"The Season of Divorce": 06/04/25

"The Season of Divorce" by John Cheever (1950), though written decades before, reminds me a great deal of the set up to Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay. The difference is that it's written from the husband's point of view.

The unnamed, first person protagonist tells the story of his wife, Ethel. She, like he, is well educated. But it's the post war years and she has been relegated to the life of housewife and mother, while he goes off most days to work.

He outlines how much her life is dictated by the needs of the children and the routine of the household. As someone how worked from home and later was the primary care giver for our two children, I know how easy it is to lose oneself into this type of routine.

Into the mix is an older married man that the couple meets at a party. The man, like Aaron Grady, becomes obsessed. He sends flowers to Ethel. He stands outside in view of the window. He offers to take her away and marry her. His obsession leads to divorce.

The "season of divorce" though foreshadowed to hit both households, doesn't. While things aren't perfect for the Ethel and her husband, they aren't so bad that she's tempted by the other man.

It's not an HEA story but it's a happier than I expected ending. It's a realistic look at what a lot of families might have been experiencing in the early Baby Boom years.

Like the other John Cheever stories, this one sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. Ethel and her husband and the their children are a family of travelers (33). Their destination is the home (66) they've made together. Their route there is the labyrinth (99) as represented by both by the repetition of their routines as well as the way the experience with the stalker transforms their relationship.

Four stars

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