The Progress of Love

The Progress of Love

Plot: Woman gets call at work from her father, telling her that her mother is dead. Father never got used to living alone and went into retirement home. Mother is described as very religious, Anglican, who had been saved at the age of 14. Father was also religious and had waited for the mother since he first met her. They did not have sex until marriage and the father was mildly dissapointed that the mother did not have money. Description of the house follows, very high ceilings, old mansion it seems, with chimney stains, it has been let go. Jumps in time to narrators ex-husband making fun of narrator fantasizing about stains. Next paragraph is the father in a retirement home, always referring to things: �The lord never intended.’, shows how old people have disdain for new things, the next generation appears to be more and more sacreligious. Shows streak of meanness when �spits’ out a reference to constant praying, narrator claims he does not know who he is talking to, but appears to be the very pious mother. Following paragraph jumps back in time to when narrator was a child, she asks her mother constant questions about her white hair and what color it was, mother says she was glad when it wasn’t brown like her fathers anymore, shows high distaste towards her father, the narrators grandfather. Mother claims hate is sin, that it spreads throughout your body like black ink in water. Next paragraph jumps to older narrator, discussing her name, Euphemia, how they called her Phemie at home, but when she started to work she called herself Fame (hated her real name), dialogue between her and a bar guest, which is where she worked, at a bar in a hotel. Shows the type of place and type of people she converses with on a regular basis. After that the next paragraph jumps back to 1947 when Euphemia was 12 (so she was born in 1935), she was helping her mother paper the downstairs bedroom because her mother sister Beryl was coming to visit. Her mother didn’t really know Beryl, her father had remarried after their mother died and moved to Minneapolis and then Seatlle with his new wife, Euphemias mother stayed behind. Wallpaper was with corn and at reduced price and not enough, tells you what their socio-economic level was at, not high and sort of scraping things together, like the wallpaper. Mother sings song her mother sang for her and Beryl. Narrator describes she is excited that Beryl is coming and that she just did her examinations in town. According to her family she would become a housewife, working farm woman anyway. Mother says God doesn’t care anway. Next paragraph describes the mother of the narrator, she is given a name, Marietta. Narrator thinks Mariette is separate from her mother. Marietta lived in double house divided by a trellis, indication of socio-economic status. Neighbours German, Sutcliffes, the woman made strudl that looked like skin, thought Marietta. Marietta wakes up one day and finds her mother in the barn appearing to want to hang herself. Marietta is instructed by her mother to get het father, she does, she runs all though town, only to return, without her father and to find that her mother is in the kitchen drinking tea with Mrs. Sutcliffe. Narrator says her mothers heart was broken, it had been touched by poison. Next paragraph jumps to Beryls arrival with Mr. Florence in his royal-blue chrysler with pearly-grey upholstery, he was very particular abou the name of the color. Beryl was very different from anyone the narrator had met before, very well look after, interested in everything on the farm, wanted to be shown around, smoked. Referred to teat of cow, after narrator milked it, as: �Think if it was you.’, hereby making the narrator aware of the consciousness of the animal, making the narrator to never be able to hold a �warm, warty teat in such a firm and casual way again.’ The following paragraph discusses Beryl’s ritual before going to sleep, removing all make-up, something the narrator had never seen in such abundance. The way in which Beryl does her hair, the narrator switches point of view from child to grown-up, referring to it as something she had learned from. The next paragraph describes a day when Beryl and Mr. Florence take everyone for a drive, except the boys, and they go to a restaurant, something the narrators parents and herself are completely unaccustomed to. She had never seen the country like that before, even thought it was so close. People that boys are staying at are referred to as Catholics, which back then was an important aspect of peoples life. At restaurant father makes jokes to hide his discomfort, Beryl tells her side of the story regarding the narrators grandmothers attempt to kill herself.

After this, the next paragraph talks about Beryls side of the story coming to light, and the next time the narrator would enter the restaurant in the previous paragraph. It was changed into the Lions club, where her then-husband was a member of, while subsequently turning into a stripclub.

The next paragraph discusses the farmhouse the narrator grew up in. It was sold to a man in Toronto who rented it to a commune (hippies). This is followed by a jump in time, when the narrator is looking in it much later, when the hippies left and the house is for sale again. She looks at it with her friend Bob Marks, and sees some old wallpaper and hippie paintings. Tells him about the time when her mother burnt 3000 dollars, only person she would tell, is reminded by this because the stove which was used is still present. Shows distaste for hippies.

Next paragraph jumps back in time, when dinner party is on way back home, Beryl is told that her sister burnt the 3000 dollars. Is outraged.

Final paragraph discusses whether or not narrator believes

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