hu: “The Posting” is narrated by the daughter, looking back on the story from an adult perspective. Her innocence occasionally peeks through, colorizing her memories. Did you ever consider telling the story from a younger standpoint?
Freeman: The story came to me as a retrospective narration, with a 35-year-old woman recalling her impressions and emotions as an 11-year-old girl navigating her first experience living abroad. There is undoubtedly a reason – psychological or circumstantial – for this woman to revisit this significant phase of her life at this particular moment. However, this explanation remains unspoken in the story itself. This internal necessity creates a narrative tension that extends beyond the immediate events of the story.
Additionally, I drew inspiration from writers I deeply admire, such as Mavis Gallant and Alice Munro. In their works, they cultivate a sense of duration, an intricate self-awareness shaped in the gaps between the occurrence of events and their retelling. Without this added dimension of analysis and adult interpretation, the writing of this story would have been much less captivating for me as a writer, and ultimately less compelling for the reader.
Hu: Your story possesses a captivating atmosphere and an authenticity that arises from meticulous attention to detail. How much of the events were drawn from your own life?
Freeman: On one hand, the story is undeniably autobiographical. Like Frankie’s father, my own father was a foreign correspondent in Berlin during the 1990s, and my family relocated there for his assignment. However, the characters themselves, the family dynamics, and the events involving the young German couple are entirely fictional. Nonetheless, Frankie’s emotions closely mirror my own. Like Frankie, those years I spent in Berlin shape the very core of my identity. Even decades later, my memories of that time remain exceedingly vivid. It was a pleasure to infuse parts of these experiences into this story. I am uncertain whether I would have become a writer without this early move – the terrifying sense of facing a much larger world while feeling small, and the electrifying experience of separateness and subjectivity that arose from this encounter.
Hu: The mother begins to exhibit peculiar behavior, shaped by her friendship with Sabine – such as daringly skipping train fares and indulging in multiple beers. Are these changes a reawakening of her true self or a deviation from it?
Freeman: That is a fascinating question, one that implies the existence of a “true” self from which one can deviate or return to. Throughout “The Posting,” Frankie struggles with comprehending her mother, whom she finds unknowable. She observes her mother’s every movement and change in mood, yet her mother remains enigmatic in many ways by the end of the story. Familial intimacy often leads to a kind of nearsightedness. Just as understanding oneself clearly is a lifelong endeavor, so too is comprehending one’s parents and siblings.
What we do know is that Frankie’s mother met her father when she was 19. By marrying him, she foreclosed numerous other experiences that one would typically associate with a woman in her 20s, such as completing her studies or enjoying a vibrant social and romantic life. Thus, her time in Berlin, particularly her encounter with Sabine, becomes an opportunity for her to explore these submerged aspects of herself – both those she left behind and those yet to be discovered.
Hu: Philip, the son, begins harboring resentment towards his mother due to her attachment to the young couple, eventually successfully seeking to end their friendship. However, when his mother divorces his father, Philip blames everyone in the family except her. Why do you think this is the case?
Freeman: Philip’s resentment stems from the general acting out that often accompanies adolescence when faced with a family rupture. He directs his blame at those closest to him – his father and sister. Implicit within the story is a sense of proximity, even an identification, between the mother and son that persists even when the family is physically separated and she is no longer present.
In many ways, Philip is the most conservative character in the story. He yearns for the family they had prior to the move – the old life, old school, and old neighbors. He keenly feels the beginning of the end, and throughout the story, channels this premonition through subtle but meaningful acts of rebellion. In Berlin, during his father’s absence, he takes on the role of the “father” by closely monitoring their expenses and protecting his family from the perceived negative influence of Sabine and Frank. When his mother eventually departs, perhaps he feels the need to strike out against his remaining family members to preserve the illusion of how their family once was.
Hu: The narrator describes the year in Berlin as an interwar period for their family. Do you believe their marriage was doomed from the start?
Freeman: This brings us back to the question of whether we believe in an unchanging self and the inevitability inherent in each character’s tragic flaw. If we adopt this perspective, one could argue that every marriage contains the seeds of its potential collapse, with the very DNA of its demise intricately woven within. However, Frankie also alludes to a complicity between her parents, one that fundamentally excludes her and her brother. The story reveals closed doors that retrospection cannot open. Personally, I can envision an alternative version of the story where the family remains together; yet, I am uncertain if this would necessarily result in a happier ending.
Hu: What other creative projects are you currently working on?
Freeman: At the moment, I am circling a few projects: a couple of short stories and an early draft of a novel. I use the term “circling” because I find myself at a stage where I am yet to fully commit to any one project. I am still in the process of finding my way into them. I tend to spend a great deal of time on the precipice before plunging into the depths.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
