How One Woman Kept her Husband

Name: How One Woman Kept her Husband
Author: Helen Hunt Jackson

The novel revolves around a woman's efforts to maintain her marriage despite her husband's infidelity and lack of emotional support. She employs various strategies to keep him from leaving, including manipulation and deception. The story explores themes of love, loyalty, and the societal pressures placed on women during this time period.

By Helen Hunt Jackson · First published 1882 · Genre: Domestic Fiction, Romance, Drama · 13,271 words

First lines

Why my sister married John Gray, I never could understand. I was twenty-two and she was eighteen when the marriage took place. They had known each other just one year. He had been passionately in love with her from the first day of their meeting. She had come more slowly to loving him: but love him she did, with a love of such depth and fervor as are rarely seen. He was her equal in nothing except position and wealth. He had a singular mixture of faults of opposite temperaments. He had the reticent, dreamy, procrastinating inertia of the bilious melancholic man, side by side with the impressionable sensuousness, the sensitiveness and sentimentalism of the most sanguine-nervous type. There is great charm in such a combination, especially to persons of a keen, alert nature. My sister was earnest, wise, resolute. John Gray was nonchalant, shrewd, vacillating. My sister was exact, methodical, ready. John Gray was careless, spasmodic, dilatory. My sister had affection. He had tenderness.

What this Textopian page supports

How One Woman Kept her Husband is listed on Textopian as a novel by Helen Hunt Jackson, dated 1882 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novel
Author: Helen Hunt Jackson
Date: 1882 CE
Language: English
Genres: Domestic Fiction, Romance, Drama, Psychological Fiction, Social Commentary
Length: 13,271 words
Structure: 1 section, 154 paragraphs
Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)

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Discussion starters

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Similar titles

Genres

Domestic Fiction — The narrative focuses on the intricacies of family life, marriage, and personal relationships, exploring the dynamics between a husband and wife.
Romance — Central to the story is the theme of love and emotional bonds, particularly the romantic relationship between the main characters and the challenges they face.
Drama — The plot is driven by emotional conflicts, personal struggles, and the dramatic tension arising from the characters' interactions and decisions.
Psychological Fiction — The story delves into the psychological aspects of the characters, examining their inner thoughts, motivations, and emotional states.