The Fly

“As a matter of fact he was proud of his room; he liked to have it admired, especially by old Woodifield. It gave him a feeling of deep, solid satisfaction to be planted there in the midst of it in full view of that frail old figure in the muffler.”

The boss is characterized as arrogant. He has created an office space for himself that showcases the image he wishes to project to the world: someone who is well-to-do and powerful. Having the frail Mr. Woodifield present in this room only heightens this sense of hierarchy and appeases his ego.

“But he did not draw old Woodifield’s attention to the photograph over the table of a grave-looking boy in uniform standing in one of those spectral photographers’ parks with photographers’ storm clouds behind him. It was not new. It had been there for over six years.”

The photograph is a motif that develops the theme of Death and Reconciling the Loss of a Son. The one anomaly in the boss’s office is a military photograph of his son. This symbolic item does not speak to his successful present but rather to a painful past. For six years he has had this photograph on display, renovating the room around it but never changing the photograph. It is a symbol of the boss's grief and a way of keeping his deceased heir a part of the business even in death.

“The girls were in Belgium last week having a look at poor Reggie's grave, and they happened to come across your boy's. They're quite near each other, it seems."

Reggie Woodifield died in World War I like the boss’s son. Unlike the boss, Woodifield speaks his son’s name and has kept up with how his son’s grave is being tended. The two sons are linked in physicality and in memory. Their plots are near one another in Belgium, and Woodifield thinks of the boss’s son when he thinks of his own son. To Woodifield, remembrance of the boys is communal. His perspective contrasts with the boss's and develops the theme of Death and Reconciling the Loss of a Son.

“Only a quiver in his eyelids showed that he heard.”

The theme of grief is first introduced by the boss’s subtle reaction to hearing about his son’s burial plot. His nonverbal response contrasts with Woodifield’s casual conversation about the event. The boss's subtle response indicates that he is not as emotionally stable as he appears.

“For various reasons the boss had not been across.”

The narration does not explicitly reveal the boss's reasons for not visiting his son's grave in Belgium. However, his reaction to Woodifield suggests that he has avoided any reminders of his son's death. He would prefer to think of his son as forever unharmed in uniform rather than blemished and buried. The boss's inability to process his son's death after six years thematically develops The Relationship Between Grief and Time.

“He wanted, he intended, he had arranged to weep….”

The fragmented, unfinished starts of three different sentences indicate just how shaken the boss is as he attempts to handle his grief. He speaks as if crying is something one can schedule into the day like a meeting with a colleague. His attitude characterizes him as a controlling man unable to grapple with feelings of helplessness or powerlessness. Although he thinks that weeping is the appropriate response to the situation, he is unable to do it.

“Time, he had declared then, he had told everybody, could make no difference. Other men perhaps might recover, might live their loss down, but not he.”

The motif of time thematically develops The Relationship Between Grief and Time. The boss has a sense that his grief is somehow different from the grief experienced by others. He rejects the sentiment that time heals all wounds on the principle that such a belief would make him an inferior man.

“Life itself had come to have no other meaning. How on earth could he have slaved, denied himself, kept going all those years without the promise for ever before him of the boy's stepping into his shoes and carrying on where he left off?”

The boss worked his whole adult life to prepare a place in the world for his only son. Yet after his son passed away, the boss still works hard, even without the promise of having his son inherit the business. The boss has confined himself to his office, suggesting that he continues working because he is unable to pursue a life without his son.

“The boss took his hands from his face; he was puzzled. Something seemed to be wrong with him. He wasn't feeling as he wanted to feel.”

The boss shows his inability to process his grief. He wants to feel the kind of overwhelming sorrow he felt six years ago, but time has changed his grief. His lack of emotional affect is a source of frustration because moving on might mean he has forgotten his son. The boss's inability to cry develops the theme of The Relationship Between Grief and Time.

“Over and under, over and under, went a leg along a wing, as the stone goes over and under the scythe.”

Mansfield uses the metaphor of a scythe’s blade being sharpened to describe the motions of the fly as it attempts to clean the ink off of its wing. The choice to use a scythe emphasizes the theme of death, as scythes are associated with the grim reaper. The fly's repetitive action underscores its helplessness and the futility of trying to escape death.

“The horrible danger was over; it had escaped; it was ready for life again.”

This quote develops the theme of The Meaning of Survival. The fly has managed to rid itself of the dangerous ink and is ready to fly again, but on a symbolic level, the boss is also describing what he knows ought to be true about himself. The “horrible danger” that followed first learning about his son’s death is over. It has been six years now, and although he should be ready for life again, he is not.

“‘He's a plucky little devil,’ thought the boss, and he felt a real admiration for the fly's courage. That was the way to tackle things; that was the right spirit. Never say die; it was only a question of….”

The boss admires the fly’s ability to face adversity. Seeing its courage triggers in the man a slew of clichés about how one ought to face life’s difficulties. The boss trails off at the end because he is reminded that these sentiments are not how he himself has responded to his trials. The fly has more tenacity than he has.

“But such a grinding feeling of wretchedness seized him that he felt positively frightened.”

After killing the fly, the boss feels terrible because his attempt to play god with another living creature results in death. More so, the realization that his power has limits and death is inescapable frightens him.