Wickford Point by John P. Marquand
"Wickford Point" by John P. Marquand is a novel that explores the complexities of family dynamics and personal aspirations set against the backdrop of a New England homestead. The protagonist, Jim Calder, grapples with his loyalty to his relatives, the Brill family, who live in a stagnant environment marked by inefficiency and emotional dependence. Despite his attempts to distance himself from their chaotic lives, Jim finds himself repeatedly drawn back to Wickford Point, where he navigates relationships with various family members, particularly his cousin Bella, whose romantic entanglements and personal dissatisfaction serve as focal points in the narrative.
The story unfolds through Jim’s reflections and experiences, capturing the nuances of social interactions within the Brill clan and their interactions with the outside world. Marquand utilizes elements of satire and irony to critique the superficiality of the characters' lives while maintaining a deep empathy for their struggles. The novel is marked by a blend of humor and sentiment, with Jim's internal conflicts highlighting the tension between familial affection and the desire for independence. Through its intricate character portrayals and social commentary, "Wickford Point" invites readers to reflect on the motivations behind human behavior and the impact of one's background on personal choices.
Wickford Point by John P. Marquand
First published: 1939
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Social satire
Time of work: Twentieth century
Locale: New York and Wickford Point
Principal Characters:
Jim Calder , a writerMrs. Clothilde Wright , his cousin, formerly Clothilde BrillBella Brill , her daughterMary Brill , another daughterPatricia Leighton , Jim’s friendJoe Stowe , Bella’s former husband
The Story
Jim Calder made his living by writing fiction for popular magazines. For this reason, the contradiction between the actual life of his relatives at Wickford Point and the fiction he was required to write was extremely obvious. His relatives, the Brills, were a group of New Englanders who had little money but who were disinclined to make a living. Being himself close to the Brills, he had attempted to escape from them and the enervating atmosphere of Wickford Point. He was only a second cousin to the Brill children, but his continual association with them in his early life produced bonds that were exceedingly hard to break. No matter how many times he left Wickford Point, he always returned. No matter how many times he returned, he always planned to get away again as soon as possible.
Jim attended Harvard and there met Joe Stowe. Harry Brill also attended Harvard, where he made sure that he knew the right people. Throughout his life, Harry was concerned with meeting the right people, but he never did make the right connections. Jim and Joe were fortunate in the fact that they became fast friends and were never elected to the right campus clubs. This polite ostracism served only to strengthen their friendship and to bring with it the assurance that they at least would be more successful than many of their snobbish classmates in their dealings with people.
When World War I arrived and America became involved, Joe and Jim were among the first to go into service, and they were shipped overseas as first lieutenants before they had completed their officers’ training. After the war, they went to China and served with the forces of General Feng. Some years later, Jim returned to America to find a new way of life; Joe went to Italy. Both decided upon writing as a career.
When Jim returned to Wickford Point, he found the Brills just the same and as inconsequential as when he had left. Cousin Clothilde was still unable to manage finances satisfactorily. When she received her check on the first of the month, her children all raced to get their share of the cash, the first one arriving getting the greater share. Cousin Clothilde was always broke within a few hours after receiving her money.
Bella had grown into quite a beautiful young woman during Jim’s absence from America, and at the moment of his return, she was involved in a rather serious affair with a nice young man named Avery Gifford. Jim, who had always been Bella’s confidant, continued in this role when Bella sought advice from him. Since she was not sure that she loved Avery, it was decided that she should wait until her return from Europe to decide whether she would marry him. She went to Italy with her stepfather, Archie Wright, and while there, she met Joe Stowe and eloped with him.
Their marriage was doomed to failure from the start, and after some years, it ended in divorce. Bella never really knew what she wanted. She seemed to want everything but could never be satisfied with anything she had. She went from one affair to another because she was extremely attractive to men, but her affairs always remained platonic. Sometimes Jim felt that he was Bella’s only friend, for none of her other friendships ever lasted, and she made new friends as fast as she lost old ones. She was always confident that whenever she got into difficulties she could fly to Jim and he would straighten out the situation for her.
Jim met Patricia Leighton, a woman of great executive ability who had a penthouse in New York City and an income of several thousand dollars a year. Jim’s affair with her was a lasting one, each party contributing equally to the relationship. At first, Jim went to Pat to escape the inanities of his relatives at Wickford Point. Pat was a very understanding woman who realized clearly what Jim’s problem really was, and she tried in an unobtrusive manner to help him make the final break with his family background.
In spite of their divorce, Bella and Joe thought often of each other, even though they both realized that to remarry would lead only to another divorce. Joe, since his divorce, had become a famous novelist, well off financially. Bella expressed her selfishness to Jim in her regretful admission that when she divorced Joe she had no idea that he would ever be so successful.
Bella went from one contemplated marriage to another, led her admirers on, and finally put herself into a rather delicate situation with Avery Gifford and Howard Berg. When she called upon Jim to rescue her once more, Jim decided that this time Bella would have to extricate herself, his refusal being motivated by his memory of recent conversations with Pat. Into the midst of these misunderstandings and resolves came Joe as a result of a telegram sent to him by Bella. At first, Bella and Joe seemed likely to try marriage once more, but as a result of Jim’s attitude toward her, Bella accomplished the first generous deed in her life; she told Joe that she would not marry him again.
Jim took Bella back to changeless Wickford Point to find the place, as usual, thronged with visitors. Pat Leighton, as had previously been arranged, came down to Wickford Point to visit. Allen Southby, a friend of Jim’s and a professor of English at Harvard, came to stay with the Brills while gathering material for his novel about Wickford Point. Mary Brill looked upon Allen as her own particular conquest until Bella’s arrival. All her life Bella had been stealing Mary’s eligible young men.
With the arrival of Pat, she and Jim once more faced the problem of getting Jim to break away from Wickford Point and the Brills. Jim finally made the decision to leave, after telling Pat that a part of him would always remain at Wickford Point and that he would always have to return occasionally for short visits. Under the circumstances, Pat agreed. Seeing Southby’s apparent willingness to marry Bella, Jim felt free of Wickford Point and the clinging past. He began to pack his bags to return with Pat to New York.
Critical Evaluation:
John P. Marquand has said that he started writing WICKFORD POINT from memories of his childhood and adolescence that centered around a country home once owned by his great-grandmother. He then added to these memories patterns of relationships observable in any family. This family chronicle of the old Brill homestead at Wickford Point, north of Boston, is told by a cousin, Jim Calder. Jim is loyal to this self-satisfied and inefficient family, but he struggles to keep clear of their strangling affection and dependence. The novel’s social implications are true and unpretentious. It is written with a brilliant manipulation of scenes and incidents. Marquand’s literary workmanship and intelligence are unobtrusively evident everywhere. The prose seems informal but is actually artful in the best sense. The satire and irony are never heavy-handed but are blended slyly with wit and a nice touch of sentiment. Although somewhat repetitious, the novel nevertheless maintains the reader’s interest.
The nuances of life in and around Boston are intricately detailed and often are as amusing as scenes from Jane Austen or Anthony Trollope. Nobody ever does anything about anything at Wickford Point. Jim Calder understands the chaotic Brill clan, but he still loves one of its members, the wicked and delightful Bella. This conflict between mind and emotion provides a humorous and touching struggle within the hero-narrator. The narration usually avoids the archness that often distorts satire. This is because Marquand cares about the people he chooses to portray.
WICKFORD POINT does not have the unity of THE LATE GEORGE APLEY (1937), but its portrayal of clan snobbishness is even more pointed than in the earlier novel. The true worth of WICKFORD POINT lies below its satiric surface. It is a novel of importance because its underlying emphasis is upon the motivations of human behavior.
Marquand’s technique here is marked by the use of flashbacks to make the present meaningful and to explain the motives of his characters. His touch is deft, his theme well-handled, his story interesting, and his irony amusing. The impact of the outside world upon the little, complacent society of Wickford Point is admirably demonstrated.