Where the Cluetts Are (Details)
citation: McCall's, January 1962, LXXXIX(4):72-73, 112-113
alias: None
teaser: Away from the tensions of today. Free of the fears and the pressures. Given the means and the choice, who of us would choose some other world?
summary: Harry is an architect helping Ellie and Sam Cluett design their new home. The Cluetts tire of decision-making, reasoning they will live in the house only occasionally, it's main purpose being as a place to entertain Sam's clients. Harry wants the Cluett's participation to make certain the house has a soul; the right kind of soul.
Pulling out a book, Ellie dislodges architectural drawings, originally belonging to Harry's grandfather. From the 1880s, the drawings are for a house that captures Ellie's imagination. She wants to build their new house from these drawings, furnishing it in the style of those times. Sam agrees, even when Harry cautions him such customization will be expensive. That afternoon, they pick a site, and construction begins.
As construction continues, Harry and the Ellie marvel at bringing part of the past back to life. Workers on the job begin growing mustaches or sideburns they think appropriate to the house.
After the house is finished, Harry visits the Cluetts. A week later, he stops outside the house as the Cluetts host a party. Only the gas lighting is on. A horse and carriage Sam hired to bring guests from the train station stands in the driveway. Harry feels he is looking at a scene from another time.
Some time later, Harry visits the Cluetts again. Sam's been spending more time at home, and working less. Both he and Ellie have taken to wearing clothes appropriate for the 1880s. They admit they've stopped entertaining clients in this house, and have moved here permanently. They don't go to New York any more. Ellie has begun making her own clothes.
Ellie asks if the plans for the house had been used before, certain that they had. She explains how the house evokes memories, often of things she knows never happened: the name of friends they don't have; anticipating a parade that's not scheduled; thinking about a place — Sikermann's Slough — that doesn't exist.
Harry recalls Sikermann's Slough once did exist, but had been filled in and forgotten. He imagines the house might have existed, but was destroyed in a fire. When it was rebuilt, it resumed its life as though no time passed at all.
Harry reports the Cluetts now rarely leave their house. They have affected the dress and style of the 1880s. They are content to have been captured by their house.
words: 5,814
genre: None
similar: None
people: Harry, Ellie Cluett, Sam Cluett, the Pelliers
places: Darley, CT: Sikermann's Slough, Sikermann farm; Long Island Sound, CT; New York, NY
comments: Forthcoming