Theodora Goss' "Catherine and the Satyr": A slave is freed

Don't bother with this story unless you are familiar with English history & some mythology. If you qualify, & like snob stories with cruelty, you are still likely to find it a very ordinary one.

Full story text is available as a free download.

Story summary.

A group of snobs in colonial era England. One of them likes to collect exotic animals. Among his collection is a caged Satyr.

Webster tells me Satyr is either a mythological Greek god, or a man with rather excitable libido. As the story progresses, Satyr of this story appears very much human, though he is described as a savage; colonists had picked him up in some foreign land. He is pretty much a caged slave, kept for owner's amusement. You poke him with a stick when you want him to make sounds - e.g., when you show your visitors around!!

Catherine is a woman among these aristocrats & she is going through a bad patch with her husband. Feels empathy towards Satyr. Frees him, has sex with him, & gets pregnant. But this is a small part of the whole story - near end.

Fact sheet.

Length: short story
First published: Strange Horizons, 1 Oct 2007.
Rating: C