Good reading of a fairly well-written story that, in actual content is mediocre and only adequately developed.
The central conceit (a world where the loaded symbol of "wearing one's heart on one's sleeve" is literalized), is undermined, IMO, by a lack of clarity (evident in some of these responses) on the part of the writer as to how "symbolic" this action is. Obviously, a bleeding organ is not being literally sewn onto apparel (too many logical problems) so this must be a symbolic action in a parallel world, some act of magic that causes the emotional reactions we are asked to accept (and thus, intended as a social commentary on our world) and helps sustain the repressive system put in place by Men (with a capital...).
But, as with a lot of stories of this type, the central conceit raises more questions than it wants to answer because we are asked to accept that this is a world where women wear the same set of clothes from puberty on and the violent removal of this symbol causes actual, biological death. And while all this could be smoothed out at length by a thoughtful writer (which Ms. Swirsky obviously is), the next question arises - is it worth expanding the story and asking a reader to invest time in service of what is, essentially, a small, cute idea. The other direction for making it work is to cut back the "world details" and the need for them, making the story more deeply symbolic but also surreal and thus, unlikely to raise too many "logical" questions.
For some 12 year old girl (or even boy) this could easily be a "greatest story I ever read", if read at the right time. It would fit nicely into a Young Adults Horror Anthology. But adults deserve a little more writerly meat.
The enculturation horror/dark fantasy story, especially of the feminist variety, is a tough row to hoe nowadays, due to over-familiarity. Quite a while back, the sheer idea that women wouldn't be happy with their lot in life provided enough conflict and friction to propel a story forward. Times have moved on and the situation has changed (not necessarily gotten better, just gotten more complex) but something like "The Yellow Wallpaper" is still complex enough to be examined and enjoyed today. The writer of a modern attempt at the same territory has much more to work with in our complicated world, but much larger expectations and responsibilities as well. "Heartstrings" was a nice attempt but cut a few too many corners.
Thanks for listening.
Description of performance “Cut Piece” (1964) by Yoko Ono
“She sat alone on a vast and gloomy stage, while members of the audience came up and cut bits of her clothes away with a large and very sharp pair of scissors – the proceedings gradually given over to the vulnerability and peril of this tiny, increasingly uncovered woman, as watchers were deliberately encouraged to discard conventional distance and cross barriers to get to her, stepping out of life into art, wielding death.”
Mark Sinker, Yoko Ono review, The Wire #144, February, 1996