Life with Father by Clarence Day
"Life with Father" is a collection of essays by Clarence Day that offers a humorous and affectionate portrayal of life in a turn-of-the-century New York household dominated by a larger-than-life patriarch, known simply as Father. Through the perspective of Clarence, Jr., the oldest son, readers explore the dynamics of the Day family, including Father’s strong opinions on money management, religion, and the roles of family members, often leading to comedic situations. The essays introduce other family members, including Mother, who, despite revering Father, cleverly manages her own affairs and occasionally defies his authority. The work captures a specific period in the family's life, primarily focusing on Father’s interactions with his children while providing glimpses into his past through flashbacks. While celebrated for its wit and insight, contemporary readers may find the traditional gender roles and power imbalances presented in the essays challenging, as Mother lacks an official voice despite her significant influence within the household. First published after World War I, "Life with Father" reflects a nostalgia for a bygone era, showcasing a family life intertwined with social norms of the time. The work remains significant for its humor and prose, although its portrayal of gender dynamics may not resonate with all modern audiences.
Subject Terms
Life with Father by Clarence Day
First published: 1935
Subjects: Philosophers
Type of work: Biography
Time of work: The late nineteenth century
Recommended Ages: 13-18
Locale: New York City, the Day home, and a country home outside the city
Principal Personages:
Clarence Day, Sr. (Father) , a newspaper publisher and the head of the Day householdLavinia (Vinnie) Day (Mother) , his wife, who supports and manages himClarence Day, Jr. , the oldest of the Day children and the narrator of the workGeorge Day , the next sonJulian Day , the third sonThe baby , the last of the Days’ sons
Form and Content
Life with Father is a series of essays, many of them originally published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The New Republic, in which Clarence Day describes, with affection and satire, what it was like to grow up in turn-of-the-century New York in a household dominated by Father, a larger-than-life-sized authority figure who loves his wife and children but is convinced that they need better management.
With Clarence, Jr., the oldest son and narrator, the reader is taken to Father’s office, the Day summer home, and various other locales. Father’s views of money management, religion, the employment of servants, illness and physicians, and the role of children in the household are described in individual, often hilarious essays.
During the course of the biography, the various Day children are introduced, as is Mother. Mother venerates Father but is astute enough to realize that his bluster hides a tender heart; she attends to his numerous lectures but in fact frequently acts as she wishes and holds her own views. Mother resists Father’s efforts to teach her money management, invites guests to dinner over Father’s protests, organizes her household as she pleases, and tries (with only partial success) to prevent Father from opening his son’s mail.
Although Life with Father is a biography, it does not span the senior Day’s life. The time frame of the work is partial, centering on the period of Father’s life while his sons are growing up; occasionally, through flashbacks, the reader is able to deduce something of Father’s younger years. Toward the end of the work, there is a time leap that describes Father facing serious illness. The final essay, dealing with Father’s choice of a cemetery plot, reveals him confronting the possibility of death with the same gusto and spirit as he has faced the various events of his life. He threatens to buy a plot on a corner, “Where I can get out.” Mother looks, “startled, but admiring,” at her son, the narrator. The book ends with her comment that “I almost believe he could do it.”
Critical Context
The popularity of Life with Father can be demonstrated by the numerous reprintings of the work. First published a few years after the end of World War I, the book was viewed as an affectionate look at a past that would never be recovered but that had its own beauty: a stable family with devoted servants, a daily life with leisure for clubs and drives in the country, and family entertainment.
Contemporary readers of Life with Father will perceive the enormous imbalance of the roles of men and women. Mother has no official voice nor does she claim one, even though she manages Father coyly. Father sees himself as the center of his world and assumes with total serenity and self-assurance that everyone in it is there to attend him. What was initially read as affectionate satire is often a major obstacle for the contemporary reader.
Clarence Day, Jr., suffered for most of his life with acute arthritis. Unable to participate in an active social life, he nevertheless maintained a wide circle of friends with whom he corresponded. His writings for the major periodicals are characterized by the same wit, humor, and insight that mark Life with Father, God and My Father (1932), Life with Mother (1937), and his several other works. It is for this tone, as well as for his fine prose, that he will be remembered. Until fairly recently, in fact, sections from Life with Father or other works by Day were frequently anthologized in high school or college writing texts. The stereotyping found in this work, however, renders it difficult if not impossible for the contemporary reader to take seriously.