Week 4 - "Yours"

“Yours” is an extremely subtextual story - we are put in a position where we as readers have very little information about the private scenes we're eavesdropping on, and must read between the lines in order to understand the story. In particular, I wish to focus on the significance of the letter from Clark’s family.

One of the only pieces of information we are freely given about Clark and Allison’s relationship is the age difference.This seems a reasonable explanation for why Clark's family is so set against their relationship - they think that Clark is an ‘old fool’ for being with her. Initially I thought that the insinuation might be that they think Allison is a gold digger, who means to steal his money. However, the inclusion of the check makes me think that the letter was in response to a request by Clark to borrow money, implying that he is hardly wealthy. In addition, Allison’s illness has already been heavily hinted at -  this brings up the possibility that they might have needed the money for her treatments, which makes the inclusion of the false check an even crueler gesture.

The most crucial detail, however,  is the fact that when Allison finds the letter with the rest of the mail, it has already been opened. If Clark was the one who read the letter, it begs the question of why he would leave it where Allison would undoubtedly find it and read the terrible things his family had to say about her. There is significant tension in their dialogue that could suggest that it was a sign of doubt and aggression -  that Clark was starting to believe that he really is an old fool; however this seems out of line with his attitude as the story progresses. It could simply be a way of letting his wife know that they couldn't get the money, because he can't bear to say it himself, or, even more glumly, a sign of resignation - because if they know by now that Allison is terminal, they wouldn't need the money anyway.

However,  Allison finds the letter with the maid’s chore list, and the dinner she has prepared for Clark, making it a definite possibility that Clark hasn't seen the letter at all - that maid has read it and hidden it from him, perhaps to spare his heart, but left it for Allison to read, revealing a strange dynamic - though Allison is dying, she is still the one taking care of Clark, not the other way around.