Love and Marriage in Gallant's The Other Paris

Love waxes timeless. It is passionate and forbidden, and a true head rush. Marriage, on the other hand, is practical and safe, a ride up the socioeconomic ladder. In "The Other Paris," Mavis Gallant weaves the tale of Carol and Howard, a fictional couple who stand on the verge of a loveless marriage, to symbolize the misguided actions of men and women in the reality of the 1950s, the story's setting. By employing stereotypical, ignorant, and uninteresting characters, Gallant highlights the distinction between reality and imagination. Through the mishaps and lack of passion in their courtship, she mockingly comments on society's views of love and marriage. Gallant portrays both Carol and Howard as ordinary young people with faults and beliefs that follow the accepted practices of society. Like many women in their early twenties, Carol frets incessantly over her age, believing that she will soon be too old for any man to want her. Gallant ridicules the societal standards of age and beauty imposed on women like Carol, which are still prevalent today. Carol is pressured not only by her friends and parents but also by herself to find a suitable man. Her vanity and fear of ending up alone embody societal views toward spinsters as women pining away in some dingy corner. Similarly, Howard also has the same pride as men today. His sister's caution and unwelcome prediction that he will soon be just "a person who fills in at dinner" mortifies the usually quiet and pragmatic Howard. He dislikes the "picture" of himself as an unwanted old bachelor and sets out to remedy the problem. The fact that he does not love Carol, whom he has known for less than three weeks, does not faze him in the least. Following the opinion of the 1950s, Carol, in his mind, becomes his "competent housemaid" who will perhaps collect "old pottery" and bake him "little casserole dishes."