Giving Blood by John Updike

Please roll up your sleeves.

It has been a while since I've read anything by John Updike and "Giving Blood" reminds me why it was necessary to take a hiatus. I can appreciate the author's literary technique but the explicit misogyny and toxic masculinity can be a bit much at times. Updike's realistic portrayal of marital difficulties is his specialty and it makes sense that many critics have labeled his writing as autobiographical. The familiar adage that 'a writer writes what they know' resonates strongly with Updike's penchant for capturing life's ordinary moments. It wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine that this story draws inspiration from his own personal life experiences. Updike's seamless ability to elevate the commonplace and turning the mundane into something remarkable is one of the main reasons that I find myself returning to his work.

The tension between Richard and Joan Maple is palpable as they drive to a Boston Hospital to donate blood for some distant relative undergoing a serious operation. The couple is bickering and during their argument, he accuses her of flirting with another man at a party the previous night. He is also sexually frustrated and blames her for their lack of physical intimacy. Dude, needs to chill. Even though it is a small detail and never mentioned again, Richard casually tries to shift the conversation, inquiring about the well-being of their baby, named Bean (maybe it's a nickname?). We learn that Bean had a fever of 102 degrees and the Maples thought it would a good decision to leave their sick child with a babysitter to attend the party. What kind of irresponsible and neglectful parents are these?! 

Updike effectively conveys the emotional and physical disconnection between the couple. However, through their bizarre and shared experience of giving blood, they find a renewed sense of appreciation for each other and a rekindling of the love that had begun to wane, due to work, kids and life getting in the way. By sharing a moment of physical closeness and emotional vulnerability in the blood donation room, they are able to reconnect on a deeper level. As they are leaving the hospital, they have this sweet and beautiful moment together and I might have been willing to give this story a more favorable review if it ended here. Instead, we follow the couple as they celebrate their rekindled love over pancakes at a diner and Updike casually drops this doozy: "Eve was their sitter, a little bony girl from down the street who would, in exactly a year, Richard calculated, be painfully lovely." It's these kind of misogynistic and disconcerting moments in Updike's writing that tends to be quite off-putting. If Updike aimed to depict Richard as a creepy, self-centered, and sex-obsessed middle-aged white man, he certainly achieves his goal.