Literary Wives is an on-line book group that examines the meaning and role of wife in different books. Four times a year, we post and discuss a book with this question in mind:

What does this book say about wives or about the experience of being a wife?

Don’t forget to check out the other members of Literary Wives to see what they have to say about the book!

• Kay at What Me Read
• Rebecca at Bookish Beck
• Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best 
• Becky at Aidenvale

Literary Wives welcomes Becky to our group – we’re happy to have her join us!

Goodreads synopsis: There is something Constance Middleton’s friends are dying to psst! : her husband is having an affair with her best friend. Despite their hints, Constance remains ever cool, and seemingly oblivious. Or is she? In this comedy of unfaithful manners, Constance (a not-desperate housewife) has surprising ideas of her own about extra-marital activity.

This was a fun departure from the usual for us. I don’t read a lot of plays because I find the stage directions and name cues get in my way, but in this case it was worth it.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

I was not expecting Constance to be so calculating. At first, I wondered why she seemed so cold and indifferent to the accusations against her husband. Even when his affair was out in the open, she was still as cool as a cucumber.

“I am afraid I must admit that at the first moment I was vexed, but only at the first moment. Then I reflected that it was unreasonable to be angry with John for giving to another something I had no use for. That would be too much like a dog in the manger, and then I was fond enough of John to be willing that he should be happy in his own way…”

Constance’s husband John thinks she’s the greatest, especially after handling the situation so calmly and claiming to be okay with his infidelity. He even goes so far as to promise to never let it happen again, even though she’s not asking him to do anything of the sort. Little does he (or the rest of us) know, she’s planning to use it all to her advantage later. A year after taking up her friend’s offer of becoming business partners, Constance is about to embark on a six week vacation to Italy, apparently on her own. At the last minute, we learn that she’s actually planning to go with Bernard, a suitor of hers from 15 years ago who is still in love with her. John is beyond surprised and starts to refuse to let her go, threatening divorce. Constance takes it all calmly and points out that it is no different than what he had done a year ago. In Constance’s mind, men only have the right to cheat because they are the economic ‘keepers’ of women – women owe them loyalty for being given a home. Therefore, if she is able to become economically independent, she should also be able to demand sexual independence. Not only is she paying for her trip, but she has also paid John for room and board over the last year. This is not at all what he wants or cares about. He’s steaming mad, but she gets away with it anyway.

What does this book say about wives or about the experience of being a wife?

This play was written in the 1920s when societal norms were changing quickly, including ideas and norms around gender roles in a marriage. For far too long, infidelity in men was deemed to be acceptable, but not so for women.

“I am unable to attach any great importance to the philanderings of men. I think it’s their nature. John is a very hard-working surgeon. If he likes to lunch and dine with a pretty woman now and then, I don’t think he’s much to blame.” –Mrs. Culver (Constance’s mother)

“I have my own ideas about marriage. If a man neglects his wife it’s her own fault, and if he’s systematically unfaithful to her, in nine cases out of ten she only has herself to blame.” –Mrs. Culver

“We all know that unchastity has no moral effect on men. They can be perfectly promiscuous and remain upright, industrious, and reliable. It’s quite different with women. It ruins their character.” –Mrs. Culver

When Constance and John first married, they were in love and happy with one another. But after about 5 years, they no longer were, although they still enjoyed each other’s company which Constance remained content with. She considers John a good catch because “he has all the solid qualities that make a man a good husband; an agreeable temper, a sense of humour, and an entire indifference to petty extravagance.”

She could find no fault in her husband’s actions when he took up with another woman, because Constance felt she was no longer able to give him the love he desired. But when Bernard showed up after being away for many years, Constance wanted the same freedom for herself. As long as she was free to pursue her own desires as her husband did, she was content in her marriage. Once she became financially independent, she felt free to do this.

“My dear, there is only one freedom that is really important, and that is economic freedom. Well, I have it and upon my soul, it’s the most enjoyable sensation I can remember since I ate my first strawberry ice.”

Constance has low expectations of men and a practical way of looking at marriage. She feels men are like “little boys” and helpless, “just like dogs.” She thinks they are “sweet” but that it’s “absurd to take them seriously.” And she tells Bernard that she thinks that wives are “no more than the mistress of the man whose desire she has taken advantage of to insist on a legal ceremony that will prevent him from discarding her when his desire has ceased.”

“I can never see why a woman should give up a comfortable home, a considerable part of her income and the advantage of having a man about, because he has been unfaithful to her. She’s merely cutting off her nose to spite her face.”

Join us in September for Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins!