An analysis of Considering
a baby? from the perspective of Tools (II)
Non-linguistic tools found in Considering a baby?
One of the most noticeable features of the
hypertext Considering
a baby? is the simplicity of its structure and design. This work does
not contain typical electronic hypertext tools such as images or sound – indeed,
this is a distinguishing feature of Adrienne
Eisen’s hypertext works. As Eisen herself has declared in an interview
published on the Internet, “I don't do images.
I'm a writer. I could see collaborating with someone who wants a writer, but
I'll never be a Flash artist or anything like that."”.
As for the system of links, it is also
quite simple and easy to follow, so that the reader is not likely to “get
lost”. The front screen or node contains
the title of the hypertext and three links that lead to three different
beginnings of the story. At the bottom of the screen we can also find two
interesting links – the first “Read other hypertext by this author” leads us to the
official web site of the author, while the second “Contact the author” allows us to send her an email. At this point it
would be worth noting that the links used in
this hypertext are from text (remember that this work does not contain images)
and clearly visible since the linked element is underlined.
The front node displays a layout that will
also be used in the rest of the nodes that form the hypertext. The background
of the screen is always light violet – which is undoubtedly a cool colour.
According to hypertext theorist Deena Larsen, “cooler colors could convey a more peaceful, serene mood”. In
the case of the hypertext analysed, the choice of the violet (which, as stated
above, tends to convey a calm mood) clearly contrasts with the general tone of
the story (which - as seen in the first section of this analysis - tends to
convey strong emotions, and many of them are rather negative). As for the graphology, it also remains constant throughout the work –
the titles for each node are in bold and the font used is
Times New Roman. As Larsen herself states, “Times New Roman
looks like a modern textbook”, so that it can be said that the use of this type
of font suggest that the story would probably deal with contemporary issues –
indeed, it talks about the typical worries and feelings of a today’s young
woman during her pregnancy.
Focusing our attention on the system of links again, it
is worth noting that the internal time of the story plays a particularly
prominent role in shaping the structure of this hypertext. In fact, each node
of the hypertext corresponds to one particular month of the pregnancy – the
first node corresponds to Month One, the second node corresponds to Month Two,
and so on. As a result, the story will always consist of nine nodes from the
beginning to the end. But, as in any electronic literature piece, there is not
a unique linear way of reading the hypertext. Although the structure of Considering
a baby? is rather simple, there are always two or three links at the
bottom of the node that lead to two or three different next nodes. But the end
result is always the same – nine nodes corresponding to the nine months of the
pregnancy.
To conclude with my analysis, I think it might be
useful to include the description of all the possibilities that Considering
a baby? offers in order to reach a better understanding of what has
been explained in the previous paragraph (the following description was taken
from my partner Eduardo
Cantero’s paper published in UVPress).
Month One: Your finances / Your sleep / Your skin
Month Two: Your mood / Your friends / Your spice
Month Three: Your naps / Your amnio
Month Four: Your clothes /Your worries / Your discharge
Month Five: Your model / Your cobra
Month Six: Your outburst / Your mucus
Month Seven: Your husband / Your sex life / Your vagina
Month Eight: Your moods / Your mother / Your instincts
Month Nine: Your labor
Go to: [Introduction] [Analysis (Part One)] [Conclusion] [References]
Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Ana Albalat Mascarell
almas2@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de València Press
