Lydia Davis's short story "The Center of the Story" is a metanarrative about a woman who has just finished writing a story. Though the project is completed, the woman is troubled by the story's plotlessness and vague central themes. The more she worries about the meaninglessness of her story's elements, the more insignificant her life appears. The narrative explores themes including the quest for spiritual meaning and the dichotomous nature of the human experience.
