Clarrisa's Keys
John Cheever's "The Chaste Clarissa" is a short story about a man named Baxter and his search for women while he is vacationing in the summer. As the story progresses, we begin to become aware of Baxter's intentions and realize his true nature. In the beginning of the story, Baxter is sitting on his car waiting for the ferry when Mrs. Ryan recognizes Baxter and comes to talk to him. As she is talking to Baxter, she introduces her son's wife, Clarissa. As Baxter looks at Clarissa, we get a small glimpse into his nature as he describes her as, "Red-headed, deep-breasted, slender, and indolent." (Cheever, 1952, pg. 121) The next hint we get as to what type of man Baxter is when he says he has to be careful when trying to get information about Clarissa. We learn that, "his two divorces, his promiscuity, his stinginess, and his Latin complexion had left with his neighbors a vague feeling that he was unsavory." (Cheever, 1952, pg. 122) In his search for information about Clarissa, Baxter only found out when Clarissa was married and that people said she was beautiful and stupid. Baxter starts to make Clarissa an obsession to him when we find out he goes out of his way to look for her. Cheever (1952, pg. 122) says that Ba
Ryan interrupted them and dragged Baxter into a long and boring conversation. Baxter took advantage of this to get Clarissa to sleep with him, and as Cheever (1952, pg 128) put it, "It was as simple as that. 128) Baxter's shallow nature is exemplified many times throughout the story. 128) Then Clarissa rambled on telling Baxter her opinions, some of which did not make very much sense. 127) This simple compliment brought Clarissa to tears as she said, "I can't be intelligent. Throughout the story, Baxter tries to figure out how he can get to his prey, Clarissa. 124) Baxter brought Clarissa home, and as they were sitting there in the parked car Baxter thought there was hope for him when Clarissa said, "I was having an awful time and you saved my life" (Cheever, 1952, pg. 123) Before Clarissa could give Baxter a definite answer, Mrs. Since Clarissa was not like most other women, Baxter saw Clarissa only as a challenge for the summer. I've often felt that you must have a lot of very interesting opinions. Ryan was leaving, so he could know when he could make his move on Clarissa.
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