Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut

Last updated

"Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" is a short story by J. D. Salinger that appears in his collection Nine Stories . [1] It was originally published in the March 20, 1948 issue of The New Yorker . [2]

Contents

The main character, Eloise, struggles to come to terms with the life she has created for herself with her husband Lew. Her true love is the late Walt, who died during his service in the army.

The story's title refers to an event recalled by Eloise in which she and Walt were running to catch a bus, and she sprained her ankle. Walt then said, referring to her ankle in good humor, "Poor Uncle Wiggily...".

The 1949 film My Foolish Heart , based on this story, [3] remains the only authorized adaptation of Salinger's writings into film. Except for a framing story, the picture bears little resemblance to the original.

Although Walt's surname and background are not discussed in the story, Salinger would later reveal that Walt is a member of the Glass family and brother of Seymour Glass, the protagonist of Salinger's previous story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish". Later works by Salinger would elaborate upon the character of Walt Glass from the perspectives of his siblings.

Plot summary

The story unfolds on a snowy day at the upscale Wengler home; all the characters who appear in the scene are female.

Eloise Wengler is a jaded suburban housewife in an unhappy marriage to Lew Wengler. Mary Jane is her former college roommate who works part-time as a secretary. She is divorced. Neither woman graduated from the college they attended together. Ramona is Eloise’s little daughter. Socially inept, withdrawn and bespectacled, she is accompanied everywhere by her imaginary friend, Jimmy Jimmereeno. Grace is the Wenglers' African-American maid.

Mary Jane visits Eloise at her home and they spend the afternoon reminiscing about their college years, chain-smoking, and drinking themselves into a stupor. Ramona returns home, and Mary Jane gushes over the girl. Eloise commands her daughter to divulge the particulars of Jimmy Jimmereeno to the guest, and Mary Jane declares the make-believe boy “marvelous.” Ramona retreats outdoors to play.

The women resume their drunken and desultory ramblings. Eloise relates the story of a young soldier, Walt Glass, with whom she fell in love when single. She still clings to Walt's memory (he was killed in a freak accident while serving in the Pacific), and expresses bitter regret that she married Lew. Eloise embarks on a tirade against men, and Lew in particular, who lacks, she feels, the traits most lovable in Walt – “humor” and “intelligence”. She relates an event in which she and Walt were running to catch a bus, and she sprained her ankle. Referring to her ankle in good humor, Walt had said, "Poor Uncle Wiggily…” In divulging the details of Walt’s death, Eloise breaks down, and Mary Jane attempts to comfort her.

Ramona reenters the room and having overheard her mother’s remarks, announces that Jimmy has been run over by a car and killed.

The women continue drinking until they fall asleep in the living room. After dark, Eloise is woken by a phone call from her husband Lew, and after a short, sarcastic exchange, hangs up on him.

Grace, the live-in maid, approaches Eloise and respectfully asks that her visiting spouse be allowed to stay the night due to the severe weather. Eloise curtly rebuffs her employee and denies the request.

The drunken Eloise goes upstairs to Ramona’s bedroom where the child is sleeping. Turning on the light, she sees the girl lying at the extreme edge of the bed, a habit of hers to make space for her imaginary friend. Eloise wakes her up and reminds her that Jimmy has been killed, but Ramona tries to avoid a confrontation by inventing a new friend named "Mickey Mickeranno." Flying into a rage, the exasperated Eloise takes hold of Ramona and drags her to the middle of the bed, and orders her to go to sleep in that position.

After switching off the light and standing long in the doorway Eloise holds Ramona's glasses against her cheek, cries and repeats the words “Poor Uncle Wiggily” again and again. Sobbing, she tucks in the frightened and crying girl and leaves the room. Downstairs, she awakens Mary Jane from her alcohol-induced slumber, and weeping, beseeches her dismayed friend to reassure her that as a freshman in college, she had been “a nice girl”.

Analysis

Written while Salinger resided in suburban Stamford, Connecticut, the story offers insights into upper-middle class American society in the post-WWII years. In that era, writes biographer Kenneth Slawenski, “unabashed Americanism and materialism were unquestioned values”. [4] Despising his neighbors for esteeming conformity and phoniness, [5] Salinger sought to expose “the false illusions of the suburban dream.” [6]

Despite her escapism through alcohol, the cynical Eloise comes face-to-face with her own “phoniness”. She recognizes that both she and Ramona are seeking companions that don’t exist - Walt Glass and Jimmy Jimmereeno [5] - and is finally able to feel pity for her child’s suffering. Salinger shows the unreality of Eloise’s situation, which has left her bereft of her former sincerity and genuineness. [6]

1949 film adaptation

Shortly after The New Yorker published "Uncle Wiggily" in March 1948, [7] Salinger sold the movie rights to Samuel Goldwyn. The sale promised to advance Salinger’s career, and was financially lucrative. [8]

With its dialog-driven plot, "Uncle Wiggily" was more appropriate for a stage adaptation, and the story would require a major rewrite by the movie studio to achieve a film version. [8] Salinger had relinquished all control over the screenplay, which was written by Julius and Philip Epstein. [9]

In the process of making a Hollywood film version, the story was transformed from “an exposé of the suburban society” [10] into a sentimental love story with a happy ending. [11]

Salinger was profoundly dissatisfied by the results, and to his dismay, My Foolish Heart received two Academy Award nominations--Best Actress Susan Hayward and Best Music (Song)--and did well at the box office. [11] As a result, the author refused to allow any mainstream film studio the rights to adapt his works to the screen.

Related Research Articles

<i>My Foolish Heart</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Mark Robson

My Foolish Heart is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed by Mark Robson, starring Dana Andrews and Susan Hayward. It relates the story of a woman's reflections on the bad turns her life has taken.

<i>The Catcher in the Rye</i> 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by American author J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angst and alienation, and as a critique of superficiality in society. The novel also deals with themes of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, connection, sex, and depression. The main character, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion. Caulfield, nearly of age, gives his opinion on a wide variety of topics as he narrates his recent life events.

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, originally published in the January 31, 1948, issue of The New Yorker. It was anthologized in 1949's 55 Short Stories from the New Yorker, as well as in Salinger's 1953 collection Nine Stories. The story is an enigmatic examination of a young married couple, Muriel and Seymour Glass, on vacation in Florida. It is the first of his stories to feature a member of the fictional Glass family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uncle Wiggily</span> Fictional character

Uncle Wiggily Longears is the main character of a series of children's stories by American author Howard R. Garis. He began writing the stories for the Newark News in 1910. Garis penned an Uncle Wiggily story every day for more than 52 years, and published 79 books in his lifetime. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, a walk in the woods in Verona, New Jersey was his inspiration. The books featured work by several illustrators, notably Lansing Campbell. Other illustrators of the series included George L. Carlson, Louis Wisa, Elmer Rache, Edward Bloomfield, Lang Campbell, and Mary and Wallace Stover.

The Glass family is a fictional family appearing in several of J. D. Salinger's short fictions. All but one of the Glass family stories were first published in The New Yorker. They appear in the short story collections Nine Stories, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction and Franny and Zooey.

<i>Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction</i> Book by J.D. Salinger

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction is a single volume featuring two novellas by J. D. Salinger, which were previously published in The New Yorker: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters (1955) and Seymour: An Introduction (1959). Little, Brown republished them in this anthology in 1963. It was the first time the novellas had appeared in book form. The book was the third best-selling novel in the United States in 1963, according to Publishers Weekly.

"De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, first published in the May 1952 edition of World Review (London). Declined by The New Yorker on November 14, 1951, as the piece was judged too short to adequately address the complex religious concepts that Salinger attempted to convey. It is known that Salinger struggled with writing it for over five months in 1951. While the New Yorker initially declined this story, Salinger still managed to publish Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes in the July 1951 edition of The New Yorker.

“Slight Rebellion off Madison” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 21 December 1946 issue of The New Yorker.

"Down at the Dinghy" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, originally published in Harper's in April 1949, and included in the compilation, Nine Stories.

"Teddy" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, completed on November 22, 1952, and originally published in the January 31, 1953, issue of The New Yorker. Under the influence of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Salinger created an engaging child character, Teddy McArdle, to introduce to his readership some of the basic concepts of Zen enlightenment and Vedanta reincarnation – a task that Salinger recognized would require overcoming some 1950s American cultural chauvinism.

“Go See Eddie” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the University of Kansas City Review in December 1940. The story is included in the 2014 Salinger collection Three Early Stories.

“The Heart of a Broken Story” is a work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger published in the September 1941 issue of Esquire.

“The Long Debut of Lois Taggett” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the September-October 1942 issue of Story.

“Soft-Boiled Sergeant” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the 15 April 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. The story was illustrated by Graham Kaye..

“Elaine” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the March-April, 1945 issue of Story.

“The Inverted Forest” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the December 1947 issue of Cosmopolitan. The work was republished in Cosmopolitan's "Diamond Jubilee" issue in March 1961. The story marked the start of Salinger's focus on the poet as a distinguished creative genius, and on the impossibilities he finds when trying to adapt to society.

"This Sandwich Has No Mayonnaise" is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the October 1945 issue of Esquire. The story was published in the 1958 anthology The Armchair Esquire, edited by Arnold Gingrich and L. Rust Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. Salinger</span> American writer (1919–2010)

Jerome David Salinger was an American author best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger published several short stories in Story magazine in 1940, before serving in World War II. In 1948, his critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" appeared in The New Yorker, which published much of his later work.

“A Girl I Knew” is an uncollected work of short fiction by J. D. Salinger which appeared in the February 1948 issue of Good Housekeeping.

"The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" is an unpublished short story by J. D. Salinger.

References

  1. ↑ Salinger, J. D. Nine stories. Little, Brown & Company. 1989
  2. ↑ Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut at newyorker.com
  3. ↑ "Salinger's Allusions to My Foolish Heart—the Salinger Movie." ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews. Vol. 20:2. Spring 2007. pp. 39-43.
  4. ↑ Slawenski, 2010, p. 168
  5. 1 2 Slawenski, 2010, p. 169
  6. 1 2 Slawenski, 2010, p. 170
  7. ↑ Slawenski, 2010, p. 171
  8. 1 2 Slawenski, 2010, p. 182
  9. ↑ Slawenski, 2010, p. 182-183
  10. ↑ Slawenski, 2010, p. 183
  11. 1 2 Slawenski, 2010, p. 184

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.