Old Red by Caroline Gordon
"Old Red" by Caroline Gordon is a short story that centers on Mister Old Red Alexander Maury, who has returned to his family home after living in Florida. As the narrative unfolds, Maury reflects on his life, relationships, and the contrast between his love for fishing and the academic pursuits of his son-in-law, Stephen. Maury, a former professor, finds solace in fishing and reminisces about his childhood, particularly a clever old fox he named Old Red, symbolizing both nostalgia and a sense of pursuit.
The story explores themes of personal transformation, loss, and the pressures of familial expectations. Maury's relationship with his late wife, Mary, is a central focus, highlighting the struggles and tensions that existed between them. As he grapples with the weight of familial obligations, particularly concerning his cousin's funeral, Maury feels a growing urge to escape back to the river. The piece paints a vivid picture of Maury's internal conflicts and desires while contrasting his simplicity with the complexities of modern life embodied by his son-in-law. Through its rich character study, "Old Red" invites readers to ponder the significance of freedom, memory, and the relentless passage of time.
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Old Red by Caroline Gordon
First published: 1933
Type of plot: Character study
Time of work: The late nineteenth century
Locale: Rural Kentucky
Principal Characters:
Mister Alexander Maury , the protagonist, a sixty-year-old fishermanSarah , his daughterStephen (Steve) , his son-in-lawLaura , his sister-in-lawHis mother-in-law
The Story
Mister Alexander Maury, temporarily returned home after only a few years in Florida, leaves his fishing gear piled in the middle of the bedroom, ready for escape on a moment's notice, while he goes down to eat his mother-in-law's batter bread. He carefully reminds himself that his new son-in-law's name is Stephen. He regales his family with the story of how he learned to smell out fish in the water from an old black woman. He proudly displays his best fly, called Devil Bug, an exclusive design by a friend he met in Florida.
While his academically oriented son-in-law works on his essay on John Skelton, Mister Maury goes fishing. The old man was once a professor himself, but he reformed and sought the good life by field and stream. When a leg gave way under him once with some kind of cramp (just like Uncle James, who fell flat getting off his horse after a hard day's hunting), Maury knew he had to stick to fishing. A man could fish even if he was half-crippled.
Maury has a moment of keen elation when he remembers his first sighting of a particularly clever old fox that regularly showed himself on the crest of a hill when Maury was a child. He was so familiar as to have a name, Old Red, and he led them all on a merry chase but always escaped into some secret den in the bowels of the earth.
Steve, the son-in-law, joins him, and they fish together for some time. Maury pities the young man with his serious, abstracted face. Steve is not getting many fish and seems unable to give himself up to the peace and pleasure of the moment. Maury silently judges him "dead to the world"—like most people, actually.
That night, lying in the same bedroom in which they had put him after his wife Mary died, downstairs, Maury meditates on his relationship with Mary. She had never given up trying to change him, to make him over into the man she thought he should be. In fact, she had almost succeeded when the paralysis came on her, and then for a year and a half it was he trying to reconstruct the Mary he had known, his old adversary. However, she had given up, spent with the chase, losing all interest in what he did, merely waiting to die.
The next day, there is talk of Aunt Sally Crenfew's funeral tomorrow. Without thinking, Maury blurts out, "But that's the day Steve and I were going to Barker's Mill." Then the predictable avalanche ensues, his daughter spluttering about the scandal it will cause if he, Professor Maury, known by everyone to be in town, could not spare one afternoon from fishing to attend his cousin's funeral. Maury feels a gust of fear—time to move on.
The next morning, he pretends that his old kidney trouble is acting up. He simply has to go take the chalybeate waters of Estill Springs; they did so much good last year. He will have to leave on the morning train. He will be there by one o'clock, he calculates, and in thirty minutes after he gets off the train, he will have a fly in that water.