“Sauce for the Goose”

by Patricia Highsmith
BEFORE READING…

1. The story you are going to read is called Sauce for the Goose. Take a look at this definition and say if you
agree with this.

said to emphasize that if one person is allowed to do something or to behave in a particular way,

then another person must be allowed to do that thing or behave in that way, too

2. Here’s a synopsis of the story. Make predictions on what the story will be about.

Jealousy, greed, revenge. In the relationship of marriage any of these emotions can be a motive for
murder. When you also have a rich older man with an attractive, and much younger, wife, then the scene
is apparently set.
Loren Amory is rich, balding, and forty-five. His charming wife Olivia is eleven years younger, and
Loren knows only too well the reason for her current depression and tearfulness. He is a sensible man,
but naturally he becomes anxious when his wife has several near-accidents around the house.

3. In this story, there’s an infidelity. Read the following text and share your views about it.

Why infidelity is a personal affair

Anonymous
Unfaithfulness causes enormous pain, but how you respond to it is up to you

Fri 13 Feb 2015 17.30 GMT

I wasn’t shocked to see a survey showing that just 36% of Britons think infidelity would put an end
to their relationship. Of course, being cheated on always hurts, though for me the act itself wasn’t
really the point. It was the lies to cover it up that made me reconsider our relationship. I was oddly
comforted when my then-boyfriend – now husband – finally confessed; probably in part because I
had known without knowing for a long time. I had attributed my suspicions to irrational
insecurities, so finding out put an end to my self-doubt. I felt relieved and empowered.
In an ironic twist, my mother found out that my father was cheating on her at roughly the same
time. The context and reasons were completely different, but in the end none of that mattered –
nor did it matter whether it was after 10 years of a relationship or 25 years of marriage. My
solution was to leave the country. My mother’s was to stay at home. There is really no right or
wrong in a situation like this, and though our decisions differed in almost every single way, the
result was the same.
Friends played a key role here. Knowing what he meant to me and how much I hurt they all offered
comfort, but never judged. Never, not once, did they urge me to leave him. They simply told me to
do what felt right, and for that I am incredibly grateful. I needed to prove to myself that I could live
without him and, if it came to it, leave him altogether. I needed him to see that too. It took a full
year of talking, fighting, crying and living apart for me to be ready to come back to our home.
There were stages. One of them entailed crying myself to sleep for a month in my lonely studio.
Depressing if you think about it, but also necessary. When I was all cried out, I went out, and built
a life that was my own. I even flirted a little.

It was his persistence, in the face of my (justified) accusations, doubts, jealousy and suspicion, his
willingness to repent and patiently answer any questions I might have, that made me trust him
again. Of course this is easier to do in younger relationships. For my parents the infidelity meant
working through 25 years of accumulated resentments – on both sides – in a tortuous and lengthy
process that led, eventually, back to health.

Realising my partner was going through a defining moment in his life that went beyond our
relationship, seeing the vulnerability in him, and having him open up completely to me allowed for
hope to wind its way back. Cheating and lying is often a sign that something deeper is going wrong.
I knew that well, having been in his shoes once before in a previous relationship. Had he adopted a
defensive attitude, had he complained even once about me needing to talk, we might not be where
we are now.

He proved himself to me over and over again until I was ready to come back. Forgiveness is tricky.
It may take a long time; and once you have, you can never go back. I decided to forgive him
completely, and I think that helped him to forgive himself. Part of my responsibility was to let go.
There was no possibility of moving forward if his acts were going to keep hanging in my weaponry
to throw at him when convenient. We both moved past it.

Trust took longer still, but time helped. I no longer worry when he goes out, no longer wonder if he
finds that blonde prettier than me. But we did build in a condition: to always tell the truth, even if
it means admitting having thoughts about someone else. The importance of discussing and making
choices together as a unit means we put each other first, always. If anything we came out of that
year stronger and closer, having seen the ugly and the brutally honest side of each other. When he
asked me to marry him I did not doubt for a second that we should be together.

Reading guide

The story …

1. Who are the main characters? Describe them.

2. Which is the main conflict? What other conflict develops later?
3. Talk about each of the characters’ motives/reasons to kill others.
4. How and why did Stephen and Olivia die in the end?
5. What is the story about? Retell it briefly.

Reflection …

6. Why do you think the author chose this title? Explain it in your own words and provide examples.
7. Do you feel sympathy for anyone in the story? Why/ why not?
8. Did the end surprise you? Did you find it shocking or satisfying?
9. This story was compiled into a collection called Crime Never Pays. Do you agree with this? Does
anyone in this story pay for his crimes?
10. These are some of the themes discussed in the short story. To which character can you associate each
of them? Explain why by proving examples from the story.
- Infidelity
- Murder
- Lack of trust
- Ingenuity
- Love
- Ambition
- Pretending