I’ve used rainbow strings many times in my teaching career with adults and children. It’s a good form of kinaesthetic learning where students make string figures as a way to generate stories. The idea to use The String Games as the title for my novel came from the characters. There were instances where characters were strung along, they were puppets on a string and there was a need to cut the apron strings. String became a controlling metaphor for the novel and the title embedded within the story.
When the novel developed into three parts to reflect the development of the protagonist from child, to a teenager and then into an adult, I decided to name each of the different parts of the novel after a string figure. This post considers the significance of the title of the first part of the novel, ‘Cat’s Cradle’. Following posts will consider the other two parts of the novel.
This illustration of Cat’s Cradle by Fiona Zechmeister appears in part one of The String Games
Cat’s Cradle is one of the oldest games in recorded human history, and involves passing a loop of string back and forth between two players. As part of the game, different figures are produced including diamonds, candles (straight strings), and an inverted cat’s cradle called a manger. Cat’s cradle is played in cultures throughout the world including Africa, Eastern Asia, Australia, the Americas, and the Arctic.
In using Cat’s Cradle as the title for the first part of my novel, it expresses the intimacy of a relationship enjoyed by a child in close proximity with a caring adult. In The String Games it represents the relationship my child protagonist develops with her mother’s lover, Dee. When Jenny (Nim’s mother) is too traumatised by the abduction of Josh to care for her ten-year-old daughter, it is Dee who steps in to offer support. The idea of a cradle is indicative of the love Dee offers at a time of crisis.
You’ll have to wait until May 2019 to read The String Games when it will be published by Victorina Press. In the meantime, if you’re interested in short fiction you could always try reading Paisley Shirt.
the writer is a lonely hunter 
Great post. You left me a comment about appearing on the Indie Showcase, did you get the email?
Thank you for the email. I’ll get back to you shortly. And thank you for dropping by to The Writer is a Lonely Hunter.
I really appreciated reading of the genesis of your novel’s title, Gail. As a person interested in science, I always thought it had to do with String Theory as it relates to sub-atomic particles. Wrong! I’m eagerly looking forward to May and the publication of your novel. It sounds very intriguing.
Thanks for dropping by to comment Jim …I like to defy expectations.
[…] This is the second of three posts sharing information about the title of my novel The String Games and includes information about the three different parts contained within. If you missed the earlier post, you can read it here. […]
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