Critical Introduction

Joyce Carol Oates (1938– ) is an American author, National Book Award winner, and professor at Princeton University. Her entry here, “Secret Observations on the Goat-Girl” (1988) is a delightful twist on the monster. The goat-girl, which the narrator names Astrid, physically resembles a faun from Greco-Roman mythology, though there are few—if any— other similarities.

Astrid seems to be connected with the narrator's family in some important but unspoken way. This familial connection is what sets Oates's entry apart from the others, for the monster is as much an avenue for thinking about the dynamics of a particular family as it is thinking about the monster itself. The “observations” lead the reader to no better understanding of Astrid, but they do lead to a better understanding of the narrator's family. Oates uses the way the narrator, her brother, her father, and her mother think about and respond to the goat-girl to tell us so much about these characters and their relationships to each other. There is the typically stoic refusal to acknowledge or discuss the abnormal, the desire to kill the thing that disrupts or causes discomfort, and empathy for the outcast and those less fortunate. The goat-like physical form and the possible blindness, just like the goat-girl herself, is not at the centre of the story; instead, the story is about how a family and individuals adapt (or fail to adapt) to something unexpected and outside the pale. Oates's short tale illustrates the ability of the monster to reinforce or challenge norms and reveals the social manner in which we define our individual identities.

Reading Questions

Are you able to create a mental picture of Astrid? If not, think about what Oates has withheld that you might need to create one. If so, go back through the story to see if your mental picture matches with the details given or if you’ve filled in the blanks spots with your own imagination.

Astrid is greatly disturbing to everyone except the narrator, and Oates leaves something unspoken about this family dynamic that seems to revolve around Astrid. Speculate about why these characters allow something disturbing to remain so close to them for years.