Astronomer's Wife
by Kay Boyle
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At a glance:
- Author: Kay Boyle
- First Published: 1936
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: A summer around 1930
- Setting: A European mountain villa
- Characters: Katherine Ames, Mr. Ames, The plumber
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Power, personal or social, Marriage, 1930's, Self-confidence, Astronomy or astronomers, Intellect, Mountains, Silence
- Locales: Europe
The Story
Early in the morning, Katherine Ames steps quietly out of bed, trying not to disturb her husband—who either is still asleep or pretends to be. Mrs. Ames—as she is called throughout the story—comes “into her own possession” by beginning the day with brief exercises. She will stay busy with household duties, deeply ingrained habits that absent her from her husband’s constant, unknowable silence.
Silence is her astronomer husband’s dominant characteristic. The couple’s relationship is built on the understanding that he is a man of the mind, who...
(The entire page is 1612 words.)
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