English 48B
February 16, 2011
Journal for Wharton
“With sudden vividness Waythorn saw how the instinct had developed. She was ‘as easy as an old shoe’- a shoe that too many feet had worn. Her elasticity was the result of tension in too many different directions. Alice Haskett- Alice Varick- Alice Waythorn- she had been each in turn, and had left hanging to each name a little of her privacy, a little of her personality, a little of the inmost self where the unknown god abides” (841).
“She was a born storyteller, whose novels are justly celebrated for their vivid settings, satiric wit, ironic style, and moral seriousness.” (Biography of Wharton from online literature).
Mr. Waythorn, a successful New York investor, is thrown into a whirlwind when he runs in to his current wife’s (Alice) two ex husbands. After seeing Mr. Varick (Alice’s 2nd ex) on the street and in a restaurant, Mr. Waythorn is overwhelmed with these continuous encounters. Matters only worsen when Mr. Haskett (Alice’s 1st ex) comes to town to visit his daughter Lily, who now resides at Waythorn’s home (her new stepfather). Alice’s character is revealed through her ex husbands, and by the end of the story Waythorn learns to embrace his wife’s past.
It is interesting how Wharton (like James) uses writing as a tool to let people in to the minds of the characters to reveal feelings that can only be expressed through the mind. The Norton Anthology writes “she is considered a major contributor to the practice of psychological realism. In view of the inability of her characters, despite their high social status, to control their destinies” (830). This perfectly encompasses Waythorn’s inability to maintain his traditional lifestyle when he is constantly forced to speak to the two men he wants to see the least, his wife’s ex-husbands. Although Waythorn literally has everything that money could buy, he does not have control over destiny. In a number of awkward encounters Waythorn meets Mr. Haskett (Alice’s first ex) and Mr. Varick (Alice’s second ex) and by the end of the story he comes to the realization that these men were once a part of the life of the woman he loves, and in order to be happy he has to accept all of who she is now, and who she was then. This realization comes during the quote above (about the shoe). Waythorn has been through the ringer with these men and his wife. It all starts when Waythorn runs in to Mr. Varick on the street and in an upper-class restaurant later in the day. As the story continues the two men do business together and grow quite comfortable with one another. Wharton explains Waythorn’s thoughts of Varick by writing “He smiled, and Waythorn could not help noticing that there was something pleasant about his smile” (836). Waythorn eventually becomes acquainted with Mr. Haskett when he is forced (by law) to allow Mr. Haskett in to his home to visit his sick daughter who is bedridden.
Overall, this story was brilliantly put together. The irony and hilarity of these awkward encounters was so interesting to read! The references to a previous marriage to Alice between the men makes me laugh because one would never expect to see their wife’s ex randomly...and so many times...and in such a large place.....and then to see the OTHER ex. One particular moment that makes me laugh extra hard is when Alice pours cognac into Waythorn’s coffee. Waythorn is shocked that his wife would do such a thing! Their moment of mistake is met with “a sudden agonized red” (835). This moment would usually not be that funny, but one page before Wharton writes about how Waythorn observes Mr. Varick pouring cognac into his coffee and Waythorn wonders why he would do such a thing. The parallel between the marriage between Alice and Varick and Alice and Waythorn is so similar that both men are now somehow taking their coffee the same! Alice hasn’t even had time to get over the habits of an ex, and you can’t help but laugh at the fact that not enough time has even passed for Alice to get over this habit of cognac and coffee.
It must have been so hard for someone as sophisticated as Waythorn to grasp, but his love for Alice overcomes everything, and by then end of the story all four (3 men and Alice) are left sitting and enjoying a cup of tea. Waythorn embraces this new arrival of exes “with a laugh” (843).
