The Cousins (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Elizabeth Spencer
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The 1950's and 1980's
- Setting: Martinsville, Alabama, and Italy
- Principal Characters: Ella Mason, Eric Mason, Ben, Jamie, Mayfred, Donald Bailey
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Memory, Love or romance, South or Southerners, Europe or Europeans, Marriage, Class consciousness, Vacations, Italy or Italians
- Locales: Alabama, Italy, Martinsville, AL
The Story
Ella Mason, a twice married woman in her early fifties, recalls a European trip that she and four cousins made thirty years earlier. The five of them—Ella Mason, Eric, Ben, Jamie, and Mayfred—are members of the “three leading families” of Martinsville, Alabama, who were, the narrator confesses, somewhat “snobbish” about their social position in the small town. They are all descended from a famous Confederate general. Ella, whose mother was a Mason, has the same great-grandfather as Eric.
On a visit to New York, Ella Mason has lunch with her cousin...
[The entire page is 1337 words long]
