After two pretty good stories in the “Office Wives” series, “The Bookkeeper’s Wife” and “Ardessa,” I was looking forward to this month’s story, “Her Boss.”
Too harsh?
After my first reading of “Her Boss,” I thought the story was subpar both in its content and execution. This story seemed as if Cather fell asleep while writing the first draft, dreamt she completed and revised the story, and then woke up the next day and mailed it to the publisher. Harsh, I know. I felt confident in my snark until I started flipping back through the story to write this post. Perhaps I was being too harsh.
Paul Wanning, a successful lawyer and wealthy man, arrives home before dinner just after he’s been informed by a specialist that he has a terminal illness. We find out he has no emotional connection with his wife, two daughters, and son. Everyone is busy doing their own thing. They brush off Wanning’s illness, as do his friends. The only person for whom he has a “homesick feeling in his heart” is Sam, a Black servant the family ‘has had’ for twelve years.
Later that evening it is Sam who expresses interest in Wanning’s health. The two men stand and talk for a half hour. Wanning’s easy relationship with his servant is supposed to make the reader view him as a down-to-earth man, a boss whose employee cares about him. Looking at their interaction through a 2024 lens, I imagine Sam as exhausted after a long day of work, standing there talking with his white employer out of duty. Maybe it is a little of both.
She knew her value
At work, Wanning’s law partners don’t think he does enough work, and his stenographer, Miss Doane, works strictly by the book: “she knew her value” and “was scrupulous in professional etiquette.” Paul feels that “their relations, though pleasant, were scarcely cordial” (128). Miss Doane wears the latest fashion and seems mature and elegant. She is contrasted with Annie Wooley, a copyist and younger woman who is a bit of a mess in comparison. Her gloves are between her teeth as she struggles to pull on her coat at the end of the day. I pictured Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping.
Wanning dictates a letter to Annie who is the only person to cry over his terminal diagnosis. He decided to write his autobiography which he dictates to Annie. As a result, the two spend a lot of time together. He even takes her to dinners and the theater. People start to talk. Miss Doane resigns in protest. Wanning talks with Annie’s mother to explain the situation, to assure her there is nothing inappropriate going on.
Not buckled
In the end, things do not go well for Annie. She is judged and loses her job. On the second reading of this story, it stuck out to me that Annie’s father died as a result of injuries sustained on the job. He lingered for four months before succumbing. The company would not help the family because he hadn’t been “buckled.” I take this to mean he did not have a safety harness on when he fell. Were they available and encouraged or were they not encouraged because they slowed down employee output? This situation harkens back to the story “Behind the Singer Tower,” where corrupt businessman Merryweather always manages to avoid responsibility for an employee’s injury or death at his construction sites.
Annie was also not buckled. After Wanning dies, she is fired. As a young woman of a certain “station,” she’s told she should have known better than to have dealings with her boss outside of the office. Wanning’s son denies his father’s request to leave Annie money. None of the men in Wanning’s world act honorably. The last scene with Annie’s family shows their clear understanding of the ways of the world. They are disappointed but will survive.
The name Paul Wanning is symbolic. Wanning is obvious, but I also couldn’t help but think of an earlier Cather character, Paul from “Paul’s Case.” Both Pauls have gentle temperaments, don’t fit in with the people around them, and are isolated. They are in pain. Whereas one is self-destructive, the other is self-involved, perhaps even selfish to the point of being vampiric. He does what he wants at Annie’s expense. He does not drain her like I believe Sabastian does to Lucy in Lucy Gayheart, but he has achieved immortality through his autobiography because of Annie’s loyalty.
My esteem for “Her Boss” has increased after a second reading and pondering the plot.
What do you think?
Am I being too hard on Wanning?
Works Cited
Cather, Willa. Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather’s Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929. University of Nebraska Press, 1973.
New to this blog? Learn more about the Willa Cather Short Story Project here. In a nutshell, we read one Cather short story a month. I remind everyone what story we’re reading on the second Wednesday of the month and then share a response on the fourth Wednesday. Jump in anytime!