Children: A play in two acts

by A. R Gurney

The action takes place in the summer home of a wealthy "WASP" family on a resort island off the New England coast. In residence are a middle-aged but still attractive widow; her divorced daughter; and her prep school teacher son and his wife. Their pleasant regimen is interrupted by two jarring the mother's announcement that she plans to marry an old family friend (which means that the house will then pass to her children); and the unexpected arrival of her younger son and his family. The younger son, "Pokey," has always been out of step with the rest of the family, and while he remains a shadowy offstage figure throughout, it is quickly evident not only that (for reasons of his own) he objects to his mother's remarriage and to the plans which his siblings have hatched for the house, but also that he can, and will, stop them. As the others lash back at Pokey much that has been repressed in them rises to the surface, and they are forced to painful (yet often funny) examinations of their own rather sterile lives. In the end, however, their resistance crumbles, and they are resigned again to things as they are and, most likely, will continue to be until the ways of the world truly change.

Genres: Short Stories

63 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1952

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather liked this long tale of a couple who seem unable to put down roots and live their lives almost vicariously through others. They serve, much as butlers and housekeepers did in the Edwardian days of England, and reap about the same reward. They are the unappreciated, the unnoticed, and the unrewarded.

(#16 - Stories of John Cheever)

[Connie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Victor Mackenzie was a young immigrant, and his wife was orphaned at an early age so they had no parents in their lives. They made themselves indispensable to rich older people who had poor relationships to their own children. Victor and Theresa catered to wealthy lonely people, acting like the caring children the elderly people wished they had, but later were pushed out by the neglectful biological children. They were considered as no more than servants. Eventually they find themselves as the house guests and helpers to a lonely couple whose only child is deceased. Will Victor and Theresa finally be considered as part of the family?

It's an interesting story since the reader's view changes as to which person is trying to take advantage of the situation. 3.5 stars.

"The Children" is story # 16 in the collection "The Stories of John Cheever."

[mark propp · Rating 3 out of 5]

overlong, a bit lacking.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"For nine years, you’ve had the privilege of living in this beautiful house—a wonder of the world—and how do you repay me? Oh, it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back! Prescott’s told me often enough that you weren’t any good, either of you, and Hester feels the same way, and gradually I’m beginning to see it myself.”

Before starting John Cheever's" The Children " I thought the "Children" were youngsters but it seems the adult are being more like that, but not in the way one usually thinks. Being told what to do, trusting and needing help. The couple is also very considerate of others.

Short story in short-Despite the hardships a married couple tries to help others, though they are not fully appreciated.

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

Victor and Theresa Mackenzie are a married couple that seem to have a hard time finding a happy place to stay. The story starts out with Victor a single man coming to America to work, having no family, he finds employment at Mr. Hatherly office. Hatherly, not having a happy family life is attracted to efficient and hard working Victor, though he can be contemptuous. Victor should be promoted but Hatherly seems to want to keep him as his assistant. Hatherly even has Victor help assist Hatherly's son who has made a failure of his life. Victor marries Theresa, who also has no family, though Hatherly did not want Victor to marry, he was soon taken a liking for Theresa. The old man makes himself part of the family and the couple basically listens to his comments. When Hatherly dies, the couple truly mourn whereas Hatherly's real family can not wait to go home. After Hatherly's son fires Victor, he has not liked him. Years later another situation, the older lady liked them, the couple did many grateful things and after hearing from her son and daughter, fire the couple. Years later another place helping a family, Theresa is no longer happy they must leave, she is homesick and the next home is evidently happy one, for if they had not kept on trying to find the last employer's aunt's home to return something, they would not have found a nice home. The Sauers seem to fit the couple, not sure how long the Mackenzies will have rest, since the Sauers are elderly. The couple have a daughter who was not often with her parents but at different schools and is a troublesome. Thyheir daughter Violet, is married and has a family, having nothing to do with her parents. I feel for this lovely couple and just wanting them to feel wanted and at home.


“The Mackenzies were indifferent to the fact that they were not mentioned in Mr. Hatherly’s will. A week or so after the funeral, the directors elected Junior to the presidency of the firm, and one of the first things he did was to fire Victor.”

“Theresa gave up the apartment that Mr. Hatherly had taken for them, sold all their furniture, and moved around from place to place, but all this—the ugly rooms they lived in, the succession of jobs that Victor took—is not worth going into. To put it simply, the Mackenzies had some hard times; the Mackenzies dropped out of sight.”

“Finally, he went upstairs. Theresa was at work on one of the needlepoint stools. The room they used for a parlor was cluttered with half-repaired needlepoint. She embraced Victor tenderly, as she always did when they had been separated for a day.”

“For nine years, you’ve had the privilege of living in this beautiful house—a wonder of the world—and how do you repay me? Oh, it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back! Prescott’s told me often enough that you weren’t any good, either of you, and Hester feels the same way, and gradually I’m beginning to see it myself.”

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

After that rather long introduction where even the reader is lead to believe Hatherly's promises, the next many years of Victor's life are rushed through via other jobs, other promises, until he and his wife are living at the decaying Salisbury Hall, working for a woman who fundraises for the Girl Scouts.

It's there that Victor and his wife, long since estranged from their only daughter, reach a breaking point. Their only means of escape is to head north. They head towards Quebec to the Sauers. And what appears to be their salvation, is probably just the next lap in this never ending cycle of abuse.

https://pussreboots.com/blog/2025/com...

Family Home Labyrinth 336699

[Brandon Leatherman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very much enjoy reading plays, and it's very rare that I come across one that I dislike. This is one of those. Probably one of the worst plays I've ever read. The characters are all despicable, the story is dull, any attempts at humor fall flat, and I'm sorry I wasted my time on this depressing mess.