Essay
What is love? Love is the feeling of deep affection for someone. But what if that someone does not love the other back? Rejection. The word no. The feeling of your insides crushing with sorrow. Is love worth it, to fight for love, or does one simply give up? Love, the connection between two people, the feeling that one will never be alone as long as they have that connection. But what if one falls out of love? Perhaps leaves the other for someone else? Heartbreaking decisions flood their mind. They question themselves, is this truly over? The once happy couple is no more. In the novel The Paris Wife couples will at some point in their relationship loose the spark.
Firstly, Ernest eventually looses interest in his wife Hadley and begins to have an affair with their good friend Pauline Pfeiffer. The once happy, energetic couple turned sour with this affair. It is thought that this act of falling out of love is very relevant to the modern teen. This is because teenagers are young, too young to know exactly what they want. Which leads to falling for somebody one day and chasing another person the next. Now of course, the act of falling out of love is not that drastic, but it does happen to the modern teenager.
Secondly, after divorcing Ernest, Hadley finds love again with a man named Paul Mowrer. This action of Hadley’s shows to all modern teens, that there are more people out there. Also, the fact of moving on is sometimes very hard, just like it was for Hadley, but she succeeded and landed herself a wonderful man. Moving on can be done; it is difficult, but possible. Reading The Paris Wife led to the conclusion that no matter what your situation, in this case being cheated on by your husband, it is achievable to move on. It is thought that this message is a wonderful message to all modern teens because everyone goes through the sorrow and needs some reassuring.
Thirdly, Ernest has several loves throughout his life after Hadley and Pauline. This repeated act of falling in and out of love gives the modern teenager a sense that it is possible to love many throughout their lives. The modern teenager will also be prepared for what lays ahead. This message in The Paris Wife is excellent for the modern teenager as well as young adults, to notify them on what their future can hold. In an eye-catching survey of Nancy Kalish, Ph.D. says out of 1600 people, ages 18 to 92, 56% said the would not go back to their first love, 19% were not sure and 25% said they would. This bit of information gives the modern teenager other opinions on love and how after the first love, there are more to come. The survey also shows that 56% of 1600 people declare they found someone more suited for them compared to their first love. The modern teenager now will understand that yes, they did love one another, but the best has yet to come. The repeated act of falling in and out of love will continue.
In conclusion, the novel The Paris Wife helps the modern teenager with love in highly effective ways. The novel is not a Disney fairytale, which helps the reader see reality as supposed to falling in love and living “happily ever after.” The act of falling in and out of love will always be with us until we, like Hadley, find the right person. The connection may break and the spark may extinguish, but the road does not end there. The Paris Wife shows that some characters, such as Ernest, may have more loves, but that is reality.
Links
The novels website talks about the book and about the author.
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=the%20paris%20wife&pageSize=12
Chapters is an option to purchase this novel. It has two convenient locations, Hamilton and Burlington.
http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/paula_mclain/book-clubs/
This website has recipes used in the novel along with drinks that are named after Hemingway. It also has over a dozen thoughtful questions to consider after reading the book.
http://simplystated.realsimple.com/2011/09/15/the-paris-wife-paula-mclain-answers-your-questions/
This website explains how Paula McLain came about writing this book and other intriguing questions are answered.
http://readinggroupguides.com/guides_p/the_paris_wife1.asp
This website has a little description about the book, discussion questions and some critical praise.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/review-the-paris-wife-by-paula-mclain/article1932389/
This link leads to a review about The Paris Wife and states the books hits and misses.
Socratic Question #4
In the novel The Paris Wife, after Hadley noticed the majority of women had a short hairstyle, she herself got one as well. This shows that even back in the 1920’s at any age, people wanted to feel like they fit in with the crowd. Why do you believe people want to follow the trends?
Socratic Question #3
In the novel The Paris Wife, Ernest travels to many countries for job opportunities and to have his writings published. Do you know of anyone who has travelled abroad for work? Did it help them succeed in their career? Also, do you believe this to be the only way to succeed in your career?
Socratic Question #2
In the novel The Paris Wife Hadley and Ernest visit Spain to watch bull fighting. The couple cheered for a young bullfighter named Nicanor Villalta. In the novel, Ernest describes the bullfight like a dance and the couple is mesmerized by the way Nicanor moves. Later that year, Hadley and Ernest have a son and name him John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway. Are you or do you know of someone who is named after another person? Why do you believe they chose to do so?
Socratic Question #1
In the novel The Paris Wife Elizabeth “Hadley” Richardson spent some years trying to attain a career as a pianist. She later thought that she lacked talent and stopped pursuing music. Then in Paris, married to a busy writer, Ernest Hemingway, Hadley took up piano again and was preparing to perform at a local club. Yet again, Hadley cancelled her concert. Have you ever tried to succeed but backed away at the last second? Explain why or why not and the feelings you felt.
Bio of Paula McLain
Paula McLain was born in Fresno, California in 1965. She was abandoned by her parents and became wards of the California Court System with her two sisters. Her and her sisters moved in and out of foster homes for the next fourteen years. Paula McLain discovered she wanted to become a writer and received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan in 1996. Since then, she has written two collections of poetry, a memoir called Like Family and novels called A Ticket to Ride and The Paris Wife. Paula McLain now lives in Cleveland Ohio with her family.
Her website is: www.pariswife.com
Description of Main Character
Elizabeth “Hadley” Richardson was born November 9 1891. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri with four siblings along with her Mother and Father. While Hadley was a child, she fell out of a second story window, which led to her Mother being overly protective. During her teenage years, her Father committed suicide due to financial struggles. A few years later her sister Dorothea died from severe burns from a house fire. That same year, Hadley attended Bryn Mawr college, however her mother pulled her out because she was “too delicate, both emotionally and physically.” The following years included little activities for Hadley because her Mother and sister were extremely protective and worried for her health. After one summer spent with an old college friend, Katy Smith in Vermont, her Mother was worried and ordered Hadley home. That same year, Hadley’s Mother developed Bright’s Disease. Hadley nursed her Mother till her death.
After her mother’s death, Hadley visited Katy Smith in Chicago. She met Ernest Hemingway through Katy and the spark lit. Later that year, Hadley announced her engagement. Her sister and friends did not like the idea, however Hadley, being faithful and honest to herself, felt this was right and ignored their comments.
Including faithful and honest, Hadley was also dependent during her marriage with Ernest. During times when Ernest left to write and get books published, Hadley felt depressed and alone. She was a caring mother toward her child and a loving wife toward Ernest. Despite trying to be her own person and not follow popular trends, she cut her hair short like the other women of Paris. Before her life with Ernest, Hadley had a slight ambition to become a pianist. She would play everyday back at home in St. Louis, but with all the tragedies, she stopped. Hadley was insecure; she always compared herself to others, which did not help her insecurities. Being surrounded by rich well-dressed women, she felt she was in their shadow, especially with Lady Duff. Lady Duff and Ernest got along very well, which made Hadley jealous. One of Hadley’s dominant traits would be that she was easily jealous. Whether it is a woman’s outfit or their long legs or their relationship with Ernest, Hadley was jealous. But most of all, she was jealous of Ernest’s ambition and capability to go after what he wants.
Short Synopsis
The Paris Wife is a twisting tale told by a lady named Hadley Richardson. The story starts off in Chicago where Hadley happens to meet a man named Ernest Hemingway. Despite their significant age difference, they fall in love and decided to get married. Hadley goes along for the ride of Hemingway’s journey as an author. Hemingway finds out that many authors are in Paris, France. Hadley is on board with his decision and they make their way to France. Ideas start rushing to Ernest’s mind as if they are writing themselves and he is thrilled with his work. A few years after their marriage, they had a son. Meeting new friends in Paris and getting books published, Hemingway started to loose sight in his wife. Hadley found out his actions with one of her good friends Pauline Pfeiffer and was heartbroken. She divorced Ernest the following year. 
Monica's Blog 