Kay Boyle’s “The Astronomer’s Wife” is the story about Mrs. Ames, the wife of an astronomer who feels her marriage has lost life while her husband is caught in the stars and above. While cleaning and keeping herself busy around the house, a tenacious and muscular plumber visits to fix the flooding inside one of the rooms. Mrs. Ames’ color and youthfulness coming back into her eyes while gazing at the plumber is caught in a bind and causes her to wonder whether she should stay grounded or follow her husband in the stars. Using a round, dynamic character and an internal conflict, the central idea of the story is that when in marriage, one can lose themselves and find what makes them happy in unexpected situations.
The type of conflict in Boyle’s story is an internal conflict. Mrs. Ames catches herself in an uprising decision, but knows what will truly make her feel like herself once again. Kay Boyle tells the reader through the repetitive Mrs. Ames …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, Katherine Ames feels that she has no purpose or worth in marriage with the astronomer, she feels as if it’s a routine, “drawn taut in rhythmic exercise: left, left, left my wife and fourteen children, right, right, right in the middle of the dusty road” (270). Upon arrival of the plumber, Katherine Ames describes the plumber with great description, “his flesh was as firm and clean as wood, stained richly tan with the climate’s rigor” (273), the plumber tells the reader that he is a man our protagonist has never encountered, someone who has changed her. Mrs. Ames is soon encountered with a conflict, either to stay above or go down; she makes a choice, then “she took his arm, knowing that what he said was true” (275), the plumber proceeds to help her down to join him. Katherine Ames gets into an unexpected situation but makes the decision in which can make her happy in the long