The Promise by William Somerset Maugham – author of A Man From Glasgow – my note on this is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-man-from-glasgow-by-william-somerset.html where I have scores of other takes on Maugham and other favorites of mine - 10 out of 10

 

The Promise by William Somerset Maugham – author of A Man From Glasgow – my note on this is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-man-from-glasgow-by-william-somerset.html where I have scores of other takes on Maugham and other favorites of mine

 

10 out of 10

 

‘Lady Elizabeth Vermont was so lovely, it brought the tears to one's eyes, when she was young’ though we meet her when she is about to let loose – spoiler alert, this being such a short story, we might as well call it flash story, I will say what happens at the end, which is so near the start actually – and respect The Promise

 

She has married a much younger man, and thus it looks as if she has to say that she will set him free, if need be, and then he falls in love with a younger woman, and Lady Elizabeth Vermont is ready to respect their arrangement, which made me think of a previous narrative, from the same collection by Somerset Maugham

There is a contrast between The Promise and The Vessel of Wrath, in the latter, we have a determined, strong woman, Miss Jones, who starts by attacking this fellow, Ginger Ted, for his intoxication, which is permanent, and when they are on an island, she is sure he will try to rape, and take her virginity, in his stupor

 

Nonetheless, he does not take advantage, indeed, he would be outraged when he is told about that fear, and then later, Miss Jones apologizes, and furthermore, encourages this alcoholic to change his ways, he has clean clothes, refuses drinks when invited, and at the end, he becomes engaged with his former foe, who has won.

Whereas Lady Elizabeth Vermont decides to get out of the game, for good reason, if the man had lost his affection, there would be not point in trying to hang on…well, unless the circumstances would be different, Miss Jones is on the contrary, on track to transform the drunk, old enemy into her future husband

 

Evidently, it is not obvious that it will be a ‘marriage made in heaven’, and we have that other scenario in yet another short story by glorious Somerset Maugham, Before The Party – my view on that is on the same blog here https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/04/before-party-by-somerset-maugham-his.html

Millicent Skinner is the protagonist of this narrative, and Before the Party, she is asked by her family, her sister first, about her late husband, because a priest has heard the man had committed suicide, and ergo they will have the truth – ‘be careful what you wish for’ the old cliché – which is so astounding, and horrifying

Millicent seemed to become an ‘old maid’, one hundred years ago, they had this thing about women, who were not yet seen as the equal of men, and then Harold shows up, from the Far East, and he asks her to marry – later, we find with her that he had two choices from the governor of the province he lived in, you either come back with a wife, or else you lose your job, because of your drunkenness, so he had to act

 

Nevertheless, once married, the fellow drinks again, has a daughter, and Millicent asks if he wants his child to know about his deplorable habit, so he determines to stay sober, only when they are away for a week and come back, his spouse finds him passed out, with an empty bottle of whisky next to him, in a disgusting state

Hence... she kills him, and I am not saying that Lady Elizabeth Vermont is doing the right thing, because it can be so ugly, or else that Miss Jones thinks she saved Ginger Ted, and he is now as good as any to be her husband (on a cynical, stupid note, she was sure to remain single, given age, location, and other factors) but he will fall back

 

Marital life can be, it is challenging, and since we are so far into this ‘review’ that we have left everyone behind, in the sense that maybe one or two looked at the first line or two, and then said skip it, so it is a message in a bottle by now, let me tell you about the situation here, in this house, where I am alone with the boys now

It would have been a divorce, a need to go away, just like lady Elizabeth Vermont, only there are practical consideration, like this rather large house, which still has mortgage, if it were sold, the resulting split would be enough for much smaller lodgings, and then what to do with the macaws, screaming birds you need to be careful with…

 

As it is, within a house near the border of the capital city, one can hope they will not bring in the police to the door, there are water bottles to use, when they get too loud (remember, these are creatures that originally use the tropical jungle to get the message across, huge spaces, right) but in a flat, in the city, no way man

In other words, I am now the prisoner of two fucking chickens, one of them a bit crazy, if I go out in the garden, to get some coat back or something, Balzac is off to such a noise that you can hear it in Bangkok, so there is this possibility, live with another, just because it has some benefits, though not sexual

 

That was absent for some seven years – at home, with legal partner, otherwise, it is offered for pay, in the town, or at your place, if willing to pay more, as in double – and there are frustrations, such as now, she is on a trip to Balcic, and the whole day I need to take care of the wild animals, and this is not a one off

She went to Amsterdam, for three days, just a few weeks back, and with the message that I wanted them, yes, for Balzac, but for Puccini, I just sent pictures and said this a nice baby, and she went on to the Carrefour parking, met with the breeder, and voila, bought it, savoir faire for you, and now he is my responsibility…

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”