Thursday, May 17, 2012

"Mr Preble Gets Rid of His Wife"

*Brief comment/ insight
*Discussion ?

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1933/03/04/1933_03_04_017_TNY_CARDS_000220229?printable=true&currentPage=all

21 comments:

  1. After reading this article I was very confused. I was surprised when his wife was actually going along with him trying to get rid of her. I think that it is a very strange story.

    Is Mrs. Preble really telling her husband how to kill her and get rid of her?

    Kathryn Collins
    Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  2. After reading this short story I was once again slightly depressed. It's sad to see a marriage deteriorate in such a mutual fashion that one would rather remarry and the other prefers death. Their love has died gradually as implied by the frequent asking of Mr. Preble to run away.

    I personally suspect that the two are just tired of living with another person who they do not fully care for. Mrs. Preble tries to escape her sad microcosm through her books while Mr. Preble seeks the comfort of his secretary. In the end we can assume Mrs. Preble finds a final, long lasting escape not only in death but by providing the man she once loved with happiness for the remainder of his life. It is that sense that her loss of will to live is redeemable, her death is not entirely in vain.

    Stephen Perrotti
    Period 4

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this story was supposed to be a parody the problems of a middle-aged married couple.

    Who was rid of? Mr. Preble or his wife?

    Sidney
    Period 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I love this question !
      I never thought of it as I read this tale, but now I am pondering very hard. Who really was rid of ?

      - Zhanneta.

      Delete
  4. This story follows similar themes as the other through the deterioration of a marriage. In this situation, the spouses no longer love eachother, leaving them with only one choice. This, once again, brings up the controversy of being married or staying single. I personally relate this to the cliche, "Is it better to have loved and lost or to have never loved at all?"

    Tyler King
    Period 1

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I would have to agree with everyone else here, this story really tries to discuss a failing marriage of an "average couple". I do agree with Kathryn that I am definitely a little confused by all of this. However, I find it very interesting because although this story kind of makes a mockery of marriage, it also gives a little insight on marriage. For example, when she says "I'm always two steps ahead of you" it shows that she knows him extremely well, something you can only know by genuinely knowing a person. However, then it doubles over and the husband disagrees with her saying she doesn't know anything that he is thinking. I like this idea because it kind of gives me the idea that woman will always care about a woman, while most of the time men try to ignore it and start the majority of problems in a marriage. In this story, it is the man who starts the problem by wanting to run away with his assistant. Anyway, although still confused, I find this story to be pretty interesting.

    Edgar Ortiz
    Period 1

    ReplyDelete
  6. I found this story to be very cartoonish. The conversation between the husband and wife is comical and different from what you would expect of a couple in an “unhappy” relationship. While Mr. and Mrs. Preble don’t like each other, there is a sense that they must like one another just a little bit if Mrs. Preble knows what her husband is thinking all the time. Even suggesting tips to him on how to kill her isn’t something you would expect either. There has to be some mutual support if they both listen to one another, albeit stubbornly. I feel like their marriage will always be filled with these back and forth insults and petty fighting, but I don’t think either of them are ever going to go through with the idea of inflicting physical harm to one another.

    Do you think Mr. Preble went through with the plan of killing his wife?

    Kelly Du
    Period 1

    ReplyDelete
  7. This satire though meant to be a humorous work is really not funny at all. At first glance I believe the story of Mr. Preble, in general, suggests a dismal and limited label on the relationship between husband and wife and negatively reflects a minority scenario. As stated above, it is generally accepted in society that men are more often than not the perpetrators of infidelity within a relationship. While Mr. Preble exemplifies this notion, his method of deliverance to his wife Mrs. Preble is blunt and forward, a manner that is a rarity in today’s society. I hold doubt within the conversation he has with his wife about the status of their relationship and therefore see the realism of this scenario in need of revision. While it is possible for one’s intimate feelings about his or her spouse to change and be directed towards an outsider, such as a stenographer, it is highly unlikely that the person would bring the change of heart to the immediate foreground. Love is an imprinted sensation that doesn’t necessarily disappear in a moment’s notice. This reasoning may be seen in Mrs. Preble’s denial that “[Mr. Preble] may bury her, but [he’ll] never get a divorce.” Her claim reinforces the belief of commitment and obligation to marriage and that it is truly till their deaths do them apart. Viewing the only means of “running away with [the stenographer]” as killing Mrs. Preble is a serious shortcoming within the story on part of Mr. Preble. He fails to recognize any other solution to his failed marriage other then taking his wife’s life who is readily allowing him to take; she offers to go down to the basement and even suggests a murder weapon. The reader learns from the text that the couple has lost their intimate vigor for one another and therefore guesses that their marriage is botched and their love gradually dissipating. The fact that Mrs. Preble favors death (and assisting in her own murder) over seeing her husband legally with another woman reflects the principles of marriage and her sense of understanding of her husband in knowing that he lacks the will to kill her.

    Alexander Borkowski Period 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Discussion Question:

      Why does Mr. Preble accept the suggestions of his wife at the end of the story? -A.B

      Delete
  8. I think the entire story was made up conversations in Mr.Preble's mind(a type of ongoing daydream). He probably never even talked with his secretary about running away , but imagined the whole thing because he wishes he could be the type of man to get himself out of his dead marriage. However, even in his imagination he can't seem to stop arguing with his wife, or keep his homicidal thoughts to himself. He seems weakened by his relationship because his wife is so controlling; she wont even let him divorce her. He just hopes one day he'll have the confidence to get out of him marriage so he can be his own man.

    Why do you think Mrs.Preble doesn't want a divorce?

    Mairsa p.4

    ReplyDelete
  9. Personally I didn’t really like this story. It wasn’t even realistic. Mr. Preble isn’t happy with his wife and decides he’s going to get rid of her. Then Mrs. Preble acts like she knew all along that he came home today with intentions of killing her. She also gives him suggestions on how he should kill her and tips so he won’t get caught. I didn’t like the ending either. It was confusing to me because it seemed like the story abruptly stopped.

    Do you think Mr. Preble will ever end up running away with his stenographer?

    Kelly Loftis 1

    ReplyDelete
  10. This story really amused me; I found it to be an exaggerated, but witty, portrayal of, as Sidney pointed out, "the problems of a middle-aged married couple." The dialogue between these two is entertaining, and both of the main characters provide hilarious responses to the other. Mr. Preble is painfully blunt with his wife, confessing to his plans to elope with his stenographer and rid of Mrs. Preble in order to avoid a divorce that the latter is unwilling to comply with. His wife doesn't show a single sign of fear upon hearing these plans; instead, she plays along with her husband's plans, even offering advice as to how to get rid of her. Frankly, I find that Mrs. Preble is much smarter than her husband, and she masterfully manipulates him by unleashing his emotions; I am certain that with this reasoning, there is definitely an important reason as to why she doesn't want a divorce.

    Question:
    Who is the smarter person in the Preble couple ?

    - Zhanneta.
    Period 1.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This story really amused me; I found it to be an exaggerated, but witty, portrayal of, as Sidney pointed out, "the problems of a middle-aged married couple." The dialogue between these two is entertaining, and both of the main characters provide hilarious responses to the other. Mr. Preble is painfully blunt with his wife, confessing to his plans to elope with his stenographer and rid of Mrs. Preble in order to avoid a divorce that the latter is unwilling to comply with. His wife doesn't show a single sign of fear upon hearing these plans; instead, she plays along with her husband's plans, even offering advice as to how to get rid of her. Frankly, I find that Mrs. Preble is much smarter than her husband, and she masterfully manipulates him by unleashing his emotions; I am certain that with this reasoning, there is definitely an important reason as to why she doesn't want a divorce.

    Question:
    Who is the smarter person in the Preble couple ?

    - Zhanneta.
    Period 1.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I actually love this piece of fiction , i thank GOD it was all about fiction, i didn't expect to encounter such a story in life, i don't know if these two characters got married because of love, or something other than love made them to, It's so fascinating how two people will agree on how one of them will be exterminated. All these because Mr. preble fell in love with his secretary. His wife knowing she is about to get killed, submits her self to the duties of a married woman by calmly taking her husband's provocations of wanting to get rid of her. It's sad how a couple could survive in such an aversion. They both detest each other, yet are married.

    question: understanding how myopic Mr. Preble's view of life is ,will he ever be able to get rid of his smart wife

    sandrine amin

    ReplyDelete
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