In Greenwich There Are Many Gravelled Walks by Hortense Calisher
"In Greenwich There Are Many Gravelled Walks" by Hortense Calisher centers around Peter Birge, who returns to Greenwich Village after visiting his mother, Anne, at a sanatorium. The narrative explores Peter's upbringing, shaped by the loss of his father and the unconventional lifestyle his mother embraces, which often puts them at odds with their more traditional relatives. This background instills in Peter a sense of skepticism and alienation from the optimism of his peers. Upon returning, he seeks the company of Robert Vielum, an enigmatic older man who offers a contrasting perspective on life and creativity. The story unfolds as Peter navigates complex relationships involving Robert's current renters, including the tensions with Vince and the arrival of Robert's daughter, Susan, who is caught in her own familial turmoil. As the plot deepens, the themes of alienation, the search for belonging, and the chaotic nature of human connections emerge, culminating in a tragic event that reshapes the characters' lives. The narrative delves into the intricacies of personal and social dynamics within a vibrant yet tumultuous Greenwich Village setting.
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In Greenwich There Are Many Gravelled Walks by Hortense Calisher
First published: 1951
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: About 1950
Locale: New York City
Principal Characters:
Peter Birge , the protagonist, a twenty-three-year-old journalism studentAnne , his motherRobert Vielum , Peter's older friend, a "perennial taker of courses"Susan , Robert's twenty-year-old daughterVince , Robert's current young roomerMario Osti , Robert's new young friend, an Italian painter
The Story
As the story opens, Peter Birge has just returned from Greenwich, where he left his mother, Anne, at a sanatorium. Peter's father, a Swedish engineer, died when Peter was eight, but his patents have provided income for Peter and Anne ever since. When not in sanatoriums, Anne has maintained an apartment for herself and her son in Greenwich Village, to the consternation of their more conservative, suburbanite relatives. This unconventional upbringing taught Peter early the limitations of life's promises for many and inevitably alienated him from the optimism common to his age group. Not surprisingly, therefore, the friend he seeks out on his return to town is an older man, Robert Vielum.
Robert, who in many ways is a mystery to Peter but in whose apartment Peter and other young students have found "a heartening jangle of conversation and music," takes courses but avoids degrees and has no known source of income beyond the money that he earns renting the extra bedroom in his apartment to a series of young male students. Peter's arrival discovers Robert entertaining a new young man, an Italian painter named Mario Osti, much to the dismay of his current renter, Vince. Vince is further upset, Peter learns, because Robert is expecting a visit from his daughter Susan and has offered her Vince's room for the remainder of the summer while Robert and Mario vacation in Rome. Robert had been planning a trip to Morocco with Vince before Mario and Susan entered the picture.
Vince's dismay threatens to become violence just as the doorbell rings. As Vince retreats to his bedroom, Robert ushers in Susan, who is caught between camp and home while her mother and stepfather are finishing divorce arrangements. Susan's mother apparently "marries" for a living; the current stepfather is Susan's third. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience," she assures her father, "with a polite terror which suggested she might often have been one."
With the cast now complete, the real action begins: Vince leaps from the bedroom window to his death. After the confusion of police and ambulances, Robert exits to the police station, and Peter escorts Susan to a restaurant before inviting her to use his mother's room if she has nowhere else to stay. After checking her stepfather's home and finding it bolted against her, she accepts his offer. "It was a nice room I had there. Nicest one I ever did have, really," she remembers. Then she admits that she really does not care about "my parents, or any of the people they tangle with," although she wishes that she could. As they drive to his apartment, Peter thinks about taking her for a drive the next day—to Greenwich.