Giving Blood (short story)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Giving Blood" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by John Updike | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publication | |
| Published in | The New Yorker |
| Publication date | March 29, 1963 |
"Giving Blood" is a short story by John Updike first appearing in The New Yorker on March 29, 1963. The story was collected in Too Far to Go: The Maples Stories (1979), published by Fawcett Publications.[1][2][3]
The story is the second of Updike's Maples saga which follow the lives of characters Richard and Joan Maple.[4][5]
The story returns to Updike's fictional couple Richard and Joan Maple, who first appeared in his short story "Snowing in Greenwich Village."
After eight years of marriage, the Maples' relationship is strained nearly to the breaking point. A distant relative of Joan is having major surgery and requires numerous blood transfusions. Joan, who is a veteran blood donor, enlists her husband Richard to accompany her to the hospital and make a contribution. The couple quarrel during the thirty-mile drive.
Richard, who has never given blood, is squeamish. During the procedure, in which they lay side-by-side, head-to-feet and vice versa, Richard begins to imagine the blood-letting as a kind of ritual in which he and Joan are exchanging their essence. The experience renews his affection for his spouse and he ardently declares his love for her after the imagined transfusion. At a nearby pancake diner they enjoy a brief respite from their estrangement. When the couple goes to pay the bill, Richard discovers he has only a dollar in his wallet: the sense of shared sacrifice is shattered. Joan and Richard instantly revert to their former acrimonious relationship.[6][7][8]