The Cousins by Elizabeth Spencer
"The Cousins" by Elizabeth Spencer is a reflective narrative that centers on Ella Mason, a twice-married woman in her fifties who recalls a transformative European trip she took thirty years prior with her four cousins—Eric, Ben, Jamie, and Mayfred. The story is set against the backdrop of their privileged upbringing in Martinsville, Alabama, where they are descendants of a notable Confederate general. Their journey through England, Italy, and France during the post-World War II era serves as a poignant exploration of their familial bonds and individual aspirations, highlighting their youthful innocence and burgeoning identities.
As Ella reconnects with Eric in Florence decades later, she confronts unresolved feelings from their past, particularly a brief romantic involvement that remains shrouded in complexity. The narrative delves into themes of nostalgia, self-discovery, and the divergence of life paths, illustrating how each cousin's experiences shape their futures. Ultimately, the story raises profound questions about love, regret, and the passage of time, leaving Ella and Eric pondering the mysteries of their shared history as they reflect on the choices that led them to their current lives. "The Cousins" invites readers to consider the nuances of relationships and the impact of formative experiences that linger long after they occur.
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The Cousins by Elizabeth Spencer
First published: 1985
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1950's and 1980's
Locale: Martinsville, Alabama, and Italy
Principal Characters:
Ella Mason , the narrator and protagonistEric Mason , her cousin, whom she lovedBen , another cousin, now a professorJamie , andMayfred , other cousinsDonald Bailey
The Story
Ella Mason, a twice married woman in her early fifties, recalls a European trip that she and four cousins made thirty years earlier. The five of them—Ella Mason, Eric, Ben, Jamie, and Mayfred—are members of the "three leading families" of Martinsville, Alabama, who were, the narrator confesses, somewhat "snobbish" about their social position in the small town. They are all descended from a famous Confederate general. Ella, whose mother was a Mason, has the same great-grandfather as Eric.
On a visit to New York, Ella Mason has lunch with her cousin Ben, who surprises her by remarking that he has always felt that in some way it is her fault that "we lost Eric"—an allusion to the fact that their cousin has lived for many years in Florence, Italy. Stunned, "as though the point of a cold dagger had reached a vital spot," Ella determines to return to Italy, which she has not visited in thirty years, to see Eric and solve the riddle of his exile.
In Florence, Ella is surprised to find her cousin aged and stooped, no longer the handsome young law student whom she loved thirty years before. After dinner at a restaurant, the cousins sit on the terrace outside Eric's apartment, reminiscing about their early years and the trip that they once made with their other cousins.
Full of optimism and joie de vivre shortly after World War II, the cousins are in many ways alike but also different, each in his or her own way. Ben, a graduate student, intensely devoted to literature and especially the work of Edgar Allan Poe, becomes a father figure to the group, while Eric, then twenty-five, has just completed final exams in law school. The young Jamie is hungry for experience, to see all the museums and churches and to gamble at the casinos. Mayfred, a beautiful distant cousin of the group, shows up in New York where they are to board the ship, accompanied by Donald Bailey, whom she has just secretly married. Ella, a college student at the University of Alabama and the narrator, is still treated as a younger sister by Ben and Eric during the trip.
The visit to England, Italy, and France draws them together into an even tighter bond than their youth has done, enlightening them to much they had been denied in their provincial world. Although most of their time is spent in Italy, they also journey to Monte Carlo so that Jamie can gamble in the casino, where he wins a considerable amount of money before Mayfred insists that he leave. Mayfred's husband Donald becomes ill and returns to America; shortly thereafter Mayfred receives word that he must have an operation, so she returns home as well, leaving a lovesick Jamie to grieve.
During the trip, Ella is attracted to both Ben and Eric but gradually her devotion focuses on Eric, and while the others are away in Rome, the two of them carry on a brief but passionate affair, which ends when Eric determines that they should rejoin their cousins. (Thirty years later Ella is still attempting to discover why things did not work out between them, attached as they were to each other.)
When the group must return to America, they are sad, for the trip has been, as Ella later recalls, a "Renaissance" for all of them. Subsequently their lives diverge into their own distinctive paths. Ella marries, has two sons, and, when her husband dies, marries again, then divorces. Ben marries a Connecticut heiress and becomes a professor. Jamie, much influenced by the Italian experience, converts to Roman Catholicism, marries a Catholic girl, and rears a large family. Mayfred, after divorcing Donald, becomes a New York fashion designer and marries several more times. Eric, having failed his law exams, moves to Italy where he remains, marries, and works for an export business. He, like Ella, is now widowed.
Thirty years after that eventful trip, Ella and Eric recall the events of the past and ponder their significance. Ella has come to Italy to discover what happened between her and Eric and why Eric has chosen to live as an expatriate, but she finds no simple answers to any of her complex questions. "You and I," Eric asks her as they sit in the darkness, looking out over Florence, "we never worked it out did we?" Her response is "I never knew if you really wanted to. I did, God knows." He replies that while she was always on the move, his life had become static after failing his law exams; he could move, "but not with much conviction," so he left her to lead her own life.
The story ends with them talking in the dark, knowing that "midnight struck long ago." Most of their lives are now behind them, and answers to the puzzles of those lives are not readily available.