Flexion

by

Cate Kennedy

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Themes and Colors
Abuse and Power Dynamics Theme Icon
Communication Theme Icon
Trauma and Support Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Flexion, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.

Abuse and Power Dynamics

“Flexion” focuses on Frank and Mrs. Slovak, a married couple whose relationship is riddled with abuse, neglect, and alienation. This is largely due to the couple’s imbalanced power dynamic: Frank is dominant to the point of cruelty, while Mrs. Slovak is submissive to a fault. However, when Frank is seriously injured in a farming accident and becomes disabled, this dynamic is switched: suddenly, Mrs. Slovak has power over Frank, as Frank is entirely dependent…

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Communication

In addition to the outright abuse that plagues married couple Frank and Mrs. Slovak’s relationship, a lack of communication also has a devastating effect on them. The Slovaks are notably closed off and lack any vulnerability or emotional intimacy, a dynamic that leaves them miserable and estranged from each other. However, this status quo is threatened when Frank has a farming accident that leaves him disabled, and communication becomes necessary for the couple to…

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Trauma and Support

Neither Frank Slovak nor his wife, Mrs. Slovak, are strangers to trauma: Mrs. Slovak suffers a miscarriage prior to the events of “Flexion,” and Frank has a farming accident at the beginning of the story that leaves him permanently disabled. Though the couple has a troubled marriage and they’ve been alienated from each other for years, they have similar experiences as they suffer from their personal traumas: both are devastated and ashamed, and neither…

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