Summary
In the cynical landscape of 1920s marital politics, For Alimony Only presents a world where love is a secondary concern to the cold, hard math of divorce. Peter Williams, desperate to escape a volatile six-month marriage to the calculating Narcissa, makes the tactical error of promising her a financial settlement far beyond his means. His subsequent marriage to the earnest Mary Martin offers a brief respite of genuine affection, but the shadow of his debt looms large when his business ventures falter. As Peter stops paying, the narrative transforms into a sharp-edged social satire. Narcissa, who has been using the alimony to bankroll the lifestyle of a 'sofa-hound' named Bertie, becomes a vengeful creditor. The story reaches a fever pitch when Mary, forced to work as an interior decorator to support her struggling husband, unknowingly enters Narcissa's home. The resulting confusion leads to a high-stakes confrontation at a local roadhouse, where the characters' fates are decided not by romantic resolution, but by a clever legal trap that turns the concept of alimony back on its head.
Synopsis
A stormy marriage of six months between Narcissa and Peter Williams ends in a bitter quarrel, and to gain his freedom Peter offers her more alimony than he can afford. Then he meets Mary Martin, who restores his faith in marriage. With business reverses, Peter falls behind in his alimony payments and neglects his new wife. Narcissa, however, manages to support Bertie Waring, a young sofa-hound; but she protests the delayed alimony and Mary is forced to take a job with an interior decorating establishment. Peter goes to Narcissa to appeal to her generosity, at the moment when Mary (unaware of Narcissa's identity as her husband's first wife) is working in Narcissa's apartment; seeing them together, Mary leaves in humiliation and accepts an invitation from Bertie. Determined to take revenge on the woman who has "stolen her sweetheart," Narcissa follows the couple to a roadhouse; Peter arrives, and during a police raid Mary suggests that Narcissa is engaged to Bertie. Rather than face jail, they get married, thus cutting off their means of support--alimony.
