Another Time by Edna O'Brien
"Another Time" by Edna O'Brien follows Nelly Nugent, a woman grappling with a mental breakdown who retreats from London to a seaside resort in hopes of finding personal redemption. The narrative unfolds in a dilapidated hotel where Nelly's expectations clash with her reality, leading to a series of disheartening experiences that exacerbate her depression. Initially seeking solace, she finds herself increasingly isolated, struggling with memories of a past marriage marred by regret and loss.
As she reflects on her previous life, including a promising career and the complexities of motherhood, Nelly's encounters—with the local people and even a troubled calf—highlight her profound loneliness. A fateful meeting with Gertie, a figure from her past, rekindles memories of youthful aspirations and heartbreak. Despite her desire for connection, interactions often leave her feeling more disconnected, culminating in a poignant invitation for tea that signifies a fragile step toward human contact. The story intricately explores themes of isolation, regret, and the quest for understanding amidst life's disappointments.
On this Page
Another Time by Edna O'Brien
First published: 1988
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1980's
Locale: An Irish seaside resort
Principal Characters:
Nelly Nugent , the protagonist, a former television announcerVincent , an older teacher whom Nelly recalls having lovedGertie , the sultry young woman who married VincentCaimin , a dim-witted hotel waiter
The Story
On the verge of a mental breakdown, Nelly Nugent decides to escape London by vacationing at a small seaside resort some twenty miles from the village where her family lived when she was a child. She fancies that this new place, full of mystery and romance, will lead to some kind of personal "redemption." The dismal reality of the dingy hotel and its provincial inhabitants sets the stage, however, for a series of bitter disappointments that drive her into an even deeper depression.
Nelly's hotel room is both tiny and shabby; instead of looking out on a sweeping ocean expanse, she can see only a sliver of the shoreline. Matters worsen when Nelly's before-dinner drink with her hosts proves awkward; her refusal to have a drink at the local pub with another guest sends the man into a rage, and her solitary candlelight dinner is disturbed by a large crowd of unruly children. After beginning her journey wanting to escape London, Nelly now counts the days until she can escape her vacation site.
When Nelly walks along the seashore the next morning, the peaceful scene revives her until she is recognized by a vacationer as a former television announcer. This encounter forces Nelly into another unpleasant reverie as she recalls that she gave up a promising career to marry a man with a "black heart." Predictably, the marriage ended in divorce and a bitter custody battle for the children, who are now grown and no longer integral parts of Nelly's life.
Having shrunk from all possibilities of human contact, Nelly encounters a young calf that engages her sympathies because it is being driven mad by flies that are swarming into the wounds left by the removal of its horns. She orders its owner to hold the animal while she digs the flies out. After they put the calf in a dark shed away from the flies, the calf's pathetic shrieks make it plain that it prefers the torment of the insects to the isolation of the unlit cell. After taking care of the calf, its lonely owner asks Nelly to marry him. She realizes that the young man is not serious, as he simply wants some company, but pretends that she is married and flees back to her hotel.
At her hotel, Nelly is greeted with the unwelcome news that she has had a visitor named Gertie. The mere mention of Gertie's name forces Nelly to recall a painful event that happened more than thirty years earlier. After getting a sophisticated black dress from an older friend, Nelly mustered the courage to visit a man named Vince, the new teacher at a nearby technical college who had set all the feminine hearts of the village aflutter. Unfortunately, her audacious visit turned into a disaster when Gertie appeared from the kitchen and sensuously claimed her man.
Now, Nelly cannot avoid meeting with the adult Gertie, who generously admits that Nelly has "kept her figure," while she has not. Gertie also confides that Vince, now dead, always bragged about knowing Nelly, especially after she became a television celebrity. For the first time in the story, Nelly reaches out to a fellow human being by inviting Gertie to stay for tea. Unfortunately, Gertie must leave, but she promises to return another time.