Summary

Mrs. Foster was terrified of being late. This was her only neurosis. Whenever she was concerned about being late, a muscle in the corner of her left eye would begin to twitch. Her husband, Mr. Foster, did not have this trait. Instead, he appeared to provoke Mrs. Foster to intensify her anxiety. In a “bland” (37) manner, he would delay their departure to increase her stress. He was so nonchalant that it was hard to tell whether he was indeed intentionally torturing her.

Mr. and Mrs. Foster lived in a six-storey house in New York, with a few servants. One morning, the house was bustling because Mrs. Foster was getting ready to travel to Paris to visit her grandchildren for six weeks. She was nervous, because she was ready to go, but her husband was still in his study. She asked Walker, the butler...