A Wife on Trial
Summary
A tapestry woven from obligation and nascent affection, "A Wife on Trial" unfurls around Phyllis Narcissa, a children's librarian whose meager existence is upended by an invitation into the gilded cage of the de Guenther household. There, an ailing Mrs. de Guenther, observing Phyllis's inherent kindness, orchestrates a peculiar proposition: a marital alliance with the scion of a dying socialite, Mrs. Harrington. This arrangement, a Faustian bargain of wealth for care, binds Phyllis to Allan, a once-vibrant man now immured in a wheelchair, his spirit as crippled as his body. Phyllis's arduous attempts to rekindle Allan's will to live are met with profound despondency, until the presence of a visiting physician, a friend of Allan's, introduces the radical notion of psychosomatic paralysis. The doctor's easy camaraderie and a shared game of tennis, revealing a spark of joy in Phyllis, inadvertently provoke Allan's jealousy and a demand for annulment, a desperate act of self-preservation or perhaps a nascent self-awareness. Yet, fate intervenes with a nocturnal intrusion; a burglar's violent assault on Phyllis shatters Allan's inertia. In a surge of primal protectiveness, he transcends his physical bonds, tackling the assailant, a dramatic liberation mirroring the unchaining of his heart. From the crucible of crisis, Allan emerges, not only physically healed but emotionally unburdened, finally articulating a profound love for the woman who, by trial and tribulation, became his true liberator.
Synopsis
Underpaid children's librarian Phyllis Narcissa, happily accepts a dinner invitation from Horace de Guenther, one of her patrons, and happily entertains his invalid wife. Later, Mrs. de Guenther encourages Phyllis to meet with Mrs. Harrington, a dying rich woman whose son Allan, once a vigorous young man, was paralyzed in an auto accident. When Mrs. Harrington proposes to the librarian that she marry and take care of Allan in exchange for his wealth, Phyllis reluctantly consents. While struggling to cheer up the eternally downcast Allan, Phyllis welcomes the visits of his friend, a doctor who informs her that her husband's paralysis may be psychosomatic. After Allan witnesses the joy that playing tennis with the doctor brings Phyllis, he insists that the marriage be annulled. That night, however, a burglar breaks into the house and begins to attack Phyllis. In a panic, Allan leaps from his bed and tackles the intruder. Liberated from his wheelchair, Allan finally admits his love for Phyllis.
