354
PARTISAN REVIEW
It's a neat way of putting a false claim into circulation. A woman
as gutty as Margaret couldn't be forced to submit to hillbilly lust.
I wasn't pleased with the picture of Smitty bedded up with Margaret.
I think all men are offended by a vulgar brute making love to a
woman with class. But it seemed incredible that Margaret had
yielded-even to force.
And when I saw her the next day I was sure that she hadn't.
There was no change in her demeanor. She was as calmly intent on
re-establishing her rights as she had previously been. She supervised
the assembly of a portable generator she'd managed to loot from
God knows where. She ignored Smitty's leering. He squatted on the
stairs of the garden entrance and watched her every move.
But that night Smitty arose again. He didn't bother indicating
where he was headed. He put on his field jacket, stuffed two packs
of cigarettes
in
his pocket, and left without his rifle. And he'd bathed.
Again on
his
return he asked for a pro.
Now Smitty was not a fastidious person. He distained to defend
himself against venereal disease. He was unable to regard a woman
as a source of contagion--only as a source of pleasure. Obviously,
he intended the pro treatment as an announcement of his triumph.
The following nights, Smitty followed the same routine, always tak–
ing with him some GI goody, like chocolate, bars of soap, or cigarettes.
He bathed more frequently than he had in several years of Louisiana
living. His routine differed from that of the initial nights in that he
no longer demanded a pro. And I observed that while he continued
watching Margaret, he no longer leered. I noticed one night that
Smitty returned bearing an empty gasoline cannister. That was a
much stronger bribe than chocolate bars or cigarettes.
"You know," I told him, "that Margaret isn't a bad dame. I
kind of like her.
If
you gave her a break, Smitty, I think you could
get to like her, too. Why don't you take it easy, buddy? You'll find
she's human."
He was suspicious. "She's alright," he conceded.
"For a kraut, that is. We mustn't forget she's a kraut."
He shrugged.
"Don't forget, Smitty, that her eyes weren't closed the entire
time when slave labor ran this town. You've seen the DPs and heard
their stories. She's not bad, given that she's a kraut."
