The Path of Happiness

Summary

Deep within the arboreal sanctuary of northern New York, Joan exists as a feral nymph, an untamed extension of the wilderness she inhabits alongside her father and their ward, Grekko. The latter, a man physically fractured by a bear trap and emotionally calcified by years of isolation, assumes the mantle of protector when Joan’s father passes into the ether. This fragile, sylvan equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of Merrill Day, a Manhattan broker whose spirit has been hollowed out by the relentless machinery of urban industry. Seeking a 'rest cure' amidst the hemlocks, Merrill brings with him the baggage of civilization, including his widowed sister and a young niece. A chance encounter over a discarded doll—a plastic totem of the world Joan has never known—sparks a volatile chemistry between the sophisticated interloper and the unlettered girl. As Merrill attempts to 'civilize' Joan through the medium of a child’s primer, Grekko’s protective instinct curdles into a murderous, possessive rage. The narrative spirals toward a melodramatic crescendo where mistaken identities and deep-seated insecurities culminate in a botched assassination attempt, leading to a sacrificial wounding that ultimately purges the forest of its lingering shadows and paves a path toward a hard-won, domestic enlightenment.

Synopsis

Joan, a child of Nature, resides with her father and Grekko in the woods of northern New York. Grekko has been living with Joan and her father ever since they rescued him years ago from a bear trap in which he was caught; he is crippled. Joan's father dies and Grekko vows to look after the young girl, who knows nothing of the outside world. Merrill Day is advised by his physician to seek the quiet of a secluded country place to recuperate his health which has been shattered by overwork. Fate ordains that he pick out that part of New York where Joan lives, and he arrives there with his widowed sister Doris Ingraham and her little daughter Barbara. Roaming through the woods one day he comes upon Joan giving vent to her grief over her father's death and tries to cheer her up, but unaccustomed to the sight of man, she darts away. Several days later, Joan is rambling through the woods when she comes upon the big doll Barbara forgot by the roadside when she went in search of her nurse who had wandered a short distance away. Fascinated by the plaything she takes it away with her. The loss of the doll is discovered, and Merrill goes to hunt for it. Near the spot where Barbara said she left it, Merrill finds a rag garter. He recognizes it as belonging to Joan and goes to her cabin. He demands the toy, but Joan refuses to give it up. Grekko intervenes in behalf of his ward, and Merrill finally consents to let Joan keep the doll. He learns that she is untutored and begins to teach her to read from the primer which Barbara brought along with her. Grekko meanwhile has been harboring a hatred for Merrill; he assumes that the latter's intentions are not good. His animosity comes to white heat one day when Merrill calls upon Joan. She is in swimming. Merrill refuses to obey the demands of Grekko to keep away from Joan and is attacked. By an artifice Merrill succeeds in overpowering Grekko and then goes in search of Joan. Months later Joan and Merrill are madly in love with each other. But when Grekko sees Merrill caressing his sister he informs Joan, who scathingly denounces the broker. By a prearranged plan with Grekko he is to fire and kill the broker when Joan is in his arms. When Joan finishes upbraiding Merrill he tells her that the other woman is his sister, and that he is in love with no other girl but Joan. Overcome with love for the man she throws herself into his arms, and it is then that she realizes what will happen to him. In order to spare his life she places herself in such a position that she receives the bullet. Grekko sees the enormity of his crime and tries to make amends, but is driven away by Merrill. Believing that he has killed Joan, Grekko leaves the country. But she received a slight wound only, and when Joan regains consciousness, the lovers come to a perfect understanding and the renewal of their love.