Peter Kahn’s third wife James Lasdun

Author

Lasdun was born in Hammersmith, London. He has published four collections of short stories. He has taught
creative writing at Princeton, NYU, and the New York State Writers’ institute, the New School, Columbia
University and Bennington College.

Plot

The story took place in a jeweller’s boutique where Clare, working as a sale assistant, modelled a necklace for a
costumer called Peter Kahn. At this first time, Peter was buying a present for his first fiancé. Over the next couple
of years, Peter reappeared in the boutique several times to buy his wife anniversary and birthday gifts. Clare
modelled the pieces of jewellery for him. She experienced a peculiar soothing effect. She found calm under his
gaze.

Two years later, Peter arrived at the boutique looking for a wedding gift for his second fiancé. A few months later,
Peter arrived at the boutique with his third fiancée, Diana. They were looking for an engagement ring. But they
saw a beautiful necklace so Peter asked Clare to model it although he was with his fiancé. As the three of them sat
watching each other Clare felt that no one on the earth was more remote from her than Peter. But even as she
was feeling this, she allowed herself to glance at him for a moment, and at once, she felt the old ease, the
sensation of effortless compatibility.

She stopped working at the store soon after that. Neil, her husband, was eager to have a child and she pretended
to want one too while privately taking care not to get pregnant.

One evening they were having dinner with two Friends who had subscribed to Kahn’s catalogue of wines. Clare
asked them about Peter and they told her that he jilted Diane at the altar and that he sold his business. Then he
moved up to the Fingerlakes looking to buy some winery of his own. She showed herself very interested in him,
that’s why Neil asked her about her intentions as soon as they arrived at their house.

Neil asked her if she had had an affair with him and although her answer was negative hit her on her mouth. At
that moment, Claire saw him and confessed that she had had an affair with him. Immediately, he beat her on the
cheek and then he hit her stomach, she doubled up, covering her face with her hands. By the time, she heard the
front door opened. She was in that glazed world again. She saw herself in the cam greenness of a summer
afternoon, Kahn’s gaze opening on her like the sun itself as she approached. In that moment, she uncovered her
face and she pronounced “The Fingerlakes”

Characters

Clare: a young sales assistant at jeweller’s boutique. She would model the pieces her customers were interested
in.

Peter Kahn: a customer of the boutique who was in business as an importer of wines. He was in his thirties, dark
and heavyset. He was brown curled hair. He is handsome, and during the story he had three fiancés

Neil: Clare’s husband. He was an airline industry analyst. He was twelve years older than Clare. Soon after their
marriage, Neil started to be dangerously jealous. Occasionally, he hit her because of his jealousy. He is the
antagonist.

Themes

Jealousy: jealousy had surfaced soon after their marriage, and now lived with them like a third person whose
volatile behaviour had to be carefully negotiated.

Desire: Clare was in despair. She desired to be one of Peter’s fiancé. She was so interested in him; she usually
talked about him all the time when she was around people
Infidelity: although we don’t know exactly if it happened, at the end of the story Clare told her husband that she
had an affair with Peter.

Unhappy relationships: Clare and Neil were both unhappy. Neil wanted to have a child, but Clare took pills to
avoid being pregnant. Moreover, Clare wanted to live another life, because her husband wanted her to be
submissive.

Genre violence: Neil beat Clare repeatedly because he thought she was cheated on him

Setting

The story first takes place in Soho where it is the boutique in which Clare works. Then we have different scenarios
during the story such us a bar and then the house

The title

During the story, Peter had three fiancés, with two of them he got married, but the last one, Diane, he jilted her
and he moved to the Fingerlakes. At the end of the story, we can perceive that Clare wanted to be his third wife.

The ending

It is an open ending. We can imagine two possibilities: one of them consists on the idea that she is dying and
going to paradise, and the other one is about Clare getting drowsy and thinking of going to the Fingerlakes where
she wants to marry to Peter

Climax

The climax of the story is when she admitted to him that she was having an affair with Peter.

Narrator: Omniscient

Style: Clean and straightforward. It is easy reading.

Symbols

The necklace: when she modelled the necklace to Peter, and he watched her, she felt at ease

Wine: this is the object that appears in certain occasions which reminds of peter.