The Way Up To Heaven

“And one thing he must have known—that she would never dare to call out and tell him to hurry. He had disciplined her too well for that.”

This exemplifies the Fosters’ unbalanced power dynamic. That Mr. Foster has “disciplined” Mrs. Foster suggests physical or emotional control and abuse, and a misogynistic attitude that allows for her training or correction, like a child or a pet. The narrator here reveals that Mr. Foster “knows” this, and so his behavior has been deliberate. This passage also shows the reader that Mrs. Foster’s suffering is longstanding and contextualizes her reaction to it as the victim of abuse, helping to prevent victim-blaming by the reader.

“Assuming (though one cannot be sure) that the husband was guilty, what made his attitude doubly unreasonable was the fact that, with the exception of this one small irrepressible foible, Mrs. Foster was and always had been a good and loving wife. For over thirty years, she had served him loyally and well.”

This highlights the narrator’s tone as a reasonable observer, striving to maintain fairness. This passage reveals that Mrs. Foster is an irreproachable wife. Although she has complied with all of Mr. Foster’s control and “discipline” throughout their marriage, he does not treat her with love and respect, even as a reward. This is indicative of his withholding and controlling behavior and the lack of fairness in their relationship.

“It had taken months to persuade her husband to allow her to go. If she missed it, he might easily decide that she should cancel the whole thing. And the trouble was that he insisted on coming to the airport to see her off.”

This diction—“persuade,” “decide,” “insisted”—emphasizes the reader’s understanding that Mr. Foster is in control of Mrs. Foster’s life and is actively limiting her access to what makes her happy. The narrator here reveals Mrs. Foster’s sense—at this point unacknowledged to herself—that Mr. Foster is deliberately causing the problem by not allowing Mrs. Foster to go by herself in her own time.

“‘Dear God,’ she said aloud, ‘I’m going to miss it. I know, I know, I know I’m going to miss it.’ The little muscle beside the left eye was twitching madly now. The eyes themselves were very close to tears.”

This passage reinforces the reader’s understanding of how emotionally affected Mrs. Foster is by her anxiety about being late. The repetition within the sentence, as well as the repetition of reference to her eye twitch and her general sentiment of agitation about missing her flight throughout the story (which this is just one reference to), underlines Mrs. Foster’s emotional state.

“And now, lately, she had come more and more to feel that she did not really wish to live out her days in a place where she could not be near these children, and have them visit her, and take them out for walks, and buy them presents, and watch them grow.”

This demonstrates Mrs. Foster’s main motivation as a character and one of the key reasons why she is so anxious about missing her plane, building empathy for her character. She yearns to connect with her grandchildren, who live in Paris, and notices their absence in New York. Her desire to spend time with them and nurture them is also representative of the societal expectations on her as a woman during this era: She has been expected to dedicate her life to caring for her family. With only her unkind husband around, she yearns to remake her identity and purpose through her family.

“She knew, of course, that it was wrong and in a way disloyal to have thoughts like these while her husband was still alive.”

This indicates to the reader that Mrs. Foster is bound to the expectation that she will stay in New York, with her husband, until he dies, regardless of her desire to be nearer to her grandchildren. This excerpt also subtly foreshadows Mr. Foster’s demise, as it is the only way that Mrs. Foster can get what she wants. The phrasing of the passage suggests that Mrs. Foster will not only be released from her sad life by his death but also from her internalized guilt at wishing for a different life. The description of her sense of guilt highlights her self-negation and her belief in her own wrongness, as someone who has experienced longstanding abuse and criticism.

“He stood there for a moment, looking intently at his wife, and she looked back at him—at this diminutive but still quite dapper old man with the huge bearded face that bore such an astonishing resemblance to those old photographs of Andrew Carnegie.”

This is the moment when readers finally meet Mr. Foster, after exposition gaining understanding of the effects of his treatment on Mrs. Foster. The fact that he looks at her intently subtly implies that he is searching for some sort of reaction to the amount of time that he has already made her wait, and that he enjoys the effect of his own cruelty. The comparison with Andrew Carnegie is the most flattering comparison that is made to Mr. Foster’s character in this story. However, the comparison is a juxtaposition, as Carnegie is a noted philanthropist who shared his wealth, and there is no evidence of generosity in Mr. Foster’s portrayal.

“With his head over to one side, he was watching her closely. He had a peculiar way of cocking the head and then moving it in a series of small, rapid jerks. Because of this and because he was clasping his hands up high in front of him, near the chest, he was somehow like a squirrel standing there—a quick clever old squirrel from the Park.”

This is one of two comparisons between Mr. Foster and an animal in this story. The emphasis on him watching Mrs. Foster with jerky head movements implies his analytical nature and the lack of humanity behind his enjoyment of purposely tormenting her.

“‘What’s more, you never know what people get up to when they’re left alone in a house,’ Mr. Foster announced, and with that he took out a cigar and, after snipping the end with a silver cutter, lit it with a gold lighter.”

The leisurely cutting and lighting of the cigar is part of Mr. Foster’s deliberate delaying and indicates his wealth and status. It also indicates his behavior toward Mrs. Foster, as in the 1950s a gentleman would ask a lady if he could smoke. Mr. Foster’s comment subtly foreshadows his own demise trapped alone in the house at the end of the story. It is ironic and highlights the deniability of Mrs. Foster’s act of omission. Mr. Foster’s suspicion of his servants casts suspicion on himself, who will be left to his own devices at his club. He is also punished for his uncharitable view and the meanness of saving his servants’ pay, as the lack of people in the house contributes to his death.

“She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to her that there was suddenly a new note in his voice, and she turned to look at him. It was difficult to observe any change in his expression under all that hair. The mouth was what counted. She wished, as she had so often before, that she could see the mouth clearly. The eyes never showed anything except when he was in a rage.”

This implies that Mr. Foster might be glad that Mrs. Foster is likely to miss her flight, adding to the evidence that he does not want her to leave New York, where he can control her. Mrs. Foster’s lack of ability to discern his emotion further emphasizes his cold, unreadable demeanor, and her difficulty in drawing conclusions from his behavior, as she is unwilling to think badly of him. This passage is one of the many revelations in the story that indicate Mrs. Foster’s slow realization of her husband’s true nature. The fact that his eyes are only expressive during a rage provides evidence of his bad temper and Mrs. Foster’s experiences of his anger.

“[F]or still another few seconds she remained in that position, head up, ear to door, hand on key, about to enter but not entering, trying instead, or so it seemed, to hear and to analyze these sounds that were coming faintly from this place deep within the house. Then, all at once, she sprang to life again. She withdrew the key from the door and came running back down the steps.”

This is a transformative moment for Mrs. Foster. She makes a choice to take control of the situation and make sure that she catches her flight, rather than going inside to fetch her husband. Additionally, the ambiguity of what she hears inside at this point foreshadows that there may be more to the situation than her simply leaving her husband inside searching for the gift. The wording that she “sprang to life” indicates this pivotal point where she reclaims her life and her freedom.

“[H]er face had turned absolutely white and that the whole expression had suddenly altered. There was no longer that rather soft and silly look. A peculiar hardness had settled itself upon the features. The little mouth, usually so flabby, was now tight and thin, the eyes were bright, and the voice, when she spoke, carried a new note of authority.”

This illustrates the physical changes that come over Mrs. Foster almost immediately after her act of self-liberation and reclamation of control. She feels so different that she physically looks different. The specifics of the changes seem to indicate that she understands the consequences of her choice. Rather than happiness (which comes later), she embodies hardness and authority in alignment with that which her husband had previously exerted over her.

“The new mood was still with her. She felt remarkably strong and, in a queer sort of way, wonderful. She was a trifle breathless with it all, but this was more from pure astonishment at what she had done than anything else, and as the plane flew farther and farther away from New York and East Sixty-second Street, she was just as strong and cool and calm as she could wish.”

Mrs. Foster continues to feel empowered, rather than guilty, about her choice. The emphasis on “what she had done” continues the narrator’s ambiguity about whether she has only driven off without her husband’s permission, or something more. Her becoming more confident and calm as she physically moves further away from her home in New York reinforces that her anxiety has been created by her husband. It also helps suggest that she expects not to have to return to her husband, who would likely “discipline” her.