Short Fiction · Chapter
The Hypotheses of Failure explained
Lawyer Gooch juggles multiple clients in his office, each presenting hypothetical divorce cases that turn out to be interconnected.
What happens
Lawyer Gooch juggles multiple clients in his office, each presenting hypothetical divorce cases that turn out to be interconnected. A soulful woman (Mrs. Billings) wants to divorce her husband for a literary man; a nervous man (the husband) wants her back; and a breezy man (Jessup) offers to pay for her divorce. Through a series of comedic misdirections and a violent exit, the tangled relationships are exposed, ending with Gooch left bewildered.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
The entire chapter revolves around clients presenting hypothetical cases that mask their true identities and intentions, leading to a comedic unmasking.
Humor and Irony
The ironic twist where the husband and the lover are both in the office, and the husband's violent escape after discovering his wife is present, underscores the farcical tone.
Gender Roles and Marriage
The chapter explores marital dissatisfaction, the pursuit of idealized love, and the legal and social constraints on women seeking divorce.
Characters to notice
- Lawyer Gooch
The central figure, a divorce lawyer who tries to manage multiple clients with conflicting interests.
- Mrs. Conant
The soulful client who wants a divorce from her husband, Thomas R. Billings, to marry Henry K. Jessup.
- Tom Lawson
The nervous, irritable client who is actually the husband, Thomas R. Billings, seeking to prevent the divorce.
- Jeff Peters
The breezy client who offers to pay for Mrs. Billings' divorce, revealed to be Henry K. Jessup.
Key passages
“all soul and heart and aspirations for a complete existence. This woman has a husband who is far below her in intellect, in taste—in everything. Bah! he is a brute.”
A woman of deep feeling and ambition is married to a man who is intellectually and culturally inferior, a boor.
Mrs. Billings describes her husband in her hypothetical case, revealing her dissatisfaction.
“I want that woman to have her divorce. I'll pay for it. The day you set Mrs. Billings free I'll pay you five hundred dollars.”
I am willing to pay for Mrs. Billings' divorce as soon as it is granted.
Jessup offers to fund the divorce, revealing his role as the lover.
“What the devil, do you mean? That woman in there! I thought I shook her off forty miles back.”
What are you talking about? That woman is here? I thought I had escaped her miles ago.
The husband panics upon learning his wife is in the adjacent room.