Big Blonde

Hazel’s first and only husband, Herbie appears only in the first part of the story. He and Hazel marry after six weeks of courtship. He’s fun, friendly, and generous at first, but the marriage soon deteriorates as Herbie, always a heavy drinker, spends more and more time away from home. The reasons for this are unclear. Possibly, the monotony of domestic life drives him out of the flat to look for more excitement. However, it’s equally possible that Hazel’s melancholic moods weigh him down. In the early days of their marriage, he’s patient and solicitous of her dark moods; however, he soon grows impatient with what he calls her constant “crabbing.”

As Herbie spends more time away from home, his relationship with Hazel continues to deteriorate. At one point, in an attempt to revive their marriage, Hazel tries joining him on his nights out. However, although his drunken antics were once a source of amusement, she now finds them repulsive. Her disapproving attitude sparks bitter arguments, often followed by reconciliation, apologies, and promises for a new start. The vicious cycle continues, escalating into physical violence (and once even a black eye). They have fewer and fewer make-up sessions as their relationship devolves into bitterness and reproach.

After about three years of marriage, Herbie announces that he’s leaving to take a new job in Chicago. He abruptly departs the same day, leaving Hazel with a bank account and all the contents of the flat. They don’t divorce, however; Hazel keeps his name and continues to call herself “Mrs. Morse.” She never hears from him again, though she learns from a mutual acquaintance several years later that he has settled down happily with a new woman in Detroit.

A woman who moves across the hall from the apartment that Hazel shares with Herbie, Mrs. Martin is about 10 years older than Hazel; nonetheless, she and Hazel have similar traits: Both are buxom blond women with a propensity for drinking. Although Mrs. Martin isn’t a central character in the story, she plays a key role by bringing Hazel into her circle of friends. In addition, Mrs. Martin represents a portrait of what Hazel will look like in the future: an aging, unattached blond woman whose main interests are maintaining her looks, drinking, and entertaining men.

Despite her name, “Mrs.” Martin doesn’t seem to have a husband, and there’s no mention of one. She does, however, have an admirer named Joe, who regularly visits her with a group of hard-drinking men known as “The Boys.” One of them is Ed, the man whom Hazel begins seeing after Herbie’s departure.

Since Mrs. Martin is also a drinker, she enables Hazel’s increasing intake of alcohol: “They drank together, to brace themselves after the drinks of the nights before” (9). However, Mrs. Martin never becomes Hazel’s confidante. As with the other women Hazel meets throughout the story, her relationship with Mrs. Martin is largely situational and remains superficial. They get together to drink and to please men—this seems to be their only common bond. Once Hazel’s affections shift from Herbie to Ed, Mrs. Martin fades from interest, and Hazel soon moves away. Mrs. Martin makes a final appearance later in the story, at a chance occurrence at Jimmy’s speakeasy, when she lets Hazel know that Herbie, who has since relocated to Detroit, is doing well.

One of “The Boys” Hazel meets through Mrs. Martin, Ed is a businessman from upstate New York. He’s married, but this isn’t a barrier to his flirtation with Hazel. As soon as he learns that Herbie has left for good, he becomes more aggressive in his pursuit of Hazel, and they soon become lovers. When the lease on her apartment ends, he encourages her to move to an apartment that’s more convenient for him, and she readily agrees.

Ed—the first in Hazel’s string of suitors after Herbie—is probably the most stable and the most generous. He seems to have genuine affection for her. He asks for her photo so that he can see her image when he’s away from her; he pays her rent, gives her gifts, and provides her with an allowance. He even provides her with maid service—apparently, one of the things he finds most appealing about Hazel is her indifference to housework. This makes her very different from Ed’s own wife, who is “passionately domestic” (15).

Hazel accepts his generosity willingly but without enthusiasm. The affection seems to be mostly on Ed’s part. Their relationship lasts nearly three years, ending when Ed moves to Florida. He appears teary-eyed when he leaves for good, which makes Hazel’s blasé reaction to his departure even more pronounced. Always generous, Ed leaves Hazel with a sum of money and some valuable stock shares, and when he occasionally returns to New York, he always visits her. Hazel is always glad to see him but never misses him when he departs. Besides, she always has a new replacement suitor on hand, and she goes through several: Charley, Sydney, Ferd, Billy, and Art.