55 pages • 1-hour read
The Paris Wife
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use.
Alcohol
The constant presence of alcohol functions as a motif that slowly shifts in meaning over the course of the novel, representing both the disillusionment of the Jazz Age and the eventual decay of Ernest and Hadley’s marriage. From their first meeting over hard cider, the novel illustrates how drinking serves as a social lubricant, a creative catalyst, and an emotional anesthetic. In the early days of their relationship, it is a source of connection, allowing them to “walk into any café and feel the wonderful chaos of it, ordering Pernod or Rhum St. James until we were beautifully blurred and happy to be there together” (xvii). This shared state of being “beautifully blurred” represents the idyllic, almost dreamlike quality of their initial bond, where alcohol helps to erase the harsh realities of their finances and the traumas of the recent war.
As their relationship evolves, however, this motif reveals alcohol’s destructive potential, becoming a key agent in the erosion of their intimacy. The endless drinking in Paris cafés fosters an environment where boundaries are porous and betrayals can take root, camouflaged by manufactured gaiety. The prologue foreshadows this danger, explaining their generation’s compulsion for “kissing the wrong people no matter what it ruined” (xv), pointing to alcohol, which lowers inhibitions, enabling the emotional and physical infidelity that ultimately destroys their union. For Hadley, drinking shifts from a shared pleasure to a solitary means of coping with her pain and loneliness. The motif traces the couple’s journey from joyful communion to profound isolation, with alcohol functioning both as a catalyst for this shift and an illustration of how intimacy gradually dissolves under the weight of unspoken resentments and emotional escape.
The Act of Writing
The recurring motif of Ernest’s act of writing represents the consuming and often isolating nature of artistic ambition, serving as the central force that both unites and divides him and Hadley and developing the theme of The Competing Demands of Love and Artistic Ambition. In the beginning, his creative passion is a source of attraction for Hadley, who is captivated by his drive and talent. She becomes his first and most devoted reader, creating a sense of partnership in his artistic enterprise. However, his relentless pursuit of “one true sentence” soon establishes writing not as a shared endeavor but as Hadley’s rival for his affection and attention (81). His need for a separate workspace and long hours of solitude becomes a physical manifestation of his emotional withdrawal from the marriage. As Hadley observes, “I missed Ernest’s company all day, but he didn’t seem to miss mine, not while there was work to do” (77). This separation highlights the inherent conflict between the demands of love and art.
Ultimately, the motif demonstrates that Ernest’s identity as a writer supersedes his identity as a husband. His work requires him to constantly seek new experiences and emotional material, a need that leads him away from the stability of his marriage toward new relationships and settings, most notably the bullfights in Spain. While Hadley initially supports his ambition, she is eventually unable to compete with its all-consuming power. The act of writing is the engine of his genius but also the primary instrument of his isolation, embodying the novel’s argument that profound artistic creation often demands a level of focus and prioritization that love cannot survive.
The Lost Valise of Manuscripts
The lost valise of manuscripts represents the catastrophic collision of love and artistic ambition, and this incident marks the point at which trust in the marriage is irrevocably broken. When Hadley packs all of Ernest’s work—including the carbon copies—as a surprise for him in Lausanne, her action is born of a loving desire to support his career. However, the subsequent theft of the valise transforms her well-intentioned gesture into a devastating act of destruction. The loss is professionally devastating and, at the same time, deeply personal, symbolizing the violation of the sacred space that Ernest’s work occupies. His initial reaction is to be brave for her, but the wound is too deep. He later feels “wrenched out and hollow” (135), as if his very identity has been erased. The valise becomes a symbol of a transgression, in which Hadley overstepped the bounds of their personal relationship and entered into his professional realm, that can never be fully forgiven.
This singular event crystallizes the novel’s exploration of the gradual erosion of intimacy. For Hadley, the mistake becomes a source of profound and lasting guilt, and she recognizes its dire implications for their future. She intuits that for Ernest, this loss is a form of betrayal, reflecting, “Broken trust could rarely be repaired, I knew, particularly for Ernest. Once you were tarnished for him, he could never see you any other way” (149). This moment of tragic miscalculation exposes the fragility of their bond and demonstrates how Hadley’s role as a supportive wife could, in one irreversible instant, become antithetical to Ernest’s artistic survival, creating a fracture in their relationship that never heals.
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