Stone Mattress

Verna is a woman who goes on an Arctic cruise to find the man who raped her in high school and take revenge. The first line of the story, “At the outset, Verna had not intended to kill anyone” (217), foreshadows that Verna will in fact kill someone before the end of the tale. Moreover, while it might not be Verna’s intention, this will not be the first time Verna kills.

After being raped by Bob in high school, Verna gets pregnant and is sent off to a nunnery by her mother. She has her baby and is sent on her way to return home. Instead, Verna finds her way to Toronto, where she begins her revenge on Bob by targeting other men, marrying them, then killing them and inheriting all of their money.

As expected, she finds Bob on the Arctic cruise. After letting him know that she is the Verna from high school—Bob thought she looked familiar—Verna trips Bob, snaps his neck back, and bashes him in the head. Once her mission is completed, Verna is still not content. Instead, “she just feels tired and somewhat empty” (240).