"Next Door" by Tobias Woolf; "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" by Irwin Shaw

2. The narrator says his wife came down with “an illness.” By now I think you know that I’d call that out on most of your writing as vague, and want you to specify. But since Wolff is at the top of his game here, he did this on purpose. Why would our narrator be vague about his own wife’s illness? What does this tell us about him, and even his relationship with his wife?

4. This narrator is pretty obsessed with his flowers. Discuss why Wolff made him a gardener.

8. Do you think Michael and Frances will find a way to be happy together? Nail down your answer with specific details from the text.

Question 2  "The Illness"

I get the impression that the "illness" was a quite serious one that tested this couple's marriage and had a profound impact on their relationship in the aftermath. Although nothing is spelled out, I also get the sense that her condition may have compromised their sex life and perhaps even the ability to have children. This type of problem is one that some couples would find painful to discuss and instead try to suppress. But unfortunately that doesn't usually work- instead it becomes the "gorilla in the room" that never gets mentioned. Or one of those stains on the wall that you paint over but keeps coming back. This is only a theory, and other maladies come to mind. The illness might have been cancer that is now in remission. Maybe even substance abuse. Both of those would be hard topics to go into detail about, but my gut feeling is that it was some sort of "female-specific" health issue.

This couple were probably repressed even before the illness. (Euphemisms such as "Florida" and "number one" indicate that, as do the "his and her" beds). The very first line from our narrator is telling: "I wake up afraid." And then the wife's fear that the neighbors might poison the cat if the police are called. (Wolff 3). This narrator and his wife are not happy; they're paranoid, and their lives are empty to the point that they live vicariously through their raucous neighbors- afraid of them, appalled by them, but also envious of them. (They have a baby. They "discuss" their problems. They are passionate). It gives the narrator and his wife something to talk about, and a "cause" they can unite on. The symbolism of the man pissing on their flowers...  I see it as a microcosm of their lives. They are victims, but too weak to do anything about it. The world has a way of pissing on people like that.

Tobias Wolff is intentionally vague about the illness so that it becomes more of a symbol. This is an unhealthy relationship for narrator and wife. The reluctance to go into detail about it is a symptom of a larger problem. Something shifted for both as a result, but quite likely the illness was just a catalyst that exacerbated some other pre-existing conditions in the relationship.

Question 4 "Gardening"

The couple must have had a gender-stereotypical marriage before the illness, since the man makes a rather big deal of how he cared for her- "made the meals and everything" (5). She was a housewife and he was the breadwinner, and then he found himself in a situation where he had to be both. If anything positive about the narrator can be gleaned from this story, I think it's the fact that he discovered he could be a nurturer when the wife fell ill, and that this shifted from her to flowers once she had recuperated.

Gardening might seem a boring hobby to some people, but it is actually very rewarding. It is a great way to feel a connection with the world, and to lose one's self and problems in a kind of meditative state. It could also be seen as a form of escape. Whatever the wife's illness was and whatever other problems exist in their marriage and home (such as the noisy neighbors), the narrator has his gardening to sometimes take his mind off of things temporarily.

The "escape" function of the gardening is also illustrated in his imaginary story about the explorers. At the end they are "sleeping in a meadow filled with white flowers" and become so covered with petals that "you cannot tell one from another, man from woman, woman from man" (8). His fantasy world is someplace far removed from society, and where sex isn't an issue. Obviously both have created some trauma for him in the real world.

Question 8 "Happy Together"

"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" portrays a brief episode between a husband and wife on a Sunday morning/afternoon in New York City. They are apparently on some sort of vacation, as the story opens with their leaving the Brevoort Hotel, This couple has not been married long and are well off financially, as we learn from Frances' statement "a planned Sunday in New York for a young couple with money to throw away" (Shaw 1035). They've slept late, had a nice breakfast, and are planning a day ahead that they can spend doing whatever they want. Everything is sunny and pleasant on the surface.

But Mr. Michael Loomis has a roving eye, first referenced when Frances remarks "Look out... you'll break your neck... she's not so pretty... anyway, not pretty enough to take a chance of breaking your neck" (1034). They both laugh, and it seem to be of no consequence. It is, however, igniting a slow-burning fuse that will sputter and spark for the remainder of the story. But the bomb never explodes, at least not on this day...

Here are my personal thoughts and opinions regarding this situation: I'm a 54 year-old male and I've been married three times. From that fairly broad perspective, and having stayed married almost twenty years to my third spouse- this matter between Michael and Frances is a case of growing pains in their early marriage. I'm not going to defend Michael's tendency to ogle other women; it does show disrespect and he needs to grow up and get a handle on it. But compared to other marital crises that could arise it is a minor offense. Men, and especially younger ones, are pretty much hard-wired by evolution to notice other females as potential "mates". It is mostly a visual stimulus for them. Women do a similar thing, but they size up other men more on a strength/confidence/security basis. We can't totally suppress our biological instincts. Michael apparently just doesn't have a clue on how to be discreet. (I know, from personal experience- I once walked straight into a glass door, hurting myself, while looking over my shoulder at an attractive woman. My wife saw it happen. She almost peed herself laughing at me).

I think there is hope for Michael and Frances, and was impressed by how honestly both of them were able to discuss the matter. "You always look at other women... everywhere... every damned place we go"... "No, darling... I look at everything... God gave me eyes and I look at women and men... and moving pictures and the little flowers of the field..." (1035). At least neither of them are in (total) denial. Asked later if he ever has a desire to be "free", he admits that he's thought about it. But what married person, male or female, could honestly say they haven't themselves? Would Frances prefer a man that lied to her instead?

This couple is in a dangerous part of their marriage- the early years. Things are more tenuous, and the less time invested, assets shared, and/or children involved- the easier it is to walk away. For me the most powerful and potentially damning part of the story is their decision to start drinking so early in the afternoon. Even their Japanese host, smiling at them as he serves the first two rounds, has picked up on their bad vibes when they order the third- "Yes, ma'am, yes sir" said the waiter, backing away (1038). It is then that Frances decides to "cut the fuse" to avoid further conflict, by re-thinking the invitation from the Stevensons. They'll back off of this topic today, and go party with friends instead. Sometimes it is okay to postpone a problem's resolution, but if that tactic becomes a habit it will only make the problem grow. That is the fine line that Michael and Frances stand on at this story's end.