"The Doctor and Doctor's Wife" first appeared in In Our Time. It is barely, in certain ways, a Nick Adams' story: little Nick appears only at the end. As many of the Nick Adams stories are, it is very autobiographical.
The Hemingways, in Ernest's youth, summered in upper Michigan, where this story and "Indian Camp" take place. Clarence Hemingway was, like Henry Adams, a doctor; Grace Hemingway, like Mrs. Adams, a Christian Scientist, which, according to the oracle, Wikipedia, means:
Eddy described Christian Science as a return to "primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing." There are key differences between Christian Science theology and that of other branches of Christianity. In particular, adherents subscribe to a radical form of philosophical idealism, believing that reality is purely spiritual and the material world an illusion. This includes the view that disease is a mental error rather than physical disorder, and that the sick should be treated not by medicine, but by a form of prayer that seeks to correct the beliefs responsible for the illusion of ill health.
The church does not require that Christian Scientists avoid all medical care—adherents use dentists, optometrists, obstetricians, physicians for broken bones, and vaccination when required by law—but maintains that Christian-Science prayer is most effective when not combined with medicine. Between the 1880s and 1990s, the avoidance of medical treatment led to the deaths of several adherents and their children. Parents and others were prosecuted for, and in a few cases convicted of, manslaughter or neglect.
1. Everyone: Your reaction to the story? What particularly struck you, or stayed with you, about it? Quote once in your response.
2. 9th and 10th graders: If someone in anther class asked you what this story was about, what would you say? Don't simply say, it's about a doctor and his wife: but think about what this is telling us about Henry Adams, the protagonist of it—it's his story, really.
2. 11th and 12th graders only: Today in class, I think it was Emma—Jones—who asked the question of why does Doctor Adams respond to Nick's query of "'Do many women [kill themselves]?'" with "'Hardly ever.'" I said to Emma that this story might answer the question. So: how does this story answer Emma's question? Or: how does it give some explanation or context for the way Doctor Adams behaves in "Indian Camp"?
3. Everyone: this is Henry's—and his wife's—story. But Hemingway does put Nick in at the end. Why? What do you see is the purpose of having little Nick—"sitting with his back against the tree, reading"—in the story? Or: if we read the stories in this collection as moments of initiation for Nick—as moments which will help shape him into the adult he will become—how does this story function in that context?
200 words, just like last night. Below: Hemingway's passport photo on his way to Paris, where he will write In Our Time.
The power dichotomy between Dick and Adams in “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” was striking. I think that the conflict between Dick and Adams derives from their different cultural identities and was driven by their need to feel powerful and “manly”. Adams says, “‘...I guess he wanted a row so he wouldn’t have to take it out in work” (25), implying that Adams views Dick as inferior. In addition, Adams reaction to Dick’s accusation suggests that Adams believes that Dick has no right or standing to make such an accusation.
ReplyDeleteThe story describes Henry Adams as a strong, dominant character that prides himself in his position and ability to exert control. Despite being in the title, Mrs. Adams does not appear until halfway through the story, and when she does, Adams’ reaction to her questioning is displeasure. He is upset that she sides with the man that pushed him to his state of rage, so he leaves, slamming the door. By observing Henry Adams through his interactions with Dick and Mrs. Adams’, it can be concluded that Adams expects to be in command.
The purpose of having Nick at the end of the story is to provide a contrast between Nick’s obedience and Mrs. Adam and Dick. By having Nick willingly follow his father into the woods and hunt, Nick is only aware of his father’s “fun” side. Similar to “Indian Camp”, Henry Adams is painted as a role model and influences what Nick wants to become.
I liked this story because it provided greater insight into the lives of Nick’s father and mother. One line that stuck with me was when he slammed the screen door and “he heared his wife catch her breath when the door slammed”. She seemed to be scared of his anger and I was curious whether he lost his temper often and took it out on his wife. After reading the story “Indian Camp,” this story delves further into the character of Nick’s father as a person, not just a doctor. In “Indian Camp” he was the doctor who “had to” remain aloof and separate from his patients. Now, there is no excuse for him to act rudely, yet he treats the Indians from the camp with disrespect and gives into his temper and does not communicate well with his wife. He is an unhappy man who does not know how to show compassion towards the people in his life or communicate in a healthy way. Having Nick at the end of the story shows a softer side of Henry Adams’ character. He is not a horrible person, and he still cares about his son. By seeing his Nick sitting there his temper cools and he goes with Nick, proving that he can get over his anger to spend time with his son. However, it also shows his disregard for his wife’s wishes (she wanted Nick to go see her) because he takes Nick with him and ignores his wife's needs.
ReplyDeleteThough we'd already discussed it in class, I was struck by the casual use of terms one wouldn't even think about using today. “Dick was a half-breed and many of the farmers around the lake believed he was really a white man.” “Half-breed” is used in a character description as if it's perfectly natural. Nick’s father, Henry, leaves a bitter though in my mind; we were introduced to him in “Indian Camp” and even spent much of today’s class defending him, but this deeper exploration of his character revealed a short-tempered and disrespectful man.
ReplyDeleteThe story explores Henry Adams’ pride and his closed-off nature. Dick Boulton’s joking about stolen driftwood immediately sets Henry off on an angry rampage while defending himself. It seems as if his short temper is a defense mechanism, whether he's defending his family or his own name. He also seems to be very isolated. His words with his wife are quick, to the point, and a little annoyed.
The image of Nick sitting, reading in the forest is innocent and tranquil, which contrasts to the brash, angry mood of the rest of the story. This scene teaches him the value of simple acts of kindness and caring for loved ones, even if they are unintentional. Consoling others will be something he uses in the future.
“The Doctor and Doctor's Wife” was very revealing about Nick’s parents but I was a bit confused with the opening narrative. I was not sure what was going on with the logs and Dick Boulton. However Doctor Adam’s interaction with Dick stuck out to me. His brazen attitude toward Dick when he said that the logs where stolen was surprising to me because it was a side that the reader hadn’t seen of the composed doctor. “The doctor was very uncomfortable” (74) was a quote that stuck out to me because Doctor Adams being uncomfortable is a contrasting attitude to his in “Indian Camp” when he is operating on a woman and his feelings where not show or discussed. During think this story answers Emma’s question because of Mrs. Adams faith. Her deep belief in Christian Science would deter her from ever contemplating suicide because reality is “purely spiritual”. Doctor Adams response of “hardly ever” is based on the knowledge he has about his wife. Nick’s cameo in the story is telling. He is detached from the home and in the woods reading. I think the moment between father and son in the woods looking for black squirrels is sweet and we see a relationship between Nick and his dad. The mother and son relationship perhaps is strained because of this. Nick is calling his dad “daddy”, so I predict his is still young.
ReplyDeleteThough this was a less dramatic story than “Indian Camp,” I was still invested in this story. The the racist and sexist overtones stuck out to me. The Doctor calls the native american’s wife “his squaw” and compares Billy Tabeshaw to a “Chinaman.” The possessive sexism and racist terms were generally accepted when Hemingway was writing, but today these blatant examples clue the reader into the other of seixsm and racism present in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe major female figure in Doctor Adams’ life is his wife, and I think that her gentle and passive nature help explain why the Doctor does not associate women with suicide as much. Also, you can tell that he thinks of her as lesser through the terse, secretive way he acts around her. I would not be surprised if this attitude accompanied the opinion that generally women do not have the volition or the capacity for violence to commit suicide.
Dick Bulloton’s son accompanies him to chop up wood, and I think it is important that Nick is reading instead of chopping up wood. Reading is a far less masculine activity. However, the other important aspect of Nick’s appearance in the story is that, despite his natural passive inclination to read, he chooses to walk with his father at the end. In doing this he disobeys his mother’s wishes, which shows he already has a feeling of entitlement over his mother. In that way, he is initiated into the privileges of manhood.
ReplyDeleteThe “Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” was much less eventful and in my opinion interesting, than “Indian Camp.” The part that stuck out most to me was the ending: “Your mother wants you to come and see her," the doctor said. "I want to go with you," Nick said. His father looked down at him. "All right. Come on, then," his father said. "Give me the book, I'll put it in my pocket." "I know where there's black squirrels, Daddy," Nick said. "All right," said his father. "Let's go there.
This quote shows that Nick has a great deal of respect and adoration for his father, as many boys do, and that he still wants to do things with his dad despite the disturbing things that his father has shown him. It is possible that Doctor Adams thinks that women commit suicide less often than men because he has grown accustomed to the rational way in which his wife acts. The part of the story where Adams’ wife tells him that remaining calm is more important than brute strength is evidence of her cool and collected manner. Adams may believe that most women are like his wife (logical and even-tempered), causing him to think that they are less likely to commit suicide than men.
I liked this particular story quite a bit, as it really developed the background of Doctor Adams, so what we saw in "Indian Camp" gathers some other background context. From this story, we can see that in the two situations where Henry Adams has the possibility of being in a position of power, he very much pursues that possibility. The first is where he conflicts with Dick Boulton concerning whether he, the doctor, stole some logs, and then threatens to violently injure Dick, saying, "I'll knock your eye teeth down your throat. (The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife, 24)" After the log scene, we later see Henry naturally assume a position of dominance at home; he doesn't answer his wife a couple times during their tense conversation, and later proceeds to ignore her request completely to send Nick in to her. These events parallel the ignoring of the Indian woman's pain to some degree, as after the situation was said and done, he focused on himself rather than another person in the situation, even though common decency dictates he should've helped or listened to someone besides himself. This new development of the Doctor really drew me into Hemingway's piece.
ReplyDeleteI'd explain the story to those in other classes as an inner glimpse at Henry Adams and how he functions around other people from varying backgrounds, and from that, what role he expects to play compared to the other people in his life. The tale shows that Henry expects to be in a position of power throughout his life, and sometimes takes that position with threats or displays of force, like when he threatens Dick and slams the door to his home, making his wife wince. Still, he acts kindly as a role model for Nick, his son.
This kindness is also the reason I believe Hemingway included Nick at the end, in order to display that Doctor Adams is still human, despite his rash actions, and that he remains a role model for who our main character, Nick, wants to be, and what he will learn in his upbringing.
I found the story rather unsettling. After reading the first story in the book, Henry Adams is painted as an objective and not very compassionate person. After reading this short story, we have seen a side of Doctor Adams that gets very angry very easily. Henry Adams also appears to be slightly racist and sexist. When Henry is talking to his wife, he says "'Well, Dick owes me a lot of money for pulling his squaw through pneumonia," using the same terminology as Uncle George when referring to a Native American, showing how no matter how good of a doctor, he is biased against Native Americans, which is something we discussed in class today.
ReplyDeleteThe story is about developing the character of Doctor Adams. After the first story, Indian Camp, Doctor Adams was seen as a rather calm and collected doctor. By the end of The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife, the reader has seen him get mad at someone and ignore something that his wife has asked of him, showing a feeling of self-importance.
By showing Nick at the end of the story, we see a connection between Henry Adams and his wife that we didn't see before. While shown as rather disconnected from each other by their dialogue, Nick is an object of mutual love from both his parents, connecting them in a very distant way.
This story reiterated my initial perceptions of Doctor Adams; it is obvious that he feels threatened when Dick brings up the source of the wood and he immediately resorts to defending himself. This is the first time he appears vulnerable; no longer is he the one running the situation. This begs the question: does he feel vulnerable because his actions are unethical? Or is just not used to having the upper hand? I loved Dick’s personality especially the way he is described as being “ [...] very lazy, but a great worker once he was started” (Hemingway 23). Despite his lackluster motivation when it initially comes to working, he is not afraid to poke the bear.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of women not committing suicide as frequently, Adams seems to form this observation based on his wife’s persona. Hemingway does not comment on why she is “ [...] lying with the blinds drawn” (24) in the middle of the day. Is she suffering from a physical ailment? Mental? Is she just tired? Regardless, if she is battling something, it seems as if she self medicates herself by assuming an almost pre meditative state. She is letting the will of God guide her; if she is no longer to remain alive, then she has no choice in the matter. Her destiny is up to God.
Nick’s presence at the end of the story seems to alleviate any remaining tension between husband and wife, white man and Native American. Similar to the ending of “Indian Camp,” Nick has this childlike energy about him; whether it is deciding that he is not going to die or just skipping off with his father, his naivete in the situation is evident.
As much as this short story wasn’t filled important life moments, I enjoyed The Doctor and the Doctor’s wife. There aren’t as many critical points that say PAY ATTENTION TO ME, so when you find the subtle comments that Hemingway is conveying in the written word, I think that it is a little extra special. Throughout this short story, there were two main details that intrigued me. The first was how the mill was right next to the steamer, Magic. To me, that just shouts irony because magic is all about illusions, and that says that there is some sneaky stuff that is going down involving the whole washed up logs on the shore, as Dick does eventually bring to light, effectively ruining the illusion and ‘magic’. The second, more important point of interest was just the dynamic between how males and females interact with each other. Doc Adams gets worked up when somewhat accused of stealing the log. In a bit of a temper tantrum, he storms off to his cabin where we finally meet his wife. She seems very aware of how he would react and she does keep a much calmer head. In contrast with her husband, she just seems much calmer about the whole situation and even gives him advice: “Remember, that he who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.” (25)
ReplyDeleteThis story does provide some explanation to the answers he supplied to Nick in “Indian Camp”. Hemingway seems to make a very clear division between male and female roles with their reactions; males won’t think their thoughts all the way out, leaving them impulsive, while women seem to be able to control their temper a bit more. This is only assumed if most relationships followed the dynamic between the Doctor and his wife. To answer Emma’s question, Doc Adams answered that women hardly kill themselves because they think things through; they aren’t as stereotypically impulsive as men have shown to be throughout history.
A reason for inserting Little Nick Adams into the story seems logical for following the motif of having the elders in his life show how the world works, as he does in “Indian Camp”. In the first short story, Nick is exposed to some extreme and somewhat perverse versions of how the world works. As he has presumably grown up a little, he is continuing to learn from the adults in his life, namely his parents. Rather than following his mother’s wishes, he decides to go off with his father to discover the world a little bit more (to search for black squirrels) and following his father’s impulsive temper
I did not enjoy this story very much. When I went to read, I was expecting something similar to “Indian Camp”, with its constant conflict and action, but I was slightly disappointed by this stories dullness, in comparison. The line that stayed with me following my reading was, “Remember, that he who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.” This line, even though it may seem small and unimportant, showed Henry’s true motivation. In this line, Henry’s wife is telling him that someone who is confident and self assured is strong or even more powerful than someone who attempts to control something bigger or a group of people. As shown in the last story, Henry, like most people, enjoys feeling accomplished and in control. As illustrated here, Henry’s wife is telling him to be careful of that and that rather than trying to control people or fight people, to instead control what he does and take the high road. If someone in another class asked me what this story was about I would tell them that it is about power. Henry Adams, in this story and in the last has shown to have a struggle for power, whether that is to be control (of a situation) or to have knowledge (of what is going on). I think that Nick’s purpose at the end of the story was to show how much he looks up to his father. In the last story, we talked about how when Nick began his initiation into adulthood, he had three teachers or role models, his father, the baby’s father, and the baby’s mother. Now, Nick is left with only his father as one of those three teachers, and Nick’s appearance at the end is just showing that relationship
ReplyDeleteIf you were to read this story alone, without any context, it would probably seem like showing Nick in the end does not serve much of a purpose. Because we know Hemingway’s background, and about the Nick Adams stories, we know that these characters and situations are based on his reality. Doctor Adams is referred to as “Nick’s father” many times in this story. This, along with Nick being included in the end of the story, both show to me that Hemingway sees this story with himself included. Maybe this incident is based on a situation that he witnessed as a child. Nick Adams is representation of Hemingway, and in this story is a representation of himself as a child. Because Hemingway definitely sees this story as a Nick Adams story, he must see it as one that he was involved in.
ReplyDeleteWhen Nick goes with his father to hunt, rather than speaking with his mother, I think this represents how Doctor Adams is passing on his masculinity to his son. In this story, Nick’s father is definitely a representation of masculinity, which is represented by his argument with Dick, and also by his decision to go hunting. Nick shows interest in hunting with his father, which shows how he will learn to act the same way as his father.
After reading the story, they main part that stayed with me was when Doctor Adams says to his wife, "...Dick owns me a lot of money for pulling his squaw through pneumonia and I guess he wanted a row so he wouldn't have to take it out in work.", when she asked why he was upset. If I had to explain the story, I would say that it is about a man who hires a few Indians to help chop up some pieces of driftwood that floated up onto a beach. When the Indians see how nice the wood is they wash the sand off in the water and discover that it belongs to someone else. The Indians offer to still chop it up, but the man becomes embarrassed that he was going to steal wood, and masks his embarrassment by starting an argument. When he comes home his wife asks him what happened, he spins the story and blames the argument of the Indian, but his wife doesn't believe that the Indian would do that.
ReplyDeleteI think this story really shows the contrasting personalities in the household, as Henry's wife seems very calm and level headed compared to Henry, who seems to have a short temper and fluctuating moods. They also have different perspectives when it comes to Henry’s incontestable with the Indian. Henry twists the truth of the story slightly, so that it favors him rather that the Indian. His wife seems see through his story, and has a more clear, level outlook on things. I think this is why Hemingway included Nick in the story. Showing him right after introducing two conflicting personalities allows us insight into how living in Adams family would affect him. It must have been confusing having role models with such different outlooks on life
I did not enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed Indian Camp. I felt that this story did not have as much action going on but it was very important that we learn more about the father so that we can create a better idea on whether he is a good character or not. The part that really stuck out to me from this story was when he lied to his wife about what had just happened with Dick. “Well Dick owes me a lot of money for pulling his squaw through pneumonia and I guess he wanted a row so he wouldn’t have to take it out in work”. This hows so much about his character that he would just lie to his wife instead of admitting she is right. If someone from another class asked me what this story was about I would tell them that this is a story about getting to know a key character through the decisions he makes in a day. We first see him act superior to men that have come to help him and then we see him lie to his wife about it. Even though he has a sweet moment with his son later on it still doesn’t wipe the fact tear he was rude the whole rest of the day. I think that Nick is sitting at the end to show that yes Henry Adams does have a sweet and kind relationship with his son. I think he is put at the end to make Henry Adams seem more human after we see him polish his gun in a scary way.
ReplyDeleteI liked the story, although it was very dry and had seemingly unimportant communication between the Doctor and other characters, somehow it managed to show readers the exact relationship between Nick's parents. The story barely had them interact with each other at all: just her asking questions and him begrudgingly answering them and yet readers get so much from this. The quote that stayed with me was: "He sat with the gun on his knees. He was very fond of it." This is important because he never expresses fondness towards his wife in the story but does so about a gun. The story answers Emma's question because the doctor almost has a disregard for his wife's feelings (representing the whole of women so far), he doesn't talk to her like she has feelings. He talks to her like she is only there for him, as if women have that lack of choice to kill themselves or not because they are there for the men. The story connects to the Doctor's behavior in the previous story because the father acts above the Indians, like they should be doing this work for him without questioning whether he's in the right or wrong. This fits into the initiation story because it's showing the two main characters that raised Nick, initiated him into life, who they are, what their relationship with each other is like. Hemingway puts Nick in at the end to show how he looks up to his father, follows him around everywhere and his father's disregard for sheltering his son from the powerful ideas of life and death.
ReplyDeleteI found this story very anticlimactic and not nearly as intense and noteworthy as Indian Camp. Adam and Dick’s conflict was much more intense than it seems after the doctor explained that Dick was just trying to find an excuse and way of getting out of doing work for Adam. This gave a more understandable for how the conflict escalated extremely quickly and Adam felt the need to shoot Dick for how he was acting. As we saw in the last story the doctor has a lack of empathy and compassion so it was not surprising that killing a man over a petty dispute seemed reasonable to him. Adam believes that, “Dick owes me a lot of money for pulling his squaw through pneumonia and i guess he wanted a row so he wouldn’t have to take it out in work,” is a reasonable explanation for why he wants to kill a person. This story is about an uncompassionate doctor raising his son and teaching him about life through his eyes. I think that Nick reading by a tree at the end of the story is irrelevant because he has no knowledge of the conflict his father had. This does not seem to be a part of his initiation because he is unaware of the fight so he is not learning from his father's actions.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this story. The line that stuck out to me most was "He found Nick sitting with his back against a tree, reading." Due to seeing Nick in such a peaceful and innocent state, Doctor Adams is able to see past his anger and, instead of attempting to shoot Dick, decides to go hunting with his son. I liked this story because Doctor Adams seems to learn restraint from his son and doesn't lose his temper.
ReplyDeleteI think that, because of the way Doctor Adams treats his wife in this story, readers can infer that Doctor Adams doesn't think women commit suicide often because the doctor, himself has a very low opinion of women. He seems to think that a woman's role is to serve her husband and children, and perhaps a woman attempting suicide would be too selfish an action for the doctor to conceive of.
Presumably, Nick's father is again attempting to initiate Nick into a lesson concerning life and death. It's not entirely clear whether Doctor Adams is taking his son with him to witness his shooting of Dick, or simply to go hunting. Either way, Nick's father is teaching Nick a lesson about anger, and the manliest of manly ways to relieve tension and stress: with a gun.
I thought that the story was a closer look into the life and psyche of Doctor Adams, and a perspective of him that is more objective. After reading the story, I felt that Indian Camp portrayed, since it was from the point of view of Nick, Doc Adams the way a young boy sees his father. In the newer story, I felt that the depiction of the Doctor was far more objective, and showing him as the man he truly is, not as the towering figure that fathers are to their sons. What most stuck out to me in this dark story was the image of Doc Adams sitting in the bedroom with his shotgun as “he pushed the magazine full of heavy yellow shells and pumped them out again” (pg 25). The way that the image seemed tainted with some form of violent sexuality really put me off, and stuck in my mind as a defining characteristic of Doc Adams.
ReplyDeleteThis story really explains the way that Doc Adams acts in “Indian Camp:” superior, masculine, powerful, and in control. When he is the doctor in an emergency situation, the great white savior, he is the only person in the little world of the tent who could save the woman’s life. And yet outside of his profession, he is weak, humiliated and emasculated by multiple people in a way that seems to then manifest itself in a sort of sexual frustration that he takes out in his work and with his shotgun. A medical emergency is the only time that he truly is in the position that he feels that he should be as a white man of status, which is why he is paternalistic and superior in manner, in stark contrast to his personal life.
I think that Nick in this story is important for several reasons. To begin with, this is a collection of stories about Nick Adams, and to understand his later behavior it is important to understand what the household he grows up in is like, and the darkness inherent in his father’s behavior that will influence Nick, though he may not realize it. Secondly, it is another little, petty way that his father exerts his control in the same way as he did in the medical tent. Nick is asked to come in by his mother, but Henry takes Nick off into the woods instead, pulling the control of his son back to himself. Perhaps the most insidious way that Henry Adams exerts his frustration is onto Nick, a young boy whom he can control, can influence.