The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell
"The Folded Leaf" is a novel by William Maxwell that explores the complex friendship between two adolescents, Lymie Peters and Spud Latham. The story is set against the backdrop of their high school and college years, beginning with Lymie's difficult home life, marked by the loss of his mother and his father's struggles with alcohol. In contrast, Spud enjoys a warm and stable family life, which draws Lymie into their home. Their relationship deepens as they navigate adolescence, college, and personal challenges, including romantic interests and social pressures.
As they attend university together, their friendship faces tests of jealousy and identity, leading to moments of crisis for both characters. Lymie's feelings of inadequacy and Spud's insecurities manifest in troubling ways, culminating in a suicide attempt by Lymie. However, their bond is ultimately strengthened through shared experiences and a deeper understanding of each other. The novel is noted for its psychological depth and realism, capturing the essence of youthful friendships and the tumultuous journey toward maturity. Maxwell's nuanced portrayal of Lymie and Spud's relationship sets "The Folded Leaf" apart in the canon of college literature.
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Subject Terms
The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell
First published: 1945
Type of work: Moral tale
Themes: Coming-of-age, friendship, sexual issues, and suicide
Time of work: 1923-1929
Recommended Ages: 15-18
Locale: Chicago and a university in Illinois
Principal Characters:
Lymie Peters , a sensitive intellectual who idolizes SpudSpud Latham , a handsome athlete whose affection for Lymie is largely a mystery to himselfSally Forbes , a professor’s daughter who is Spud’s girl but also a close friend of LymieArmstrong , a campus politician who gets Spud to join a fraternityDick Reinhart , an older student who has seen much of lifeMr. Peters , Lymie’s father, who has difficulty holding a job
The Story
The Folded Leaf is an unusually perceptive treatment of the friendship that can develop between adolescents. Lymie Peters, whose mother is dead and whose father drinks too much and eats with Lymie in cheap restaurants, is attracted to the warm home life of Spud Latham. He often eats dinner with the Lathams and becomes part of the family. His main attraction, however, is to Spud, who is everything he is not. Lymie and Spud also join a club formed by their high school friends, which throws them together even more. Lymie is fascinated by Spud, and Spud comes to depend on Lymie, partly because he is always there.
In the fall of 1927, they both go to the university. They live together at a rooming house run by the eccentric Mr. Dehner, who has an antique shop on the first floor. The rooming house is noisy, dirty, and cold, but the boys can afford no better. Spud takes up with Sally Forbes, whose father is a professor of religion. Lymie briefly dates Hope Davison but then develops a close friendship with Sally. The main thing they talk about is Spud.
Spud thinks Sally would like him better if he joined a fraternity, but membership costs a hundred dollars, which he does not have. Lymie secretly lends the money to Spud through Dick Reinhart so that Spud can join the fraternity, which wants him because of his athletic ability. Lymie is morose after Spud leaves the rooming house, but he would do anything for him, even if that meant the end of their friendship. Spud is uncomfortable at the fraternity house, however, and one night wordlessly comes back to Lymie.
During their sophomore year, Spud goes to Chicago to fight in the Golden Gloves. He is quickly eliminated, which is a relief to Lymie, Sally, Spud’s mother, and his sister Helen. As spring approaches, Spud gets involved in a student riot and is lucky not to be disciplined by the dean. He becomes increasingly jealous of Lymie and Sally, who spend much of their time together analyzing the changes in Spud, while Lymie grows jealous of Spud and Sally.
Lymie tries to commit suicide by swallowing iodine but throws it up. Then he slashes his wrists and throat, but he is discovered and rushed to the infirmary. His father comes from Chicago to his bedside and grows to understand Lymie better. Yet it is Spud who is the important visitor.
Neither he nor Lymie spoke. They looked at each other with complete knowledge at last, with full awareness of what they meant to each other and of all that had ever passed between them. After a moment Spud leaned forward slowly and kissed Lymie on the mouth. He had never done this before and he was never moved to do it again.
Later, Sally visits Lymie and it is settled that he will convalesce at the Forbes’. The three of them are reconciled, and their friendship is established on a wholesome understanding.
Context
The Folded Leaf is William Maxwell’s best-known work. Maxwell, for many years an editor of The New Yorker, is best known for his shapely and sensitive short stories, although he has written eight novels, a memoir about growing up in Lincoln, Illinois, and many reviews. All of his work displays the urbanity and craftsmanship associated with The New Yorker. His stories and novels always lead to the quiet revelations that make up wisdom.
Edmund Wilson, writing in praise of The Folded Leaf, calls the novel “social realism” and suggests a similarity to Stephen Crane’s Whilomville Stories (1900). Maxwell’s work is in the realist vein, but it is more private and psychological than social in its concern. The Folded Leaf is also one of many novels of its period that treat college life. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise (1920) and Thomas Wolfe’s The Web and the Rock (1939) are examples. Like those novels, The Folded Leaf presents few classroom scenes; teachers are more notable for their eccentricities than their knowledge, and real education takes place in the dormitory. What is more remarkable in Maxwell’s novel is the insight and delicacy of his presentation of the relationship between Lymie and Spud. Few other novels about college life are quite so successful in this respect.