Suburbanites' Unhappiness: Searching for Bliss in Mandsfield's Mrs. Dalloway.

The citizens who reside in the suburb in different cities face a lot of challenges. The problems range from financial, economic, and psychological issues; however, the most outstanding and common problem these people face is unhappiness and denial. As Mandsfield in "BLISS" brings out through the character of Mrs. Dalloway who is unhappy in the way she interacts with other people and her family, the people in the suburbs live unhappily until they come to self-realization of the cause of their unhappiness and what can be done to bring back happiness in their life, on the other hand, Cheever in "THE GOOD SWIMMER" points out unhappiness from the character Neddy from how he interacts with his neighbors and how they gossip behind his back, despite his active life and prowess in swimming he is still not happy with his life in the neighborhood during mid-summer (Chenying 81). This paper illustrates the theme of unhappiness and uses denial to cope with their identities as brought out by the different characters in Bliss by Mandsfield and "The Stories of John Cheever" by Cheever.

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Unhappiness

Informed by Mandsfields' "Bliss," the suburb people undergo a lot of unhappiness as it is brought up by the character Bertha Young who is the protagonist after she discovered that her husband was cheating p.160. She was initially delighted in her marriage and as recorded in p. 137. She arrives home very happy and plays with her daughter named Little B, and she is so enthusiastic as she prepares and decorates the room as she awaits the mega dinner. She is seen to go outside to look at the pear plant, which Mandsfield uses as a symbol of happiness and continuity of growth; she compares her joy and the blooming of the pear plant during winter (p. 137). The theme of unhappiness in the life of Bertha Young starts is palpable during the dinner, where she is first attracted sexually to her husband and later learns that her husband harry young is cheating on her with their family friend Mrs. Fulton (p.160). This is after she intercepted them, suggestively handling themselves. Her happy marriage turns into an unhappy and sorrowful marriage. After her realization she runs and checks her symbol of happiness which was still blooming, the author uses the tree to show the aspect of continuity of life despite the challenges and betrayals people in the suburbs face.

Mrs. Fulton is also unhappy in her marriage, and as a result, she engages in an affair with her friend's husband, Young. Mrs. Fulton, clearly with no shame, tried to hint out to Bertha on her relationship with Young, Bertha loved and adored Mrs. Fulton, and she could not understand the meaning of Mrs. Fulton's statement. The unhappiness of Mrs. Fulton is transmitted to Bertha after she knew the secret affair. Bertha was left unhappy and sorrowful as her marriage collapsed, and she had a daughter who required her father's love when growing up.

Cheever supports the theme of unhappiness in the people in suburbs as brought out by the character Neddy, and Neddy was a good swimmer. He liked going to swim at his neighbor's pools; initially, he is so happy and full of enthusiasm; however, his happiness turns to a feeling of betrayal and unhappiness. After he visited his friend Grace Biswagner, who was holding a pool party since they were friends, Neddy thought that he would be welcomed into the pool party with a beer by Grace. However, Grace turned to be rude to him and called him names such as gate crusher Neddy, felt betrayed and unhappy, and never knew why his friend Grace as they had no history of conflict.

The neighbors are also unhappy with the Neddy as he keeps on declining invitations to parties in the neighborhood, the unhappiness of Grace Biswagner led to her confrontation and rudeness to Neddy during the pool party she hosted at her home. The neighbors and Neddy fail to appreciate the fact that time is passing, and instead of them parting, they should start planning their marriage and parental lives as their time to do parties is passed.

Mandsfield and Cheever both bring out the aspect of unhappiness as witnessed in the suburbs using their protagonists in their story. This is a clear depiction of what happens in suburban society. It's upon the people to find courage and acceptance as sometimes they cannot answer the question of why they are unhappy. Neddy could not figure out why he was treated that way by his friend's Grace; on the other hand, Bertha was unable to comprehend why her husband cheated on her. Yet, she was so happy and performed her wifely and motherly duties diligently.

Denial

In light of Cheever, in "The Stories of John Cheever" the people in the suburbs live in denial as the protagonist lives in denial and to feel good about the situation the people indulge in activities that break their families in the long run, Neddy lives in denial that he is old and is supposed to be together with his family and instead of accepting the reality he goes swimming in neighboring pools and adventure leaving out his family alone at home he should have however remained with the family at home and enjoyed time with his family as the men of his age did. Neddy did not realize that as time was passing, he was aging, he tried to maintain his youthful and agile body so that he would continue with the life of a youth rather than a the life of a husband and a father. The wife of Neddy packs and leaves as she was tired of Neddy who constantly neglected his husband and parental roles. Neddys wife fled when Neddy had gone for swimming, leaving her and her children at home, when Neddy came back home he did not comprehend why the house was empty and why his wife had left even without saying. The life of denial and irresponsibility by Neddy made his family to leave him. If he had been considerate and accepted the reality that his family needed his time instead of going for an adventure, he would have maintained his family.

Mandsfields supports the people in the suburbs live in denial as in the book "Bliss, and Other Stories," Mandsfields uses the character of Harry YoungWho is the husband to the protagonist to depict how the suburban people live in denial. Harry Young lives in denial and does not love the fact that he is married and that his daughter is still young and requires her father's attention. At one point, he told his lover, Mrs. Fulton, to never ask him about his daughter again and that he would only have time for her when she attained the age and found a lover. To feel better about the fact that he was married, he decided to for happiness elsewhere and started an affair with Mrs. Fulton. Bertha later realized the infidelity of Harry Young during the dinner in which Mrs. Fulton attended. p. 133.

Mandsfields in "BLISS" uses the character of Mrs. Fulton to bring out the aspect of living in denial as it is common in suburban life. Mrs. Fulton knows that Bertha loves and adores her, but she lives in denial of the fact that Harry Young is a family man and proceeds to have an affair with him. They forget that they are in Harry Young's house, and they continue to hold each other suggestively this suggestive manner in the hallway; Bertha noticed this and concluded that they were having an affair this broke trust and friendship between Bertha and Mrs. Fulton.

The two excellent writers Mandsfields and Cheever and bring out the theme of denial as it occurs in suburban life and also highlights how the people in the suburbs deal with dissent and what they do so that they feel better about themselves. Living in denial breaks friendship as the friendship and trust between Mrs. Fulton and Bertha was broken and could be repaired. However, both Mandsfields and Cheever concur that Men are most vulnerable in the suburbs to live in denial. To feel better about living with denial, the men in suburbs abandon their families or engage in relationships outside marriage. Infidelity causes breakups, and many families are victims of living in denial.

Betrayal

Concerning Mandsfields protagonist Bertha in "Bliss", there is a lot of betrayal in the suburbs, Bertha was a happy mother, and she performed her wifely duties diligently. She was cleaning the house and playing with her daughter, p. 137. As she prepared for the dinner as her friends were coming over for dinner, Bertha experience betrayal of the highest order after realizing that his husband Harry Young was cheating on him with Mrs. Fulton, Who she loved and adored. Unable to contain the emotions, she runs toward her pear tree, which was still blooming. P. 160 The tree was used ideologically to show that life continues despite what people face. Bertha was forced to start thinking of her life and to not depend so much on her husband.

In light of Cheever's protagonist Neddy, Cheever enlightens that in the suburb life, there is a lot of betrayals. Neddy never expected that his wife would leave him, however, when he returned home from swimming, he met an empty house, and the misfortune he once heard people whisper about his voyage was confirmed he failed to understand why his wife left him. Neddy had no history of conflict with her friend Grace Biswagner who he visited so that he can also take part in the pool party she was hosting. Due to friendship and time together in swimming, Neddy expected her to welcome him with a bottle of beer at the pool party. Contrary to his expectations, Grace Biswagner was so rude to him, and she called him names in front of all the people present. Neddy felt betrayed, and he left.

Lucinda Merrill who was the husband to the protagonist Neddy Merrill felt betrayed by Neddy Merrill as he did not take his responsibilities as a husband and a father seriously. Whenever he had some free time he went on adventures or to swim in the pools with his friends. She tried to understand him but with time Lucinda saw that Neddy was not changing as a result she waited for an opportunity when Neddy went swimming s usual she packed everything that belonged to her and the children and left when Neddy came home he dint comprehend what had happened as Lucinda did not even leave a note to say where she and the kids were

The two writers both bring out the aspect of betrayal in the suburb life; the difference is that Cheever's brings out betrayal from friends and family, and Mansfield brings out betrayal from family. However, they both concur on the existence of betrayal in society. The two writers show that betrayal can occur at any time and from any person irrespective of your relationship with the person.

Conclusion

The people in the suburbs face a lot of challenges such as unhappiness and use denial to cope with their identities as brought out in "Bliss" by Mandsfield and "The Stories of John Cheever "by Cheever. The people in the suburbs are unhappy with how they interact with friends and neighbors. As shown by Mandsfield in "Bliss," the Young who is the husband to the protagonist he is unhappy in his marriage and cheats on his wife with their family friend this is an allusion of what happens in the real suburban life. The life in the suburb is also full of denial, with men being the most vulnerable. Alluding from experience in the suburbs Clever in The Stories of John Cheever uses the protagonist Neddy to show how men live in denial is suburbs and what they do to make themselves feel better. There is also a lot of betrayal from both friends and families in time that one is least expecting Mandsfield in "Bliss," uses Young to show how members of the family can betray others. Suburbans should, however, accept reality so that they live a happy and real life.

References

Chenying, B. A. I. "Suburban Space and Existential Crisis in John Cheever's The Swimmer." Studies in Literature and Language 17.2 (2018): 80-85.

Mansfield, Katherine. Bliss, and Other Stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923. Print...