Summary
In the chiaroscuro of post-war American anxiety, a penniless Ruth Marshall—her face a palimpsest of thrift-shop dreams and pawn-ticket despair—barters her body for solace on the auction block of high society, wedding Richard Janeway, a gin-sotted Fauntleroy whose tuxedo is as spotless as his conscience is stained. Their honeymoon train becomes a rolling bordello when Richard, aquavit on breath, rekindles embers with Lucia, a platinum ghost from his bacchanal past, while Ruth—virginal still in her wedding corsage—pretends the clatter of wheels is merely thunder. Months later, in a maternity ward bleached by ether and shame, Ruth pushes life into the world as Richard pushes himself into a confetti-soaked soirée; the infant’s first lullaby is the echo of his father’s departing laughter. Eviction follows like clockwork: midnight, rain lacquered like celluloid on the mansion steps, Richard’s hand a talon as he rips the child from Ruth’s milk-stained arms and promises custody to his mistress, a verdict spat with the casual cruelty of a man swatting a moth. What remains is a woman cornered by wallpaper roses that leer like judge and jury, a nursery stripped to splinters, and a question pulsing louder than her fractured ribs—how far can a soul bend before it breaks, and what blade lies hidden in the pleats of maternal instinct?
Synopsis
Ruth Marshall's dire financial situation forces her to marry Richard Janeway, a wealthy but drunken playboy who cheats on her. Not only that, but on their honeymoon he hooks up with Lucia, a former girlfriend. Ruth becomes pregnant, but on the night their child is born, Richard decides to attend a wild party; not long afterward he throws her out of their house, threatening to give their child to his mistress. Eventually, Richard's abuse becomes more than Ruth can stand. What will she do?
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