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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Part 3
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of “The Wife of His Youth” shifts from calm to suspenseful to poignant over the course of the story. The beginning of the story is calm, as the narrator spends a fair amount of time describing the history and background of the Blue Veins Society as well as Mr. Ryder’s easeful, simple life. The “plot” only starts in Part 2 of the story with the arrival of Eliza Jane and, because readers are not yet aware that the long-lost husband she seeks is, in fact, Mr. Ryder, the mood remains fairly even. Mr. Ryder asks Eliza some follow-up questions about her husband and then she leaves.
It’s only in Part 3 of the story that the mood starts to become suspenseful and Mr. Ryder makes his speech at the Blue Veins ball. The following passage captures how it becomes increasingly apparent that Mr. Ryder’s long “hypothetical” story about Eliza Jane’s husband is actually his own story:
Suppose, too, that as the years went by, this man’s memory of the past grew more and more indistinct, until at last it was rarely, except in his dreams, that any image of his bygone period rose before his mind. And then suppose that accident should bring to his knowledge the fact that the wife of his youth, the wife he had left behind him […] was alive and seeking him, but that he was absolutely safe from recognition or discovery, unless he chose to reveal himself. My friends, what would the man do?
The mood here is clearly suspenseful, as Mr. Ryder’s audience and readers alike wonder if this is, in fact, his story and, if it is, how will he answer the final question of: “What would the man do?” Mr. Ryder’s emotional language about how “this man’s memory of the past grew more and more indistinct” and how it was only “in his dreams that any image of his bygone period rose before his mind” also prepares readers for the emotional ending as Mr. Ryder declares that he is, in fact, Eliza Jane’s long-lost husband.
It is notable that Mr. Ryder reveals his former relationship with this lower-class, darker-skinned woman only after telling a story that pulls on his listeners' heartstrings. This is likely an intentional choice he makes so as to motivate the members of the Blue Veins Society to support him in his decision, rather than alienate him for cavorting with people the elitist organization may not approve of.
Related Themes:
