Characters

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The central figures in "Dream Children," set in a historic Dutch farming village in New England, are the McNairs. Mrs. McNair, who is both charming and sociable, seems to lead a life untouched by distress as she interacts with the villagers. However, her daring rides on her stallion across the fields raise eyebrows among locals like Mr. and Mrs. DePuy, who own the nearby Patroon farm. They suspect something is wrong in her life—perhaps she is compensating for a lack, such as the absence of children, or maybe she has become so fearless that she no longer cares about the risks. By the story's conclusion, Mr. DePuy, observing her reckless riding, feels a mix of aggression and resentment, despite being a devoted husband, father, and homeowner. The villagers remain unaware of the recent tragedy she endured—the traumatic stillbirth of her son before she and her husband relocated from New York to New England. Mr. McNair, meanwhile, splits his time between the village and New York, content with this balance as it allows him to continue his career as a TV producer and maintain his relationship with a lover, while still caring for his wife, who can no longer engage in intimacy.

The contrasting lifestyles of the DePuys, with their ordinary and affluent existence, highlight the inner turmoil of the McNairs. Similarly, the flamboyant behavior of TV news commentator Victoria Darrow and her significantly younger lover starkly contrasts with the McNairs' more reserved way of life. Mr. McNair invites them to spend the weekend at their village home, where he and his wife must endure not only the sounds of their nighttime activities but also Victoria's incessant talk about her desire to get pregnant, the ticking of a biological clock, and a tragic stillbirth experience that echoes the McNairs' own loss. The McNairs' tragedy is compounded when, the morning after the stillbirth, a fatigued nurse mistakenly hands Mrs. McNair another woman's infant, cheerfully claiming it is hers. When the mistake is clarified, Mrs. McNair refuses to relinquish the child, adding a new layer of suffering to her ordeal. The nurse responsible for the mix-up claims to have had an epiphany about the universality of mothers and children, suggesting they are interchangeable and that no one truly owns anyone. Yet, this revelation quickly loses its impact.

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