Passion: Quotes that Drive the Plot

Which they did, everybody pretending that nothing was wrong, while she smoked and continued to smile her determined, unhappy smile. In a little while she got up and said that she couldn’t leave her children on their grandparents’ hands any longer. She’d had a lovely and instructive visit, and now she had to go home.

At the midway point in the story, Grace is introduced to Neil’s unhappy wife, Mavis. This quote is the first clue that something is deeply amiss within the Travers family. It is also the first hint about what to expect from Neil. From this point on, there is a darker undertone to the otherwise serene emotional landscape, discordant beats that come faster as the plot progresses, making this a distinct tonal shift in the narrative. It is also a microcosm of larger issues at play in the story, especially with everyone pretending nothing is wrong while there is a clear issue in the midst of the fun. Later, when Mrs. Travers is sent away to a psychiatric facility and when Neil’s alcoholism and trauma are revealed, it is not surprising that the family has not brought up or attempted to talk about these issues.

Grace heard these words, but didn’t give them much thought. She was too dismayed by the change in Mrs. Travers, by what looked like an increase in bulk, a stiffness in her movements, a random and rather frantic air of benevolence. And a faint crust showing at the corners of her mouth, like sugar.

Toward the climax of the story, Grace is disturbed to witness Mrs. Travers’ post-hospitalization transformation. This is the breaking point for Grace’s love affair with the Travers family, as she always loved Mrs. Travers more than she loved Maury. She saw herself in Mrs. Travers when she was with the family, and she doesn't like the turn she can now see her own future taking. She doesn't like that Mrs. Travers has been drugged to maintain only a semblance of who she is without putting any strain on the family. She is more aligned with Mrs. Travers and Neil, having come from a similar background, and she sees how the family that has accepted them has done so conditionally. Grace does not want to play a disingenuous role that reinforces the Traverses’ façade of happiness.

How strange that she’d thought of becoming one of them—a Travers. Marrying Maury. A kind of treachery, it would be. But not a treachery to be riding with Neil, because he wasn’t fortunate—he knew some of the things that she did.

Near the end of the story, Grace finally has an epiphany that helps her understand she cannot marry Maury. At this point, Grace has made her decision not to return to the Travers family, going so far as to recontextualize her possible future with Maury as treachery. In a short time, she has more closely aligned herself with Neil than she ever aligned herself with Maury in the entire time they were dating. She cannot be a part of the family and also pretend that she is vastly improved by their privilege and circumstances, conforming to their way of living. This is in part inspired by Mrs. Travers' change in personality and also by the dream she has at the bootlegger's house where she imagines she has abandoned her great-uncle completely. Instead of allowing her path to be decided for her, to give in to what she's been told is best, Grace makes the choice to be independent.

Next section The Experience of Coming of Age