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What happens to a dream deferred? |
A Harlem Tragedy by O. Henry has definitely not aged well and trying to take it seriously from a 21st-century perspective is almost impossible. It's a bizarre snapshot of the early 1900s, back when “real men” (read: Alpha males with questionable morals) showed their love by punching their wives in the face. Apparently, in this twisted logic, domestic violence was not only an expression of patriarchal control but also a romantic prelude to gift-giving. You know, just your classic “I hit you because I love you” kind of nonsense.
The plot centers around two married couples living in the same apartment building. The wives are friends, but one is jealous of the other. Not because her friend’s life is better, but because her husband routinely beats her up. Meanwhile, her own husband is a total bore who is more invested in reading the newspaper than giving her a shiner. She performs her domestic wifely duties of cooking and cleaning while he works all day. She becomes increasingly frustrated with their stagnant marriage, wishing that he would a real man and beat her senseless because then she’ll finally feel seen and loved.
The whole story is cringe-worthy and while the "twist ending" suggests that maybe it's supposed to be a satire about gender roles and masculinity, none of it landed for me. Moreover, since the story is set in Harlem, it raises another eyebrow: are these characters supposed to be black? It’s never made clear, but if they are, that would add another layer of clumsy, ignorant, tone-deaf storytelling to O. Henry’s résumé. This is a terrible, head-shaking, “what-did-I-just-read?” kind of mess.
Save yourself the time and skip this one.
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