The Valiant Woman

-          J. F. Powers (1917- )

Crux of the story

Father Firman is in dilemma. He is wondering whether he should tell Mrs. Stoner about his feelings to her. She has served him for long and perhaps doesn’t think in the way he thinks.

Father Firman compares and contrasts Mrs. Stoner’s good and bad habits. Though both of them are old, she is younger than him. Mrs. Stoner, a widow who lost her husband just after a year of her marriage, is not as beautiful as a Filipino girl but she is a good housekeeper. She has looked after father Firman properly.

Though they live in the same house, they sleep separately. Mrs. Stoner sleeps in the guest room of the house. Though Father Firman wants to marry her, he doesn’t have enough courage to tell her about that. He fears she may take it as his slimy way of handling her long service. But people have already started laughing at him. They have been sending letters addressing: Rev. and Mrs. Stoner. Perhaps they think Father Firman and Mrs. Stoner are married.

Summary:

            This story concerns Roman Catholic priests in off-duty moment, and their relations.

            Father Nulty, Father Firman and Mrs. Stoner are having dinner. It is Father Firman’s 59^th birthday. Father Nulty talks about bishop and Mrs. Stoner immediately expresses her dislike for him because he did not eat what she had prepared for him on his last visit. Whatever they try to talk about, Mrs. Stoner is always ready to pass her comment on it forgetting her position.

            After the birthday ceremony and dinner, Mrs. Stoner starts cleaning the room and both the priests sat in the study. They talk about Fish Frawley who has married a Filipino girl. They are jealous of him.

            When a mosquito bites Father Nulty, he kills it and complains that only the female bites. Mrs. Stoner enters the room and starts talking about the things of her interest on most of which the priests do not have any interest. Father Nulty bids farewell and goes away.

            After Father Nulty had gone, Mrs. Stoner became happy. Father Firman swallowed his medicine and started playing cards with Mrs. Stoner. She plays offensively and ferociously but he finds it pardonable and keeps trying unsuccessfully to win her secretly.

            Father Firman liked her, but he had kept it secret till now. She was the source of energy for him. Nobody could tell Mrs. Stoner was a bad person. She was a clean person. She washed everything in the house. She overcharged on rosaries and prayer books, but that was for the sake of the poor. She censored the pamphlet rack, but that was to prevent scandal. And she interferes many other activities of the father, but all for the good causes.

            She took care of him very well with a lot of dedication. After her husband’s death in a mine, she had been constantly living with him. In fact, she had spent her best years with him because her husband had died just a year after their marriage. It was very difficulty to get a proper house keeper. She also saved money, electricity, sugar, bags, and everything. It was also not possible to get a Filipino girl. Young girls were costly to keep because they liked to eat and dress up very much.

            The card game is not only a fun activity for them but also a means to reveal their hidden emotion secretly to each other. After the game, Mrs. Stoner brought Father Firman tea. Then, he gargled in the bathroom and went to bed. Mrs. Stoner went to her room, the guest room of the house. She had been living in the room since her first day in the house. But suddenly people had started laughing at him. They had stopped coming to the house or staying overnight. They had started sending letter addressing to Rev. and Mrs. Stoner.

            The law mentioned that clerics are allowed to reside only with mother, sister or aunt or a woman of advanced age. Mrs. Stoner was none of them. It would be disrespect to her to question such a long service of hers. He was also not able to give her pension.

            Father Firman slapped himself fiercely on the bank trying to kill a mosquito, but he missed it. A loud sound was produced by his efforts to kill it. Mrs. Stoner heard the sound and came to his door panting. She had thought Father Firman was in some danger. She went back to her room, but the Father was still trying to kill the mosquito.