SNOWING IN GREENWICH VILLAGE
It the first Maple Story as next Maple Story comes after five years. Updike initially saw Joan and Richard as stand-ins for Mary and John. In the story, The Maples moved to Greenwich village. Originally John and Mart moved to the upper west-side in the year 1955. The Maples are very uneasy about each other and they did not even like the surrounding either. Updike disliked Newyork as homosexuals were seen everywhere in 1955.
The Maples got married two years ago and after two years they moved to Greenwich. At that time it was snowing in Greenwich. Rebecca Cune, their neighbour to their house. She let Richard take off her coat. The woman disapproved everything. With slight snow, they all soon cooled down a bit. Richard and Joan were very close at this period of time.
WIFE WOOING
This story is written in the first person, unlike other Maple stories. The names of Joan and Richard were never mentioned once. The husband and wife are married for seven years now and they got three kids. He still finds her sexually attractive. During the very first scene, the whole Maple family is gathered around the fireplace. He came with meat, hamburgers and fries and they begin to eat peacefully. We don't know what is going on in the minds of all characters but we only know his mind. The atmosphere seems erotically charged for him. Although his wife is quite wide after seven years of intercourse, he is still sexually attracted to her.
He is speaking his feelings in a philosophical way to the readers. He wants to have sex but courting takes a lot more strength than merely winning a woman. He says his wife loves the baby more than him. Anyway, never starts wooing. The wooing only happens in his mind. He keeps on yammering. When she undresses at about 11, he was still very horny. He looks at her and sees her as a fat woman who reads Nixon and goes for another man. The wife keeps on reading and eventually falls asleep.
In the morning, in his mind, he starts speaking. This time she is very ugly to him. Her skin in full on wrinkle and in a word, she is unattractive. His wife senses everything but did not say anything verbally. He wonders, whether he is not handsome anymore or he has stinky breath. In the next evening, the wife herself tries to woo the husband. She gives her a kiss with toothpaste in her mouth but only to be rejected by the man. The repulsive narrator and the beautiful narrative makes the story paradoxical.
GIVING BLOOD
The Maples are now married for nine years. It is too long a period for the husband, not for the wife though. Richard is very irritated as he has to drive down the same street he drives on all week. It is Saturday and the couple is driving to Boston.
They are going to donate blood to a distant cousin of Joan. His off day has been upended. Wife is upset as donating blood is disturbing to her husband and he is making her wife very uncomfortable by saying that her smugness is so intolerable to him. He goes on saying he did not mind her knee-jerk or sexlessness but this bothers him.
We get to know later that he is a bit scared as he had not given blood to anyone before. He got to know that his blood group is A positive and his wife is O positive. The fact that their blood group was not rare also irritated him. While giving the blood, Joan was very calm. After that, when they go to have pancakes, he admired her bravery down in the blood room. He tells her that he will never dance with a particular woman. His wife doesn't care about the promise. So, he is again bothered by this coldness as he wanted her to fight with him. Joan tells her they can go Dutch.
TWIN BEDS IN ROME
After almost a decade after their marriage, they can not stand each other much. Although they make love, they have differences. They have talked about getting divorced but that did not take place. That left them together in a painful helpless marriage. They decided to go on a trip several times but that also did not happen. They finally take a trip together to Rome. On their way to the hotel from the airport, Joan was reading a Paul Bowles novel. This reminds the husband how she used to get aroused by little things earlier. Richard did not know the Art of Seduction.
At the hotel, they find that they have been given a twin bed. Joan tells him that he can sleep in her bed with her if he wants. The next day they visit tourist spots. Richard felt sick and comes back to the hotel to get some sleep. The trip does not work for Richard but it does for his wife as she is enjoying it so much. In the end, seeing her happy and enjoying, he gets jealous and decides that he does not want to leave his wife.
