Bliss

Bertha Young is a 30-year-old wife and mother whose life is turned upside down by an unexpected surge of bliss. Bertha is notably self-aware, and this trait is emphasized by the story’s limited omniscient narrative. Bertha defines herself with remarkable clarity, acknowledging the richness of her life saying, “Really—really—she had everything. She was young…She had an adorable baby” (Paragraph 53). Bertha and her husband, Harry, possess a charming home, exciting intelligent friends, books, music, and servants. Clearly, they “didn’t have to worry about money” (Paragraph 53).

What Bertha lacks is perceptive insight into those around her. She believes that “Harry and she were as much in love as ever” (Paragraph 53), yet she does not suspect that he is having an affair with her new friend, Pearl Fulton. Nor does Bertha recognize that part of the bliss she is feeling is because she is in love with Pearl, too. She questions herself as she takes Pearl’s arm, wondering “what was there in the touch of that cool arm that could fan—fan—start blazing—blazing—the fire of Bliss that [she] did not know what to do with” (Paragraph 87)? The excited happiness of new love that is so evident to the reader, goes unperceived by Bertha herself.