Edith Wharton's "Bewitched"
commentary by rbadac
with a portrait of the author at age 19
painted in oils by Edward Harrison May in 1881
courtesy of the Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
"Bewitched" in a nutshell is: woman's husband is consorting with the ghost of his old girlfriend, woman gets old girlfriend's dad, & the Deacon, & some other guy together tell them about it, the three men go to the alleged place of manifestation, shot is fired, next day news has it the still living sister of the old girlfriend is dying of pneumonia, she kicks, funeral, end.
Well, I did say "in a nutshell." That's why it is necessary to establish all that "atmosphere." I read this in Here & Beyond (Appleton; NY & London, 1936 — yes I have the first, I got it at a flea market for a dollar, along with the first of Xingu (Scribners; NY 1916). And, as it just so happens, I also have the video of the Granada Television production of "Bewitched," one of those "Shades Of Darkness" things; they did Hartley's 'Feet Foremost,' too.
Anyway, when the three men break into the assignation hut where the living man supposedly meets the ghost woman, the story is printed like this:
"...the door collapsed like a playing card, & Brand stumbled after it into the darkness of the hut. The others, after a moment's hesitation, followed.
Bosworth was never quite sure in what order the events that succeeded took place. Coming in out of the snow dazzle, he seemed to be plunging into total blackness. He groped his way across the threshold, caught a sharp splinter of the fallen door in his palm, seemed to see something white & wraithlike surge up out of the darkest corner of the hut, & then heard a revolver shot at his elbow, & a cry —
Brand had turned back, & was staggering past him out into the lingering daylight. The sunset, suddenly flashing through the trees, crimsoned his face like blood. He held a revolver in his hand & looked about him in his stupid way.
"They do walk, then," he said, &am0 began to laugh. He bent his head to examine his weapon. "Better here than in the churchyard, They shan't dig her up now," he shouted out. The two men caught him by the arms, & Bosworth got the revolver away from him.
Brand is, of course, the dad, Bosworth is the other guy.
But in the video they add this bit as the men stumble out of the hut:
Bosworth: That was Venny! [Not "Ora," the dead sister, he means, but Venny the live one]
Brand: It was Ora.
Deacon [confirming]: It was Ora.
Neither in the story or the video does anyone go back into the hut, & both video & story proceed to the end without significant difference. Venny dies unseen, the funeral takes place, & that's it.
Which brings me to my question.
Was it Venny or Ora?
- (signed) Bewildered
P.S. Stop whining. The Collected Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton is not at all uncommon. You could go read this if you really wanted to!