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Analysis: Early Autumn by Langston Hughes

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Early Autumn by Langston Hughes

Analysis:

 

The short story „Early Autumn“ by the American author Langston Hughes, originated in the year 1963, deals with the coincidental meeting of a former couple and the re-emerging emotions of the heartbroken and desperate female protagonist.

The short story is set some unspecified time after the breakup of the main characters Bill and Mary that have split up for an “not very important” reason (line2). Considering that Bill has two kids with his wife and Mary having three with her husband it can be assumed that multiple years have passed between the break up and the following coincidental meeting in the Washington Square Park at dawn. Mary gets her ex-boyfriend´s attention by saying his name which is being followed by a short conversation where both Bill and Mary state their current living situation. At the end of the conversation Mary invites Bill to meet her and her family someday which Bill accepts to do. The ex-couple departures as soon as Mary´s bus arrives and the story ends with a thoughtful Mary that has forgotten to give Bill her address to come and meet her in the future.

The story begins with a flashback to the days when Bill and Mary still were a couple. Like the rest of the story this segment is being narrated by an all-knowing storyteller that reflects what is happening, what has happened and what Mary is thinking. This flashback is a short summary that tells the reader that Mary and Bill once been in love until “something not very important had come between them” (lines 2-3) which led to them not talking to one another. This impulsive break up over something unimportant tells the reader right away that this relationship wasn´t the sturdiest kind of relationship to begin with. The speaker continues to summarize by telling the reader that Mary went on to rashly marry a man “she thought she loved” (line 4) while Bill left, now feeling resentful towards women. This review of the follow up of the break up tells us something about the characterization of Bill and Marry. Bill seems to have valued this relationship up until the point of the unnecessary break up which can be seen in his feelings towards women after the break up. From this point on he feels bitter about women which might stem from him being let down by his ex-girlfriend that seems to have replaced him quickly after the break up. So this makes her the one that initiated this break up. Mary on the other hand replaced her ex-boyfriend with a man that she doesn´t even really loves. The following impulsive marriage with this man that she doesn´t really love shows the at times thoughtless nature of Mary as well as her extreme comprehension with this situation after the break up. Instead of trying to get back into contact with Bill and maybe getting back together again she replaces him with another man to fill the void that Bill has left in her life. The story continues with the coincidental meeting of Bill and Mary in Washington Square Park. Mary begins a conversation by saying Bill´s full name which leads to Bill stopping. The speaker explains that he didn´t recognize his ex-girlfriend at first which comes from the fact that she looks old in Bill´s eyes.

That Mary looks old to him might have two different reasons: The first one being that Mary has lost her beauty over the years after their departure because of the loveless life she has brought herself in. The other reason she looks old to Bill might be because to him she has lost all her attractiveness because of what she did to him. He might resent her so much that this blurs his vision when looking at Mary. Seeing how both reasons don´t contradict one another it might also be possible that both interpretations are right. When he finally recognizes her he asks her where she had come from. Mary responds by lifting up her face expectantly to receive a kiss but Bill has already held out his hand for a handshake which Mary takes. That she expects a kiss from her ex-boyfriend again might be interpreted in two different ways. The lifting of her face might be a reflex from older days in which Bill kissed Mary every time they see each other and this coincidental meeting might take her back to these days which would make Mary feel like a younger girl again or it might be interpreted as Mary still having an affection for Bill just like she did all these years ago. After Mary answered Bill´s question by telling him that she is currently living in New York he smiles politely while saying “Oh” (line14) in a surprised manner which is being followed with a little frown.  This surprised gesture of Bill indicates that he thinks poorly of Mary´s current situation.

 

Which follows is a quick sequence of short questions by Mary and just as short answers by Bill that states that he is married, has two kids and that he works as a lawyer in downtown New York. This short sequence of quick questions and answers depicts this situation as unpleasant for both Mary and Bill. Bill just seems to want to get this situation over with already which is why he just gives Mary these quick answers to get this conversation over with fast. Mary on the other hand seems to be a bit disappointed with the seemingly good life Bill is living which is even clearer with her reaction after Bill told her that she is married.

Mary reacts to this information’s just as Bill did in line 14 by saying “Oh” (Line 10). This surprised and maybe disappointed reaction goes back to the interpretation of Mary still having affection for Bill and that because he already has a family she loses this glimmer of hope of escaping her own loveless life by getting back with Bill. The speaker continues on by explaining the scenery in which Bill and Mary are located. The ex-couple is being surrounded by a lot of people that, like Bill and Mary, are passing through this park. These people are being described as “people they didn´t know”  (line 22) which paints a picture of a seemingly fateful meeting of two people in the midst of hundreds of strangers. This image of many people is one of the two big images in this short story that also function as metaphors which I will detail as we progress. The scenery is further explained as it being “late afternoon”, “nearly sunset” and as “cold” (line22). This description of a dark and cold scenery is a metaphor for the distant relationship between Bill and Mary.

The conversation continues with Bill asking Mary about her husband and with that about her current life situation. Mary answers by stating the same things that Bill has stated before her: She states that she has three children with her husband and that she works in an office. This explanation of Mary´s life situation stands in contrast to Bill´s who depicts himself as a successful family man while Mary seems unsuccessful in her career, probably working as a secretary, and we already know that she doesn´t have a lot of love for her husband. This contrast makes Bill look like the “winner” of this break up because he went on to live the better life of the two. Bill answers by saying “You´re looking very... well” (line25) but as the speaker tells us that he originally wanted to say that she looks “old” (line 25). This very weak executed compliment that was originally planned as an insult once again shows that Mary has lost all her attractiveness to Bill and seeing how he wanted to tell her that she doesn´t look attractive to her it is most likely that he wants her to know that he resents her. The speaker explains that Mary understood what Bill originally wanted to say which shows that Mary is very much conscious about Bill´s feelings towards her.

 

Another interpretative approach is that Bill didn´t originally wanted to insult Mary but she just thought that this is what Bill thought about her. This would make Mary the actual speaker of this short story that isn´t really all-knowing but rather tells from her own  experiences and guessing what Bill was thinking and that also talks like a third, observant and distant character. This would clear up a contradiction with the character of Bill. While Bill has been shown as a polite man throughout this story he was shown as rude when he makes a compliment towards Mary but thinks in actuality he thinks poorly of her. This would show that not Bill but Mary herself has this negative view on herself. But seeing how it is unclear, if the speaker actually is Mary or if it is an omniscient narrator (allwissender/auktorialer Erzähler) that isn´t related to either of the two characters but rather a biased entity observing the situation, I will continue to title the storyteller simply as “the speaker”. Next up the speaker gives insight into the emotions that Mary is currently going through. The speaker explains that Mary is “desperately reaching back into the past” (line 27) which explains quite clear that Mary is clinging on her past and with that he past self, her past relationship with Bill and her old life in general which shows her as wanting to escape the loveless life she is currently living. To her Bill is this way out of the life she is currently living. He could help her escape by getting back together with her and like that rescue her out of her life. This clinging on the past makes clear that she is unhappy with her life and that she is ready to leave behind what she has built up with her husband and it also shows that she was once happy, back when she was still with Bill.

Another reason for the clinging on the past is shown in the following two lines where the speaker explains that Mary does not look young anymore while Bill looks just as young, which clarifies the other reason why Mary is clinging on the past and that is that Mary recognizes that she is growing older. Her withering advances more and more and she becomes undesirable and her imminent death becomes clearer and clearer.

But different from her Bill hasn´t aged all that much. To her Bill “was still young” (line28). That he still looks young to Mary might be a consequence from Mary glorifying Bill because to her he stands for everything she once were and everything she wants to be again. Youthfulness, freedom and most importantly time. In her mind she could once again be young if she is with Bill. The invitation that Mary makes Bill to meet her and her family might be considered as an approach to get back nearer to Bill. Bill accepts this invitation and says that “Lucille and [he´d] love to have [her]” (line 32). That he immediately brings in his family into this invitation makes clear that he is very proud and happy of his family and his wife Lucille, which he explicitly names.

He might have taken this invitation for two different reasons: the first one being that he did it just to be polite. He didn´t wanted to be rude and hurt Mary´s feeling by refusing Mary´s invitation even though he didn´t wanted to visit her in the first place which is clearer when he doesn´t give her his address nor asking for her one. But that she forgets to swap their addresses might also been an unfortunate accident. The other reason he might have taken the invitation might be because he wanted to show his family and his luxurious lifestyle as a successful lawyer which is being underlined by the fact that he wants Mary to visit his home even though Mary has invited him into her home before.

But Mary still accepts gladly. Next up is the other big metaphor in this short story: the autumn. The title “Early Autumn” already gave away the first interpretative approach. The autumn doesn´t only stand for the time period this short story is set in but it also stands for something withering and ultimately coming to an end. This withering that the autumn represents is present in the line 33 where the speaker explains that the “leaves fell slowly” and that they “fell without wind”. These leaves are a reflection for the passing years of Mary that, like the autumn, has reached a period in her life where she is threatened with her aging and her imminent end one day. This realization is getting clearer and clearer for her which is why she is clinging so hard on her past to deny the fact that she is in an advanced age. That these leaves are falling without wind indicates that these leaves fall without force just like Mary´s age is also advancing without any force. The aging just like the falling of autumn leaves is depicted as something natural that needs to happen and can´t be reverted by any force in the world. This natural decrease is also just attacking Mary as shown in the next line that describes the scenery as “Autumn dusk” which in turn stands also for Mary´s situation of being at the beginning of the autumn of her life. That the leaves are falling “slowly” (line 33) also explains that the autumn has just begun and that she and the actual autumn this story is set in is still in its beginning phase. Her “summer” has already been past her and she misses that and she hopes that Bill that is a relict out of that “summer of her life” can give her back her youthfulness. Another image is presented, after Bill proudly says that Mary needs to see his kids when she visits them. That details the lights of the oncoming bus, that Mary needs to take in order to get back to her home. These lights are described as “chains of misty brilliance in the blue air” (line 38) which stand for the shackles that are going to bind her to the family and home she is stuck with for the rest of her life if she decides to go into that oncoming bus. Mary decides to take this bus and Bill responds by holding out his hand and saying goodbye to her. Mary wanted to ask when they she can come visit him or when he will come visit her but she couldn´t because she had to hurry to catch her bus that was ready to pull off.

 

Another metaphor are the lights on the avenue that “blurred, twinkled, blurred” (line 47) which represents Mary´s unsteadiness of taking that bus and leaving Bill and with that her past behind her. It is a hard decision for her to leave her ex-boyfriend behind and then go on to her regular life but she did so anyway. The speaker explains that Mary was “afraid to open her mouth” (line 43) and that she was “afraid it would be impossible to utter a word” (lines 43-44). This again characterizes Mary as an uneven character. There was most likely a lot she wanted to tell Bill before she leaves but the decision to leave her and to try to get back together with Bill tears her apart. One side wants to go with Bill the other side wants to stay with what she has built up with her family. That she can´t open her mouth most likely also comes from the fear of what Bill might answer after she says what she really wants to say. After the bus door has already closed Mary “shrieked...Good-bye” (line 45) in an attempt to make her farewell but it can be assumed that Bill hasn´t heard her because the bus door set a border between the two. The last lines are explanation of the speaker of what happened afterwards. First the speaker comes back to the metaphor of the many people in Washington Square. The speaker explains that “people came between them... people they didn´t know. Space and people.” and that these people are the reason for Mary that she “lost sight of Bill” (lines 46-47). Here these people turn into a border between the ex-couple and make sure to separate them and that these people are also the reason that more and more space comes between Bill and Mary which makes it impossible for them to get back together again. For Mary that means that she can´t get back to Bill and that these people that “swallow up” Bill are taking care that she can´t ever get the kiss that she wanted before.

That these people are “people they didn´t know” also tells us something different: Like all these unknown, unimportant people that are unconsciously walking past each other Bill and Mary are also two strangers that walk past this mass of people. This could have made this meeting fateful that could change the future of both characters and their respective families but because nothing special came out of this encounter this possible fateful meeting turned into a coincidental meeting of two strangers that doesn´t really affect the lives of neither Bill nor Mary.

The other thing the speaker explains is that Mary has forgotten to give Bill her address or to ask him for his address. As an afterword and a twist at the end of the short story the speaker says that Mary has also forgotten to tell Bill that she has named her youngest son after her ex-boyfriend, Bill. This clarifies Mary´s view towards Bill. She has never really gotten over him and even without both of them meeting over years she has always kept affection for Bill which is why she made a tribute to him by naming her son after him. It can be presumed that Mary can´t ever get over Bill especially  as she is growing older and with that keeps on wishing herself back into these youthful days.

All and all this story can be summarized as the story of a heartbroken women that is imprisoned in a loveless marriage that will forever be dissatisfied and the man she will always idolize as the perfect man because he embodies her youthfulness that she is losing more and more with every year. That Mary could leave Bill over something not very important and has made no afford to get back together with him makes clear that she doesn´t have this strong affection for Bill because of who he is but rather for what he stands for in her eyes. Her youth and an escape out of the hole she has dug herself in.


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