THE OTHER TWO

“The Other Two” by Edith Wharton

“The Other Two” by Edith Wharton

Introduction

In her novels and stories, Edith Wharton writes about the political and emotional circumstances of characters by relating their ideas about the home or homes. Wharton employed family spaces both representatively to disclose personality traits and mimetically to categorize characters, but also thematically to discover their control to influence emotions and feelings. An analysis of “The Other Two” discovers how the home works as a main place for political and social change. Power, access and control are all the main topics in this story. Altogether, the story display a complexly clear perception of “home” and its function as both setting and contributting to several stages of personal experiences.

Discussion

A successful New York investor named Waythorn and his twice-divorced bride, Alice, cut short their honeymoon because her twelve-year-old daughter, Lily, has fallen ill with typhoid. Awaiting them at home is a letter from the lawyer of Alice's first husband, Haskett, requesting that his weekly visitation rights be continued at the Waythorn household because Lily cannot be moved. Waythorn reluctantly agrees but, not wishing an embarrassing scene, leaves early the following day for work. While on a crowded train, he runs into Alice's second husband, the well-connected but boorish Gus Varick, who asks for his help with an important business transaction. Waythorn's partner Sellers has been handling it but is currently ill with the gout. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Waythorn agrees. A few hours later, at lunch, he spots Varick at a nearby table, pouring cognac into his coffee cup. Eschewing direct contact, Waythorn wonders whether Varick ever was put in embarrassing situations with Haskett while married to Alice. 

That evening, Waythorn inquires about Haskett's visit. Alice replies that the nurse showed him in, implying, to Waythorn's relief, that she had no direct contact with him. After dinner, Alice pours liqueur into his coffee cup, just as Varick had done at lunch. When Waythorn exclaims that he does not take brandy, she blushes. (1)

Ten days later, with Sellers still ill, Waythorn confers with Varick, who is pleasant and even alludes to past financial problems that, rumor has it, caused his rupture with Alice. Meanwhile, as Lily recuperates, Waythorn grows less uneasy about Haskett's visits, although a chance face-to-face encounter is awkward for him. Although Haskett seems unimpressive and undistinguished, wearing a “made-up tie attached with elastic,” Waythorn comes to respect his concern for his daughter's welfare. When Haskett complains about Lily's French governess, Waythorn resents the criticism but has the servant dismissed. (2)

The increased contact with Haskett and Varick causes Waythorn to scrutinize and analyze his wife's behavior. He learns, for example, that, despite her denial, she conversed with Haskett during his first visit. At a ball, “wandering through the remoter rooms,” Waythorn comes on Varick and Alice sitting together. “She colored a little, and faltered in what she was saying; but Varick nodded to Waythorn without rising, and the latter strolled ...