Summary
“The Oldest Law” unfurls a poignant narrative of economic precarity and unexpected fortune, centered on Jennie Cox, a young woman abruptly severed from her pastoral Maine existence by paternal demise. Thrust into the bustling, unforgiving crucible of New York, her initial solace is the scholarly Professor Rolfe, whose benevolent intervention secures a typing post. Yet, this fragile stability crumbles under the dual onslaught of a colleague's insidious machinations and Rolfe's untimely passing, leaving Jennie adrift in a sea of destitution. With a final, defiant gesture of spending her last few dollars on a lavish meal at the elegant Claridge, fate intervenes in the guise of Billy West, a man entangled in divorce proceedings. What begins as a seemingly mundane offer of employment as a housekeeper soon reveals Billy's compulsive gambling habit. The narrative escalates when Billy's casual losses transmute into a crippling $12,000 debt to the unscrupulous Henry Walker. In a surprising display of solidarity, both Jennie and Billy's estranged wife, Cora, rally to his aid. Following Cora's decisive financial intervention, Billy, amidst the lingering tension and the sudden clarity of crisis, turns to Jennie, proposing a union that transcends their employer-employee dynamic, hinting at a new foundation built on shared adversity and emergent affection.
Synopsis
Following the death of her father, a Maine trapper, Jennie Cox moves to New York to earn her living. She is aided by a close friend, Professor Rolfe, who secures a typing position for her, but just as she loses the job through the schemes of a jealous co-worker, Rolfe dies, and Jennie is left alone and nearly penniless. With her last three dollars, she decides to have a good meal at the elegant Claridge, and there she meets Billy West, a wealthy man who is in the process of obtaining a divorce. Billy offers Jennie a job as his housekeeper, and soon she learns that he is an avid gambler. Billy is accustomed to losing moderate amounts of money, but when Henry Walker fleeces him out of $12,000, both Jennie and Billy's ex-wife Cora come to his rescue. After Cora hands him the money and departs, Billy proposes to his housekeeper.
