Cathedral carver analyse chef’s house

Coralie Muschietti

Summary of Chef’s House

Wes and Edna is an old couple who have a lot of problems. Wes has a history of alcoholism and this is why they got separated. For this reason Ednahesitates when Wes asks her to come to the house he has rented near the ocean. The house belong to Chef, a friend of Wes’s, who is also a recovered alcoholic. Wes persists in his request and Ednafinally accepts to leave her companion to join her ex-husband. They spend a great summer spending time together, watching movies, fishing, and cooking. However, all good thing come to an end. One day,Chef comes to the house to ask Wes and Edna to leave because he needs the house for his daughter who lives alone with her son after her husband disappeared. This news makes a strong impression onWes. He is deeply disappointed when he realizes that his time with Edna will soon be over. Edna tries to comfort him with a cup of coffee and some sweet words. She stays positive and hopes to findanother house. But she does not succeed right away. Wes continues to reflect upon his tragic destiny. The story finishes abruptly and the reader is left wondering what the couple’s future situationwill be. BEANS.

Analysis
This short story is written in a very informal and verbal way as if the narrator were speaking to an audience. The conversations are written without quotations and arenot separated in paragraphs. This style suggests the narrator’s social status and education, in other words of a somewhat modest lifestyle. The narrator does not use complicated words and the storyis written in a very simple manner suggesting a certain banality in this situation.
The story begins with a gift from fate, a house and a vacation by the ocean. For both Edna and Wes, the house onthe seashore and the wonderful summer are like a sort of heaven on Earth. Both feel like they have stepped into a sort of dream, a world in which there is nothing but happiness and leisure. There is…