The Suitor by Larry Woiwode
"The Suitor" by Larry Woiwode is a novel set in rural North Dakota that explores themes of love, family tension, and cultural differences through the story of Martin Neumiller and Alpha Jones. On New Year's Eve, Martin, who is deeply in love with Alpha, visits her home to propose marriage amidst a fierce winter storm. While Alpha accepts his proposal, Martin becomes anxious about how her parents perceive him, particularly due to the religious divide between their families—Martin's devout Catholic background contrasts sharply with Alpha's Lutheran upbringing.
As the night progresses, Martin's fears and insecurities are further complicated by his interactions with Alpha's father, Ed Jones, who grapples with his own struggles as a farmer and a father. Ed's unconventional demeanor and alcohol use create an uncomfortable atmosphere, juxtaposed with Martin's piety and concerns about familial acceptance. Despite the tension, Ed ultimately reassures Martin about their future, leading to a poignant conclusion where Ed questions his own beliefs in a moment of vulnerability. The novel presents a rich exploration of personal and familial conflict against the backdrop of rural life, inviting readers to consider the complexities of love and identity across differing values and traditions.
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The Suitor by Larry Woiwode
First published: 1969
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: 1939
Locale: North Dakota
Principal Characters:
Martin Neumiller , a young Catholic manAlpha Jones , his intended brideCharles Neumiller , his fatherEd Jones , Alpha's father
The Story
The Neumiller and Jones families live on neighboring farms in rural North Dakota. Martin Neumiller, in love with Alpha Jones, visits her parents' home on New Year's Eve to propose marriage. A fierce winter storm kicks up, the wind howls, the temperature drops below zero, and snow piles up to the axle hubs on Martin's Model A Ford. Alpha Jones accepts her suitor's proposal, but Martin is still uneasy about what her parents think of him. Because of the bad weather, Alpha's mother reluctantly agrees to let Martin sleep overnight on the sofa. Martin's anxiety over Alpha's parents confuses him, causing him to doubt whether Alpha has actually accepted his marriage offer. As he drops off to sleep, he thinks about what has happened that day.
Martin says prayers before going to sleep: Hail Marys, a decade of the rosary, the Our Father, and an Act of Contrition. The Neumillers are a devout Roman Catholic family—which may explain why Martin's and Alpha's parents have never been in each others' houses although they live only five miles apart. Martin's mother thinks Alpha's father, Ed, is a devil and an insane atheist. Martin's parents have often seen Ed Jones walking along the railroad tracks into town, his gray hair wildly flying in the wind and his eyes full of devious animal energy as he sings obscene songs and disrupts the quiet countryside.
Ed walks into town because he does not have a car and does not want to wear out his horses just so he can go out and get drunk. Ed has told Charles that getting drunk is his only release; Ed says he is killing himself trying to rid his farm of the quack grass that is choking the wheat crop. He has tried cutting, burning, and digging, but nothing seems to help. Ed feels he was duped after buying the old Hollingsworth farm and discovering its poor soil. The farm has been put under the plow for only ten years and needs more work to make it productive. Drinking is Ed's way of running away from his problems on the farm—the impending loss of his daughter, a difficult relationship with his wife, the lack of sons to help him, and his inability to fight quack grass. After hearing this, Charles tells his family nothing is wrong with Ed Jones. Martin's mother disagrees and tells Charles and Martin to stay away from Ed because they will be judged by the company they keep.
Alpha's mother was raised in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, known for its strict observance of ritual. She believes that every Catholic is up to no good. Ed Jones seems outwardly nonreligious and more open to Martin's courtship of Alpha. Ed claps Martin on the shoulder during his visits and calls him "boy." Outside the house, Ed discusses politics, government, horses, and his low opinion of mechanized farming. Ed thinks horses can do all farmwork and is proud of his team; he even worries over the condition of the barn where the horses sleep. Inside the Joneses' home, however, Ed is taciturn and silent.
Ed echoed his wife's anti-Catholic feelings once as Martin listened in the next room. Ed may have been getting drunk with one of his friends when he yelled that Catholics were sanctimonious and hypocritical. Ed has warned Alpha against marriage to a Catholic, because the union would create many children. Alpha has told Martin that her father's angry remarks do not mean anything.
When Martin wakes up the morning after the storm, Ed is stomping around the house; Ed has been awake since 4 a.m. fixing a rattling windmill and sheltering the livestock. Ed has awakened Martin so he can help him pull his car out of a snowdrift. Ed irritates Martin because he turns Martin out before he has a chance to say good-bye to Alpha and confirm her acceptance of his proposal. Ed protests that Martin moves too slowly and the day is getting on.
Martin dresses and goes outside with Ed. It is still nearly dark, despite Ed's frenzied call to arms. Martin's fingertip becomes frozen to a metal buckle on his overshoes as he tries to put them on, further angering him. Martin decides now is the time to speak to Ed about his desire to marry Alpha.
Ed stops Martin short, saying he already knows about Martin's plans to marry. Alpha stayed up all night because of her excitement and told her family. The reason Ed has roused Martin so early, which was not obvious to the suitor, was to get Martin to church on time. Ed assures Martin that their marriage will work out, despite the two families' differences. Ironically, it is Ed, not his churchgoing wife, who remembers it is the Sabbath. The story ends with the apparently atheistic, possibly alcoholic father asking the pious Martin, "Do you think I might be Christian?"
Bibliography
Connaughton, Michael E. "Larry Woiwode." In American Novelists Since World War II, edited by James E. Kibler, Jr. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980.
Dickson, Morris. "Flight into Symbolism." The New Republic 160 (May 3, 1969): 28.
Gardner, John. Review of Beyond the Bedroom Wall, by Larry Woiwode. The New York Times Book Review 125 (September 28, 1975): 1-2.
Gasque, W. Ward. Review of Acts, by Larry Woiwode. Christianity Today, March 7, 1994, 38.
Marx, Paul. "Larry (Alfred) Woiwode." In Contemporary Novelists, edited by James Vinson. 3d ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982.
O'Hara, Barbara. Review of What I Think I Did, by Larry Woiwode. Library Journal, June 1, 2000, 128.
Pesetsky, Bette. Review of Born Brothers, by Larry Woiwode. The New York Times Book Review 93 (August 4, 1988): 13-14.
Prescott, Peter S. "Home Truths." Newsweek 86 (September 29, 1975): 85-86.
Woiwode, Larry. "An Interview with Larry Woiwode." Christianity and Literature 29 (1979): 11-18.
Woiwode, Larry. "An Interview with Larry Woiwode." Interview by Ed Block, Jr. Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 44, no. 1 (Fall, 1991): 17-30.
Woiwode, Larry. "Interview with Woiwode." Interview by Shirley Nelson. The Christian Century, January 25, 1995, 82.
Woiwode, Larry. "Where the Buffalo Roam: An Interview with Larry Woiwode." Interview by Rick Watson. North Dakota Quarterly 63, no. 4 (Fall, 1996): 154-166.