Snowing in Greenwich Village by John Updike

Winter scene near Washington Square.

The Maples make another appearance and this time we are offered a glimpse into the early years of their marriage. They have recently moved into their first home on West 13th street, close to Washington Square and invite a friend over named Rebecca to celebrate this momentous occasion. We are told by the third-person narrator in the opening sentence that they just had to invite her over "because now they were so close." Whatever the reason for this close friendship is never revealed. Moreover, there is also a slight hint of irony here since it seems the Maples hardly know Rebecca at all. In familiar Updike fashion, the characters spend most of their time drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and talking. They ask Rebecca a lot of questions and she shares a lot of interesting experiences living in New York City, her family life and various romantic escapades. At one point, the narrator describes the Maples reaction to Rebecca's stories as "odd", since their domesticated life seems quite boring in comparison. There is a wonderful scene when they are all looking out the window admiring the tranquil snowfall only for the picturesque scene to be disrupted by a brigade of police on horseback trudging through the snowy street.

Rebecca is a young attractive woman and Richard is clearly infatuated with her but manages tremendous restraint, especially near the end of the story when he walks her home. When she invites him up to her apartment, Updike deftly conveys the awkwardness and underlying sexual tension between them. Whether or not Richard engages in an affair with Rebecca at this moment or later on is not so important. I admire Updike's subtlety, which often creates more depth and complexity to the characters.