# Family and Duty in Short Fiction

> Theme guide for Short Fiction by Mary Shelley.

The narratives highlight the tension between personal desires and familial obligations, including arranged marriages, loyalty to one's house, and the burdens of caregiving or inheritance.

## Where it surfaces

- [A Tale of the Passions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/a-tale-of-the-passions): Cincolo stays home out of duty to his wife despite his Ghibelline fervor; Monna Gegia mourns her son killed in the Ghibelline cause, showing the cost of political allegiance on families.
- [Ferdinando Eboli](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/ferdinando-eboli): The conflict arises from family betrayal: the natural son's hatred for his father and brother drives his imposture, while Ferdinando's duty to his family and betrothed is tested.
- [Transformation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/transformation): Guido's relationship with his father and Torella highlights the tension between filial duty and rebellious independence.
- [The Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-dream): Constance feels bound by duty to her dead family, viewing her love for Gaspar as a betrayal.
- [The Brother and Sister](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-brother-and-sister): Flora's unwavering loyalty to her brother Lorenzo and her promise to him overrides her personal feelings for Fabian.
- [The Invisible Girl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-invisible-girl): Sir Peter's conflict between his duty as a guardian and his violent opposition to Rosina's marriage, and Henry's struggle between filial duty and his love for Rosina.
- [The Elder Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-elder-son): The narrator's sense of duty to her father's memory and her binding promises to Vernon conflict with her personal feelings, highlighting familial obligations.
- [The Parvenue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-parvenue): The narrator is torn between her duty to her husband and her obligations to her impoverished family, leading to devastating consequences.
- [The Pilgrims](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-pilgrims): Burkhardt's deep love for his daughter Ida and his sense of duty as a father are central, as is Ida's eventual repentance and her children's mission to heal the rift.
- [Euphrasia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/euphrasia): Constantine's duty to his country and his sister, and Euphrasia's role as a sister and patriot, highlight the tension between family bonds and revolutionary obligations.
- [The Heir of Mondolfo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-heir-of-mondolfo): Ludovico's vow to his mother binds him to endure his father's tyranny, highlighting the conflict between familial duty and personal freedom.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/ii): The narrator's sense of duty to her father and her conflicted feelings about leaving her aunt reflect the tension between family bonds and personal longing.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/vii): The father's command that Mathilda be happy and his own sense of duty to endure life reflect the tension between familial bonds and moral obligations.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/themes/family_and_duty
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/themes