Watery parallels to Greek mythology, as life gets too much for a woman in Mississippi.

Clytie has lived for years in the shadow of her bullying sister and drunken brother. Suddenly, something snaps and she decides to take back control of her life.

The human heart and how it yearns for love and companionship is the subject of this dark tale by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Eudora Welty [1909 – 2001]. A short story first published in 1941, in the collection 'A Curtain of Green'.

Read by Barbara Barnes.

Producer: Gemma Jenkins

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in December 2009. Show less