His Brother's Wife

Summary

In the chiaroscuro of early-1910s melodrama, a Manhattan mansion glows with gaslit opulence while, two floors below, a dismissed bookkeeper clenches a sulphur match like Judas’s silver coin. Harley Knoles’s His Brother’s Wife charts the fall of Richard Barton—industrial colossus turned consumptive exile—whose lungs fill with smoke as surely as his marriage fills with arsenic. Into the ash-strewn vacuum arrives Howard, the prodigal sibling, bronzed by Australian sun and nouveau-riche swagger, unknowingly carrying the erased ledger of his brother’s ruin. Helen, the stoic wife, trades her diamond clasps for morphine vials, then—cornered by hunger—barters her body on a velvet settee, sealing a Faustian pact that will later echo from Broadway boards to snow-mantled sanatoria. The film becomes a palimpsest: each reel a translucent skin beneath which earlier sins bleed through, until the final curtain lifts to reveal a child’s outstretched arms—small, luminous, terrible in their power to absolve.

Synopsis

Richard Barton, a prosperous manufacturer, has an accomplished wife, Helen, and Bess, a child of five. Richard has in his employ a man addicted to gambling. After repeated warnings, he discharges him, fearing that some day he may have a losing streak and take some of the firm's money. Being of a moody, vindictive turn of mind, he vows revenge. The same evening the Bartons are giving a party and it is arranged that Mrs. Barton will recite for her guests. Charles Burham, a theatrical manager, is present and, charmed with her elocution, tells her there is always a position waiting for her should she ever desire to go on the stage. The party is abruptly ended when Richard receives the news that his plant is on fire, having been set by the discharged employee. Richard assists the firemen, gets drenched and catches a severe cold, which turns to tuberculosis. The litigation over the insurance of the plant has forced the little family to hard circumstances and they are compelled to seek cheaper quarters in which to live. During all this time, Howard Barton, a wild young brother of Richard's, who has been seeking his fortune in Australia, has at last achieved success, and decides to return to New York. He has written Richard at the plant, but when he arrives there, finds the place in ruins. He tries in vain to locate his brother's present whereabouts. Richard is discouraged, and during this strenuous time, his wife is like a guiding star, taking discomforts cheerfully and giving him the loving care, tender sympathy and moral support that only a good woman can give. He, however, has not much moral stamina, and adversity breeds peevishness and irritability. After a time they are so impoverished she has to pawn her jewelry. While in the pawn shop one day, she meets a stranger, who is greatly impressed by her beauty, and listening to her pitiable tale, tells her that if she will but let him entertain her that evening, she will not have to want in the future. Helen rebukes him, but not until he has given her his name and address. When she finds later that she cannot raise any more money and must have money to buy medicine, she dresses up for the sacrifice, and goes to Howard's apartment. A few days later, Howard's letter reaches Richard, who sends for his brother. Both brothers are happy at seeing each other, but when Richard introduces his wife, Howard recognizes her and she meets his brother's wife as well as the visitor to his apartment. Howard arranges for the little family to go into the mountains. He sees them off and makes all sorts of excuses for remaining away, until Richard insists that he come, as he has been injured while out sleighing. The presence of Howard is a trying ordeal for Helen as well as himself. Being unable to quell his passions, he resolves to leave for Australia, but while talking about the past, Richard steps into the room and hears the terrible truth. Angry, he turns his wife from the house. She goes to Burnham and obtains a position on the stage, at the same time caring for her child. She is cast in a play very similar to that in which she has figured in real life. Richard and Howard, now both in New York city, are present at the first night. When he sees Madame Bondorti on the stage, Richard is by her resemblance to his own wife, but when he hears her speak, he is sure it is her. A few days later, after Richard learns the great depths of the sacrifice his wife made for him, he realizes how he had been unjust to her, and through Howard's efforts, they are brought together through the pleadings of their child, Bess, who has been in an orphanage during these years of estrangement. After the loving union of the three, Howard leaves for Australia, never to return.