alcottshortstories - Tumblr blog

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Historical Context and Analysis of Sex in the Six Short Stories Analyzed.

“The husband’s right of property to his wife’s body and the control of procreation” (Bach 24).

uring the 1800s, sex was a taboo topic. In fact, people would not use the word ‘sex’ in itself so it was considered ‘dirty’, and it was frowned upon. They would refer to it as the ‘Amorous Congress’ or perhaps as ‘brush’.

The lack of information of sex meant a lot of women were uneducated on the topic but it depended entirely on the social class. While the upper class were recording all of their sexual experiences in letters and diaries, the working-class considered that premarital pregnancy was a way to secure a husband. It was sort of an open secret. (NINES par. 3)

Women were expected to remain virgins until marriage, while middle and upper-class men would learn about sex through prostitution. (NINES par. 4) This was justified because, at the time, people considered men and women to be different, where men were considered to be active agents, while women were sedentary. Such beliefs feed into the idea that men needed sex while women did not like or needed it at all, only needed it for procreation. This would eventually lead to the idea that men could not contain themselves or their sexual appetites, so the responsibility of sex would fall on women (Lee par. 4). Besides, a woman's passion was seen as promiscuity.

About sex, as for marriage, there are several reasons. The first one, and not the most common one at the time, is a sexual relationship because of love or attraction. This is the case of “Perilous Play”, although sex is not explicitly mentioned, or described, Mark and Rose share intense moments of passion and desire for each other, even if they almost kissed, attraction clearly visible on page 7 paragraph 7, “Done's tender glances touched her heart”. However, Rose always tends to contend with herself and follow the frames of a society where intimate situations with a person of the opposite genre was seen as scandalously bad. This contention is reflected on page 6 line 27 “Rose bent to meet his lips. But the ardent pressure seemed to startle her from a momentary oblivion of everything but love.” Another example that perfectly reflects the social point of view on this topic would be (pg 7 par 4) “armed herself with pride, feeling all a woman's shame at what had passed”, woman’s shame for being attracted to a man.

Another short story that presents this desire between characters is “La Jeune” or “Actress and Woman”.The desire for each other and the containment of Natalie and Arthur is palpable, however, again this is not clearly mentioned, so we have very subtle things along the story that we could take as proof of this.

“That is impossible: she is as good as she is lovely, and will listen to none but honorable vows. Laugh, if you will, it's so, and actress as she is, there’s not a purer woman than she in all Paris.” (La Jeune or Actress and Woman 2) The way Arthur Brooke talks about her leads us to think that he knows her deeply and that they have been in a very intimate situation.

In “Countess Varazoff” we find two different reasons that moved the characters to have sexual relationships. First and foremost, the description of the prince has a sexual undertone to it: “He was a man of forty, above the usual height, with a martial carriage, a colorless, large-featured face, fierce black eyes, a sensual yet ruthless mouth…” (CV 18). This idea is repeated throughout the story, as are the symbolisms of fire and ice, the first referring to the prince’s passion and sexual attraction towards Irma, and the second referring to Irma’s coldness towards him. This can be noticed since the beginning of the story, as Irma is described with adjectives that imply her coldness as if she were a statue. In terms of vocabulary, the words “passion” and “temptation” are often used when referring to the prince’s feelings. Lastly, it is noticeable that sex is used as a coin to win a prize (in this case, revenge and the old Polish count’s release), specifically once they marry: the prince promises Irma he will give her the letter in which he releases the count once they “consummate” their marriage. After the letter has been sent out, and Vane is aware of Irma’s secret and promises the scandal will be made public, Irma commits suicide and ends her suffering, as she would rather die for her country than live a torturous life with the Czertski. Nevertheless, her plan has succeeded: the prince’s image will forever be stained.

This last idea of sex as a means for a purpose is presented as well in “Pauline Passion and Punishment”. Meanwhile, sex is not a big topic in this short story, in fact, it is barely hinted at to give some background on Pauline and Manuel’s marriage.

“You possess dramatic skill. Use it for my sake, and come for your reward when this night's work is done.” (PPP 13)

This shows how they consummated their marriage and how, despite her lack of romantic feelings for him, Pauline did not mind using sex as a currency. Sex was a way for her to repay Manuel for his work as an ally, as he would contribute to her plan by obtaining information regarding Gilbert and his stay at the hotel.

Finally, in the other stories analyzed such as 'Debby's Debut' and 'Doctor's Dorn Revenge', sex is not mentioned.

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Historical Context and Analysis of Marriage in the Six Short Stories Analyzed.

“You make everything subject to marriage. But, what if you don’t get married? Because you must admit the possibility of staying single. Which should not terrify you, because it is not a dishonor. You can be useful to society and to yourselves.” - Louisa May Alcott.

Françoise Bach suggested in his article “ Women’s Rights and The Wrongs of Marriage in Mid-Nineteenth Century America”, “Because of her legal non-existence, she could not sue or be sued, own any property, whether earned or brought into the marriage or have any rights in her children” (Bach 23). The idea of marrying at the time was seen as a merchandise exchange, between the woman’s father and the future husband. They were simply transferred. (M.Lane)

Besides, women did not have real possibilities to work. By the middle of the 19th century, only 5% of women had access to a job, which also was a hard task because of their lack of education. These ideals, as the foundations of a patriarchal society, are built the different reasons to get married. (M.Lane)

When we take a look at these historical facts, we can see why marriage for convenience was so common. In order to have some financial advantages or perhaps real necessities, both men and women would submit themselves to partake in this type of marriage to raise their economic and social status. This is the case of ‘Debby's Debut’, ‘Doctor Dorn’s Revenge’, and ‘La Jeune’ short stories. At the beginning of the story ‘Doctor Dorn’s Revenge’, it can be found a convenient marriage as she left Max Dorn because he is a man poor in fortune and friends and marries another man who is rich and who she does not love (John Meredith), whereas in case of ‘Debby’s Debut,’ it is clearly showed this type of marriage between Joe and Debby since her aunt want her to marry a rich man but at the end, she does not marry Joe.

In the following quote, extracted from ‘Doctor Dorn’s Revenge’ short story, we can see how the protagonist Emily is attracted to John Meredith only because of his fortune, which means that is a convenience love, and later, a convenience marriage:

John Meredith, a cold, grave man of forty, bore the mark of patrician birth and breeding in every feature, tone, and act. Not handsome, graceful, or gifted, but simply an aristocrat in pride and position as in purse. Men envied, imitated, and feared him; women courted, flattered, and sighed for him; and whomsoever he married would be, in spite of herself, a queen of society.

As she watched him the girl‘s purpose strengthened, for on no one did his eye linger as on herself; every mark of his preference raised her in the estimation of her mates, and already was she beginning to feel the intoxicating power which would be wholly hers if she accepted him. (Doctor Dorn’s Revenge 4).

We can see another example of a convenience marriage in ‘La Jeune’ between Natalie Narnier and the wealthy Florimond, they got married as she did not have a man to support her financially after her family died, but unlike the way, this kind of marriage is represented in ‘Debby’s Debut’, here the man is completely in love with her, and eventually, she ends up appreciating him, but not romantically.

…He was much older than myself, but he has been fond as a father, as faithful, tender and devoted as a lover all these years. I married him from gratitude, not love, yet I have been happy and heart-free till I met Arthur. (La Jeune or Actress and Woman 17).

Another common reason at the time was due to social convictions. Associated with the concepts of the ‘two spheres’ and ‘true womanhood’, women at the time felt pressured and believed that their only purpose in life was to get married, have multiple children, and satisfy their husbands.

There were also instances where marriage happened for love but when looking at the socioeconomic situation of women at the time, we can infer that most marriages occurred due to the different reasons previously explained. However, this type of marriage is clearly seen in “Perilous Play”, when at first, Mark and Rose try to contend their feelings, but as they begin being affected by the hashish they finally yield. By the end of the story, Rose puts aside her pride and fears and accepts his purpose of being together. This love is inferred on several occasions during the story, even forced to be confessed.

Besides, this reason appears as well in the following short stories. For instance, in ‘Debby's Debut’ between Debby and Evan and in ‘Doctor Dorn’s Revenge’ between Emily and Doctor Max Dorn, when she realizes that she is really in love with him. However, neither of the couples reach marriage because in ‘Doctor Dorn’s Revenge’ Max Dorn dies as a symbol of revenge, and in ‘Debby’s Debut’, it is not clearly shown that they are going to marry each other although they are in love. In addition to the topic of Revenge in the short story ‘Debby’s Debut’, Debby marries Evan in revenge for her aunt.

Lastly, on the one hand, we can also find examples of marriage for revenge, in which we can have an act of revenge from the woman to her family because they don’t want her to marry that man, or also we can have the option of revenge from the man to another man or another woman. This is the case presented in the short story “Countess Varazoff”. Irma, the protagonist of the story, endeavors to seduce a proud Russian prince to take revenge on the Russians for destroying her country. She does this by outsmarting the prince and staining his honor forever, given she was the child of a serf. The Prince Czertski emanates the idea of masculine superiority that Alcott’s ideology questioned, he is a dominating man that asserts his position over women, undermining them: “I know your fair and fickle sex too well to trust them till they are won” (CV 28). Yet this will be his fatal mistake, as he is unable to understand Irma’s true intentions. It seems that throughout the story Irma is playing into the role of being a submissive woman, but in reality, she is just as manipulative as he is. Even if Irma is described as a cold and mourning woman, we discover in the end that she is actually in love with her good friend Vane, an Englishman who promises to make public the scandal of the Russian Prince marrying a Polish serf. Although they are in love, Irma must go on with her plan to destroy the prince’s reputation, being the heroine of the story. We can see the contrast between true love and marriage for revenge, and the characteristics of Alcott’s female protagonists, or femme fatales, beautiful courageous women who serve as foils to patriarchal men and reveal the hypocrisy of the mid-19th century society (Brola 107).

When it comes to marriage in 'Pauline’s Passion and Punishment', we can observe two different marriages, all with different points of view.

Firstly, despite the fact that they never got married, at first, Gilbert promises Pauline to marry her after his trip meaning that, in the beginning, both of them had chosen to marry for love. However, Gilbert ends up marrying Barbara.

We don’t really get a lot of information regarding the relationship of Gilbert and Barbara prior to meeting Pauline and Manuel, but based on his letter alone we can see how for Gilbert this was not only a marriage for convenience, but also potentially an arranged one.

‘...for though my heart was wholly yours, my hand was not mine to give’ (PPP 5)

The content of his letter indicates that the choice of whom to marry was never his, to begin with. This insinuates that maybe it was his family pressuring him to marry Barbara, as most families at the time expected their sons to marry women who fit into the ‘true womanhood’ characteristics but also came from a wealthy and respectable family.

On the other hand, we see that from Barbara’s point of view, it was completely different as she was actually in love with him. Her reasoning for marrying Gilbert might have been just love and nothing else, and we can observe it in the way she is constantly recriminating Gilbert for not loving her at all and even compares him to Manuel the first time they meet.

“Tired so soon, Babie? Or in a pet because I cannot change myself into a thistledown and float about with you, like Manuel and Pauline?”

��Neither; I was only wishing that you loved me as he loves her, and hoping he would never tire of her, they are so fond and charming now…” (PPP 21)

Even later on, when Manuel gets angry at Gilbert for harming Barbara, she will stop him and defend her husband despite it all.

“A soft hand at his lips checked the opprobrious word, as Babie, true woman through it all, whispered with a broken sob, “Spare him, for I loved him once.” (PPP 36)

This shows how in a marriage, the reasons behind it can be entirely different for each of the parties involved. The same thing occurs with Pauline and Manuel's marriage.

Pauline is very clear in her reasoning from the beginning. She wanted to marry for revenge and she needed to marry a wealthy man because she knew that becoming more powerful than Gilbert was a good way to hurt his ego. This is why Manuel was the perfect husband.

“Manuel, I want fortune, rank, splendor, and power; you can give me all these, and a faithful friend beside. I desire to show Gilbert the creature he deserted no longer poor, unknown, unloved, but lifted higher than himself, cherished, honored, applauded, her life one of royal pleasure, herself a happy queen.” (PPP 8)

However, she still acknowledges his feelings for her. She offers her friendship and even hopes that someday she might be able to love him in the same way he loves her.

“You would ask, 'When I have given all that I possess, what do I receive in return?' This—a wife whose friendship is as warm as many a woman's love; a wife who will give you all the heart still left her, and cherish the hope that time may bring a harvest of real affection to repay you for the faithfulness of years; who, though she takes the retribution of a wrong into her hands and executes it in the face of heaven, never will forget the honorable name you give into her keeping or blemish it by any act of hers. I can promise no more. Will this content you, Manuel?” (PPP 8)

Despite the fact that both parties are aware of the ulterior motives behind this marriage, we can also say that it was a marriage for love due to Manuel’s feelings for her and because it was also settled upon the hope that someday she might love him back. However, he seems to be happy just by being with her, despite her feelings for him

“Forgive me! Take all I have—fortune, name, and my poor self; use us as you will, we are proud and happy to be spent for you! No service will be too hard, no trial too long if in the end you learn to love me with one tithe of the affection I have made my life. Do you mean it? Am I to go with you? To be near you always, to call you wife, and know we are each other's until death? What have I ever done to earn a fate like this?” (PPP 8)

1 note · View note

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary of 'Countess Varazoff' (1868)

The tale “Countess Varazoff '' is set in England around the year 1864, just after the invasion of Poland by the Russian Empire. The protagonist of the story is Irma, a young and beautiful Polish woman who is pretending to be a Countess, and the antagonist is the Russian Price Czertski, who tries to seduce Irma. The Prince thinks no more of Irma beyond her beauty, and on a few occasions undermines the integrity and intelligence of women. Irma, knowing this, plays into the character the Prince has imagined of her, a submissive woman looking for refuge and money, but in reality, she is far from that; she will prove the prince wrong by elaborating an intricate plan to avenge her country of all the damage it has suffered because of the war. For this reason, she accepts the Prince’s marriage proposal; but only with one condition, the Prince must release a Polish Count who had been trapped by Russian troops. Once he promises this, the wedding is set for the end of the month, as they must leave for St. Petersburg as soon as they marry. Even though she despises the Prince, and is in love with an Englishman called Vane, the wedding is performed and the old Count is free. Irma’s plan is almost complete, the only thing that is left is to take revenge on the Prince, and for this, she asks Vane for help. The Englishman, who is madly in love with her, offers to save Irma from the unbearable situation she has brought herself into, but it is already too late. Vane’s mission is to spread the news around the world that the Russian Prince Czertski has married the daughter of a serf, not a Countess, staining his honor forever.

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary of 'Debby's Debut' (1863)

This short story talks about a triangular romance between Debby and two of her suitors that are Joe Leavenworth and Frank Evan. Mrs. Penelope Carroll (her aunt) wanted her to marry a rich man because she wants to be rich too so because of this she invited her to spend the summer with her.

Debby was an extraordinary girl and described as a modern and independent woman, one day she sat and started reading a book that she loves. Her idol was Charles Dickens.

She started to talk with a stranger on the beach while her aunt was sleeping in the sand and when Mrs. Penelope woke up was astonished because she was talking to a stranger.

She was a simple girl but her aunt wanted her to look like a doll. When Debby met one of her suitors called Joe Leavenworth she was very polite, she was looking “fresh and pretty” (Debby's Debut 10).

Then she met another man called Mr. Evan on the beach and he helped her to find something that she had lost in the ocean. When she came to tell her aunt she said that she wishes he had been Joe instead and she turned against her, telling that she is ungrateful because Mr. Evan was poor. Debby has a lot of admirers this summer.

At the end of the novel, she ended up being with the one that she really loved instead of the one that her aunt wanted because one was rich and another was poor. Debby ended up marrying Mr. Frank Evan.

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary and Analysis of 'La Jeune' or 'Actress and Women' (1868)

This short story is set in Paris, where two friends, Ulster and Arthur Brooke are having a conversation about going to the theater, Ulster refuses, but Brooke insists because he has a romantic relationship with La Jeune, an actress. This idea makes Ulster lose his mind, even after going to the theater and realizing that she is beautiful and a very nice woman.

Our protagonist and narrator, Ulster, spends a month following everything she does, even at her own house, and at the end of that same month, he has many conclusions about why she is, in reality, bad for his best friend. Ulster proposes to her, but she doesn’t accept it, because she had also denied Brooke’s proposal, since she was already married to a wealthy Florimond, whom Ulster had been seeing at her house this whole time. This man had married her when her parents died, and she was left alone as an orphan. He gave her everything she wanted and treated her with respect, like a father, so she feels like she owes him that. In addition, she is dying, but Natalie is elated, even though she is leaving Florimond to ease his pain of her early death since she spends that time with Arthur. The next day Ulster leaves Paris, and only four months later, his best friend visits the older one to give him a goodbye present from Natalie Nairne, also known as La Jeune.

In comparison with other short stories written by Alcott, this one is not about a woman’s need for revenge, but the complete opposite. She was married to a wealthy Florimond, who fell in love with her at the girl’s lowest point of her life, as she became an orphan after her family died, so she married him out of necessity, as women at this time needed financial support from a man, however, he gave her everything she asked for, showering her with gifts, and the most important part, he actually loved her. One day he became mentally ill, so she became La Jeune, a Parisian actress. She gave up her life for him because she felt that she owed everything to that man.

Natalie Nairne was one of the most devastating heroines from Alcott’s short stories. “La Jeune is therefore a truly tragic heroine who, having devoted her life to the man who used to love her sincerely, cannot drop the disguise she has chosen to wear.” (Brola, 104).

Ulster is the antagonist, as he does not like Natalie for his friend Brooke because she breaks the stereotype of the typical Victorian woman.

The problem in this short story appears when Natalie falls in love with Arthur Brooke. Natalie has only three months left, she is dying, so she has to decide between spending these last days with her husband, the one who has given her so much, or the person with whom she is now madly in love. However, she prefers to leave Florimond and be with Brooke, as she defines him as her friend.

"But for one so beautiful, so beloved, so die alone is terrible." I murmured, brokenly.

"Not alone, thank heaven; one Friend remains, tender and true, faithful to the end." (La Jeune 17).

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary of 'Doctorn's Dorn Revenge' (1868)

A story about tragic love and revenge, about the rich and the poor.

This short story talks about tragic love. The protagonist’s name in the story is Emily, who is in love with a man called Max Dorn. They have a conversation in which he asks her to marry her, to which she replies that he has to wait till the following day, and subsequently, he gets confused and starts making questions her such as “Because I am poor?” (Doctor Dorn’s Revenge 2). She finally leaves him because of her standards, and because, although she is in love with him, she realizes that is poor in friends and fortune. By the time she meets a new man, whose name is John Meredith, she is attracted by him because he possesses all that a woman could dream to have beside her (his social position and therefore his money), whom she finally finishes married with.

While we are reading the story, we can realize that she is not as happy as she was with Max, for instance, there is an organized ball in which she is at the toilet, and she receives a bouquet of roses, and she knows perfectly from whom it is; she knows that it is from Max Dorn. Seeing this, she starts crying because she is not happy, but stops at the moment in which she is pricked by a rose thorn and therefore, decides to throw it away into the toilet and continue with the party beside her husband Meredith.

A few times later, Meredith heads towards Dorn’s house, when he is already a very popular doctor in the world, in order to ask Dorn if he could help him by saving the life of his wife Emily since she is near death because of the fact that she is suffering from a tumor. Therefore, Meredith asks him if he could operate on her because, although he has been his rival for the last ten years, he had already been talking with Doctor Savant (who knew the Mrs. Meredith case) and he told John that he did not dare to intervene in such a risky operation. At first, Doctor Dorn refuses to do it but when the operation finally arises, he is in the operating room and asks beforehand to the nurses to cover the woman’s face because he is still in love with her, and finally he operates on her.

In the end, she wakes up and realizes that her husband John has died, and she now feels so free and relieved. At this moment, she decides to send a letter to a far city in order to know more about Max Dorn, as she now wants to fight for her love for him. She does not receive anything, and she decides to go to look for him even in the infected city or wherever he is. Finally, she finds him in a poor woman’s room who is feeding her baby, while he is almost dead, and she starts apologizing for all that she had previously done to him as revenge. He answers that one day she asks him for patience and that, now, he is going to wait for her, leaving her widow for already two times in life.

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary and Analysis of 'Perilous Play' (1869)

In this story published in 1868, Alcott takes us with a group of young wealthy southern belles and boys. They take us on a boat trip that, under the influence of different substances, ends up bringing terrible consequences.

The story begins on a tedious summer day, with a conversation between Belle Danvery and Dr.Meredith, during which Belle requests an invention to entertain herself. Subsequently, the narrator describes two additional characters, Rose St. and Mark Dane. Later on, Dr. Meredith hands Belle a box of bonbons and reveals that they are made with hashish, which is believed to induce relaxation and tranquility. Belle and her friend Evelyn took the bonbons, but soon thereafter, Rose explains that this drug causes people to lose their self-control. The young girls regret taking it and felt frightened about what the consequences could be, so asked Rose to look after them.

Once the narcotic had made effect and the night fell, Rose and Mark realized that Belle had gone sailing alone, and it could be really dangerous. They set out to find her, and while they were in the boat, the romantic atmosphere prevailed, until a strong storm approached.

Mr. Dane confesses his love for Rose but she rejects him several times. Then he reveals having taken hashish as well, which increased Rose's struggle, because of the declaration and his violent behavior and due to the perilous storm.

Mark begins to lose control of the boat, but Rose persuades him to resist and turn back home. In order to keep him awake, Rose attempts to maintain a conversation and eventually confesses her love and almost kisses him. Surprisingly, Rose admits having also taken hashish. Once the euphoria had ceased, their attention went back to the storm they must confront.

Finally, they reached a lighthouse where the housekeeper offered them shelter and assistance. The following morning, they undertook the journey back home, and there Rose said that wanted to forget everything that had happened the night before. However, once they were approaching the island, they revealed their reasons for having tried the drug, and Mark asked her to spend the rest of their lives together, to which Rose responded with a kind gesture that let the reader think that they ended up together.

Following, let’s analyze some crucial aspects of the story.

The name of the short story, “Perilous Play” could be a duality. On one side the insecurity of the strong storm, while on the other hand, the danger of taking drugs. In addition, the author might be referring to the word ‘play’ to the behavior of the protagonists, who are acting unusually under the influence of this narcotic.

Furthermore, mention the effects that hashish creates on Mark, when he started to propose his love, once he had been rejected his behavior was quite violent, even the narrator says “Something in his tone terrified her” (pg 5, line 12). Also, a few lines after he offered her to take his knife, uncertain of the control he would have over himself. This could be a criticism of the use of drugs and their effect on people. Or perhaps, a warning about Dane’s true personality. It creates the incertitude about, if it is his real nature, and he has just been covering it. Or if it is an exceptional situation.

Although the author’s intentions are not clear, it is worth highlighting that nowadays Alcott would be considered a drug addict, as she started taking Opium for medical reasons but years later she started to abuse it. She also tried other drugs such as hashish, the same as the stories (J. Gertz).

On the other hand, the setting presents a certain parallelism with the story's development. In the beginning, when they were sober, the day was calm and there were no worries. But as the hashish takes effect, some physical impediments start to appear, making Mark and Rose lose control of the situation. This could also reflect the idea of domesticity, where women must stay home because the moment she leaves the house, she starts to be in danger.

0 notes

alcottshortstories · 1 year

Text

Summary and Analysis of 'Pauline's Passion and Punishment' (1862)

A thriller published in 1862, this story talks about Pauline Valary, a woman in love but whose heart has been broken by her lover's deception and she will do everything to get revenge against him.

This thriller tells the story of Pauline Valary, a woman in love whose lover, Gilbert Redmond, had left her six months before with the promise of coming back to marry her someday. However, the story begins with Pauline receiving a letter from him, where he explains that he had married a wealthy woman and asks her to move on, knowing that he will never be happy again due to his deception.

Pauline, feeling passionate anger, decides to plot a plan to take revenge on Gilbert for abandoning her. She decides to ask her good friend Manuel, a wealthy young man, to marry her. Manuel is deeply in love with her and accepts her proposal at the possibility of Pauline loving him back. This way, Pauline and Manuel marry just one week after she had received that letter.

As part of her plan, when Gilbert and his wife Barbara, also known as Babie, visit Cuba, where the story takes place, Pauline decides to befriend her. It works, as the newlywed couple has a lot of issues in their relationship due to its business-like nature. Meanwhile, Barbara seems to take great interest in her and Manuel.

Pauline and Gilbert finally talk when Barbara asks Manuel for a dance. Gilbert takes the opportunity to ask for her pardon a second time, but Pauline's need for revenge is greater. She wants him to suffer as much as she did, so she declares a 'challenge' against him.

Barbara's liking for Pauline and Manuel was such that she insisted Gilbert extend their stay so both couples spend more time together.

Several days later, Manuel thinks his relationship with Pauline is finally becoming more romantic. He believes she might be falling in love with him as they have spent most of their time secluded in their bedroom together. However, Pauline confides that Redmond's balcony has a direct view towards their bedroom and that Gilbert had been staring at them for a few days, so she had been putting on a show for him pretending to be deeply in love. Manuel feels bitter about the never-ending situation and begs Pauline to stop with her plan, but she insists on continuing. She even offered to break up their marriage if it was too much for him, but he refused.

With Manuel still supporting her plan, Pauline sends him on a 'mission' to get information about Gilbert, and two weeks later, he gets positive results. Manuel had found out that Gilbert had forged documents from one of his wealthy friends and took some of his money. The man Gilbert had stolen from was at the hotel asking for the money, so Manuel had paid his debt, so now Gilbert owed him, which meant Manuel and Pauline had some power over him.

Pauline was content with what Manuel had found and even told him to take a vacation in the mountains to relax away from Gilbert, but he refused, as he wanted to finish what they had started. Their conversation is interrupted when Barbara arrives crying, explaining that she overheard Gilbert talking about everything that had happened, from the forgery to Manuel paying the debt, and he had gotten angry, to the point of physically harming her.

Gilbert arrives, Pauline and Manuel try to protect Barbara, but he apologizes and she quickly accepts him back. Manuel lets her go and gives a quick farewell as the couple will be leaving for the mountains the following morning, but Barbara begs for them to let Gilbert and her to go with them. Both couples agree on the trip.

A month later, both couples had grown closer, especially Manuel and Barbara, who seem to have a really close relationship. They take a trip to the mountains and, in a moment of privacy, Gilbert offers Pauline to break up their marriages and go back together, insisting that Manuel and Barbara are in love. However, Pauline had a different plan all along. Pauline tells her story, reveals her entire plan to Gilbert, and shares how she had hoped to hurt him as deeply as he did to her.

Gilbert is furious and promises to end the challenge with a bitter ending, as he swears to get revenge against Pauline by hurting Manuel. Manuel hears the argument and gets in between Pauline and Gilbert, with Barbara still clinging to him. During the argument, the altercation becomes physical: Gilbert ends up pushing Manuel off the cliff and, as a consequence, Barbara also falls, starting Pauline's punishment.

The title of ‘Pauline’s Passion and Punishment’ refers to the consequences of vengeance and anger, which is the main theme of the story.

Pauline was a loving woman, whose lover has just deceived her and she allows her anguish and despair to consume her entire life, as she dedicates all of her energy and efforts to hurt Gilbert. Her burning passionate love quickly became passionate anger and hatred, which eventually led her to her lifelong punishment that she will never escape as she herself foreshadows in the story.

“If you kill him he is beyond our reach forever, and a crime remains to be atoned for. If he kill you your blood will be upon my head, and where should I find consolation for the loss of the one heart always true and tender?” (PPP 29)

Pauline loved Manuel, not in the romantic way he craved but still loved him nonetheless. She admired his true and youthful heart and she never intended for him to get hurt so when he offers to just murder Gilbert, she cannot bear the idea of him tarnishing his honor and life for her. However, her hatred could not allow her to see further to the different other ways in which she had put him at risk; not only physically, as Gilbert had already shown small signs of being violent to Barbara, but also emotionally, as he believed she might love him back someday.

There are also other themes and references that might go undetected. For example, in this thriller we can find several religious references as Pauline is constantly described as being possessed by an evil spirit, both by other characters as well as herself.

“Listen, Manuel. A strange spirit rules me tonight… ” (PPP, pg 7)

This idea helps free Pauline from any and all responsibility for what is happening and what might happen. This also gives her a justification: Gilbert has committed a sin and she was chosen by a higher force, maybe God himself, to punish him for all he had done. These ideas are constantly repeated and referenced throughout the story.

“Pauline! Are you possessed of a devil?”

“Yes! One that will not be cast out till every sin, shame, and sorrow mental ingenuity can conceive and inflict has been heaped on that man's head.” (PPP 30)

This also helps not only Pauline to justify her own actions, but also other characters like Manuel to justify her too.

1 note · View note