A Journey by Edith Wharton - Summary

Edith Wharton. Image source

A female protagonist is on a train to New York at night when it's raining, watching the lights flash by in the darkness. She thinks how she and her husband, in the berth across from her, have become estranged. They used to be in sync but now he has grown petulant and slow. She used to be a schoolteacher, and after meeting him she felt her life had hope but now it felt hopeless again.

She thinks back. Soon after their wedding he was prescribed rest cure which failed. They moved to Colorado where she felt despondent taking care of him and he was growing worse and changing and they grew apart gradually. Also nobody knew her or cared about her newlywed gifts of which she is proud. Sometimes she pitied him but mostly she was frightened. Finally the doctors gave them permission to go home. This meant he was dying but she sometimes forgot and grew excited about the trip.

The train trip starts well but soon grows worse and people in the car pass judgment. His health grows worse. They have one intimate moment. She looks forward to New York and imagines her reunion with her family. She repeatedly imagines him calling her when he does not. She feels anxious and wants to check on him but desists and goes to sleep.

She wakes up, deliciously energized. She checks on her husband and finds him dead. She almost calls out in terror but remembers once when she traveled on a train a couple's child died and they were immediately put out at the nearest station. Terrified at the thought, she decides to conceal his death. A porter talks to her about folding up the berths and she makes excuses. The open, curtained bed attracts attention and people start staring. As the train stops at more stations and more people stare she becomes increasingly agitated and unfocused. After hours of evading inquiries, she imagines what would happen in New York and knows she must pretend he has just died. New thoughts begin to crowd her mind and she grows more and more confused. She cannot distinguish between her thinking voice and spoken voice. She stares at the curtains of her husband's berth until they grow transparent and she can see his dead face, which follows her wherever she turns her gaze. Moments seem like hours. She realizes she is hungry and has some biscuits and brandy and falls asleep. As she sleeps she senses the train is her life being swept away and she dreams she dies and is taken away and buried.

She wakes up terrified and sees that much time has passed. Passengers are getting ready to leave and tickets are being collected. The journey is over and she is glad the worst is over. The porter suggests they wake him up. She tries to answer, but the car grows dark and she falls, "striking her head against the dead man's berth".