On the surface, there could not be anything less exciting than the lives of suburbanites. Often scorned for their mundane and often overly practical perspective, average middle-class U.S. citizens represent a rather uninspiring picture at first glance (Sañudo, 2020). However, John Cheever’s 1978 “The Wrysons” shows that there is much more to the seemingly calm suburbia and its residents, each having unique fears and striving to conceal them due to untold social standards. By exposing the emotional issues lying deep underneath the superficial exterior of good manners, Cheever manages to humanize his characters while keeping his satirical tone.
The subversion of the concept of normalcy, as it is typically related to suburban life, quickly becomes the leitmotif of the story. Cheeves (1978) emphasizes excessively from the very start that the Wrysons have been viewed as the most typical and ordinary family. Moreover, the specified concept of normalcy is linked to the ubiquitous fear of change: “The Wrysons wanted things in the suburb of Shady Hill to remain exactly as they were” (Cheeves, 1978, p. 221). However, the specified idea of remaining entirely unnoticeable and unremarkable is quickly subverted as Mrs. Wryson’s fears are exposed through the description of her anxiety and haunting dreams. Namely, the irrational fear of an atomic bomb strike, which Mrs. Wryson is forced to relive every night as she has nightmares signify the increasing tension (Sañudo, 2020). Given the complete lack of any objective threat to the Wrysons’ well-being, the specified anxiety and fear can only be attributed to the overwhelming and suffocating requirement to comply with the set lifestyle and refrain actively from challenging it.
A similar fear of change is represented in Mr. Wryson’s history. Moreover, his character arc represents the specified concept even more accurately. Specifically, his habit of cooking not only implies that he fails to meet the ridiculous societal expectations of masculinity, which forces him to hide his skill but also represents an escape for him to resort to when facing a challenge. Namely, Cheeves (1978) mentions that Mr. Wryson actively avoids facing the pain of losing his mother by seeking an emotional refuge in cooking: “Searching desperately for some way to take himself out of this misery, he hit on the idea of baking a Lady Baltimore cake” (Cheeves, 1978, p. 226). The specified manner of escapism, while challenging societal norms, also represents the fear of change, particularly indicating Mr. Wryson’s inability to cope with it or even face it straightforwardly.
Therefore, while representing entirely different character arcs and having faced different challenges, both Mr. and Mrs. Wryson embody the concept of the fear of change. Remarkably, the characters‘ stories are not only dissimilar but polar opposites to each other. Namely, Mr. Wryson’s story is fully exposed, with his motivations and needs being relayed clearly. In turn, the nature of Mrs. Wryson’s nightmares is shrouded in mystery, with only minor hints at the possible trauma being the cause of them, with “the comforts of her life in Shady Hill to be the merest palliative” (Cheeves, 1978, p. 223). However, both characters arrive at the same point. Namely, the need to face the importance of change as the means of improving their lives.
Making his characters strongly relatable due to the emotional issues they experience and exposing their psychological traumas, Cheever (1978) exposes the insecurities and challenges that suburban citizens have to conceal as a part of their daily routine. The satirical tone of Cheever’s (1978) narrative allows refraining from making the story overly sentimental, while the use of detail in the description of the issues that the characters face increases their relatability. Thus, “The Wrysons” helps to break through the barrier of a false veneer of social well-being, indicating the presence of deeply seated community trauma and turning a seemingly silly story into an important lesson.
References
Cheeves, J. (1978). “The Wrysons.” In J. A. Schumacher, R. Christian, & T. Ofner (Eds.), American short stories: 1920 to present (pp. 221-230). Perfection learning corporation.
Sañudo, E. P. (2020). Elegies and genealogies of place: Spatial belonging in the Italian/American culture and literature. Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies, 62, 125-146.