The Winter Of Our Discontent

Margie takes diligent care of her looks, knowing that her time will eventually run out to find a third husband and secure a future for herself. Margie dates men secretly. Her boyfriends have included Danny, Stonewall Jackson, and Marullo. The men confide in her, finding a safe space in their secret affairs, so “As most people have secret vices, Margie Young-Hunt concealed a secret virtue” (173). She focuses her attentions on Ethan Hawley because, though she likes his wife, she believes his background makes him superior and  that she can nurture him to achieve his full potential. Margie fears growing older because “A woman growing old alone is useless cast-off trash” (174).

Margie lives on her first husband’s alimony. Her second husband died without leaving her much, but while her first husband lives, Margie collects sufficient income. Margie goes into town and thinks through the prospects of the men in New Baytown. Many are too old, sick, or devoted to their wives to commit to her. She likes Joey, but his salary as a bank teller is insufficient. Margie sees Ethan speaking to a stranger in the grocery store. When the stranger leaves, Margie asks about him. Ethan tells her it is a man from the government asking questions about Marullo’s origins. She flirts with Ethan, and he proposes they go to the backroom, but she teases him that he would not know what to do with her. Mr. Baker interrupts them.

Mr. Baker asks Ethan if he has seen Danny; Ethan has not seen him in a few weeks and believes he is in treatment. Ethan admits he gave Danny money for treatment from Mary’s inheritance. Ethan asks is Mr. Baker has been to Albany recently, and Mr. Baker grows concerned that Ethan heard about his business. Mr. Baker admits that the state government has been looking into suspicious business in New Baytown. He tells Ethan that if Ethan can find Danny, Ethan will not need to work at the grocery store anymore.

Ethan again deliberates on the morality of his actions. He recalls World War II and that deplorable men like Adolf Hitler were originally respected. This makes Ethan believe that it is not what is done but how it is done that determine a moral perception. Ethan knows Mr. Baker will be away for the Fourth of July weekend. This leaves Ethan’s plan for Saturday ripe for development. Ethan encourages Marullo to travel as well. Pleased that Ethan seems to care about him, Marullo offers Ethan his Pontiac and the weekend off to take his kids on a trip. On Thursday, Ethan wakes up and tries to recall his beloved deceased relatives but finds it difficult to picture his grandfather and aunt. He tries to meditate on his children; Allen appears in his mind in his sullen preteen form, but Ellen appears as bright light, the inheritor of Ethan’s possibility. He awakens his wife with the news of Marullo’s offer to take the Pontiac for a weekend vacation. Ethan asks Mary for more of her inheritance to invest with Mr. Baker, to which she readily.

Ethan asks Mr. Baker to stop by the store on urgent business. When he does, Ethan tells him Marullo has implied that he is in trouble with Immigration. If Ethan produces $5,000, he can own the store while Marullo leaves or goes into hiding. Mr. Baker agrees to help Ethan investigate the legality of Marullo’s deed on the store. Ethan ventures that he could call Immigration and have Marullo deported, but Mr. Baker says that would give Marullo the chance to sell to a higher bidder. Because Marullo has not confirmed his immigration status, Mr. Baker advises Ethan to write a check that can look like an investment into Marullo’s business.

Ethan reasons that if war did not make him into a murderer, then dealing illicitly with money will not forever tarnish his moral code. On Friday, Ethan takes the family stone as a talisman for luck. Ethan walks to the harbor to say goodbye, but he is not sure to what. He sees the war memorial and wishes his name was among the dead, not among the ones who served.

From the grocery store, Ethan watches armed guards bring bags of money into the bank, preparing the bank for the influx of holiday withdrawals. Mr. Baker hurries into the store to give Ethan envelopes of money and the news that Marullo’s deed to the store seems legitimate. He encourages Ethan to make Marullo a lower offer first, knowing that his limit for negotiations is $5,000; then Mr. Baker hurries off to his holiday weekend. Stonewall Jackson stops in, and Ethan asks him what he should do with the gun he found in the store. The state inspection is worrying Stonewall Jackson; as a police officer he knows exactly who in town has been hiding papers and engaging in illegal activity. Joey stops in for a beer and admits that he feels something is amiss because Mr. Baker never takes holidays.

Back at home, Mary worries about where the family should go for vacation. Ethan hears on the radio that New Baytown’s officials have been called before a grand jury on charges of fixing traffic tickets and taking bribes on county contracts. Elections are on July 7, and this news means that the old town guard will not be reelected. Ethan goes to bed feeling unwell but more resolved to see his plan through. He reasons that he is not planning to hurt people just obtain money. Ethan wakes up late the next morning, and hurries to work. He feels guilty about Danny but hopes that in time his guilt will ease. He waits anxiously for his bank robbery plan to begin.

Ethan plans to sneak in the bank’s back door, masked, and with the gun at nine o’clock in the morning. Minutes before his plan is to begin, the investigator with the Department of Justice arrives. Shocked, Ethan must abandon his bank robbery. The investigator reveals that investigations have proven that Alfio Marullo entered the country without proper documentation and will be deported. Not knowing about Ethan’s resentment toward him, Marullo decides to leave the store to Ethan because he believes he is honest and worthy of taking over the store.

Joey visits the store. He reveals that all day, he has had the strange feeling that someone would try to rob the bank. Ethan leaves the mask and the Knight Templar hatbox behind in the store. He ruminates over Marullo’s deportation and his newfound ownership of the store.