The Floating Opera

Todd returns to his office and hears the music from the Floating Opera travelling down the nearby river. He thinks about the showboat as well as his conversation with Haecker. While Todd is open to suicide, he thinks bad luck isn’t a good enough reason to end one’s life. Bad luck drove his father to hang himself, and it had a long-term negative effect on Todd: “Indeed, it was the absence, in my opinion, of any valid reason for his hanging himself that turned me into a cynic after his death, though I had, no doubt, the seeds of cynicism in me all along” (173). Todd’s thoughts then turn to one of his cases, Morton vs. Butler.

Colonel Henry Morton, a conservative, heads the company Morton’s Marvelous Tomatoes. William T. Butler, meanwhile, is a Democratic investment broker. The two get into a car accident with minor injuries but amicably go about their days. Franklin D. Roosevelt visits Cambridge to promote the New Deal, and both men make sure the town is presentable for his visit. The president gives his speech from a ship, and only Butler is invited aboard. Morton, resentful, sues Butler for damages from the car accident. Todd represents Butler, and the case goes up to the Maryland Supreme Court and is set to go to trial. Todd has lost interest. He doesn’t regret that he won’t see the trial conclude because he plans on killing himself: “I didn’t mind missing the actual trial, which would be dull enough whoever won” (179-180).

Butler arrives at Todd’s office, jubilant. He struck a deal with Morton. They will trade political favors and agree to end their legal squabble. Butler remains ecstatic, but Todd is indifferent. Despite their opposing demeanors, the two men sit down together to enjoy a glass of whiskey. 

Todd thinks about his father’s death. In 1930, he found his father hanging in the cellar, well-dressed and immaculately clean. In the years prior, his father made several bad investment decisions. Riddled with debt, he decided to end his life. Todd recalls being a boy and watching his father decapitate a chicken, the headless body flailing around the yard, and Todd’s father instructed him to take the chicken’s body to his mother to cook. Following his father’s death, Todd wonders how to clean up after him and the debts he left behind. Todd waits, willing to let the debt collectors take his father’s assets if need be.

At work, Todd receives a letter from his belated father and five thousand dollars. The letter pains Todd and he forces it from his memory: “There was a note, too, which I must have suppressed—it’s honestly, completely gone from my mind—because it said all the things I certainly didn’t want to hear, in just the wrong language” (184). Todd sends the money to Colonel Morton, because he is the richest man in town, and then moves into the Dorset Hotel. Colonel Morton demands Todd take the money back; he’s never been beholden to anyone in his life, but Todd insists the money is a gift. Colonel Morton proceeds to hire Todd’s firm for multiple legal cases, but Todd intentionally never takes the cases himself. He rejects everything Colonel Morton offers, from whiskey, to a lucrative job. Colonel Morton grows frantic, confused, and angry. In another attempt to repay Todd, Colonel Morton invites him to a lavish New Year’s party.

Todd drinks alone in his office and decides to stop by the party. The event is extravagant, with hundreds of guests and champagne fountains. Colonel Morton is delighted to see Todd, and introduces him to Mrs. Morton, his much-younger second wife. Todd is cordial and feels an old persona returning from an earlier time: “Well, it was the first party of any size that I’d been to since my saintly days prior to Dad’s suicide, and I found myself reverting to that pose” (193). Todd finds his way to the basement and gets drunk by himself. Everyone becomes intoxicated and Todd dances with Mrs. Morton. Late into the evening, partygoers take cold showers in the numerous bathrooms. After her shower, Mrs. Morton, naked, leaps onto Todd, and they dance again. Colonel Morton walks in, sending Mrs. Morton fleeing. Todd makes a snide remark to Colonel Morton about his wife, then leaves. Colonel Morton never asks for anymore legal services and never invites Todd to another party. 

William Butler leaves Todd’s office. Jane and Jeannine arrive shortly after. Jane and Todd joke about the letters they wrote earlier that day, and Todd says he’ll know the results of his doctor’s visit soon. Jane asks Todd to look after Jeannine, who is now three and half years old. Jane’s playful banter catches Todd’s attention: “I was impressed between the time in 1933 when I insulted her and the time in 1935 when we resumed our affair, Jane’s personality had strengthened in some ways; for one thing, she was unpredictable” (197). As Jane leaves, Todd wonders what she’ll do next. For the first and only time, he regrets his decision to kill himself.

Todd takes Jeannine to see Adam’s Original & Unparalleled Floating Opera. The ship’s exterior isn’t as lavish as other showboats but is built to withstand tougher waters. Todd buys two ice cream cones and Jeannine asks endless questions. She asks about people, actors, happiness, anything that comes to mind. The pair meet the ship’s captain, Jacob Adam, who invites them on board. Capt. Adam gives Todd and Jeannine a tour, showing off the stage, the orchestra pit, and other parts of the ship. To power the ship, Capt. Adam uses both electricity and acetylene, a gas, which he insists he installed safely and has never caused problems. Capt. Adam finishes his improvised tour and leads Todd and Jeannine off the boat. Jeannine asks for another ice cream cone. Todd asks why, and Jeannine repeats over and over: Because she wants one. Todd obliges Jeannine, and they walk back to his office with more ice cream.  

Jeannine’s second ice cream starts to melt, so Todd cleans her up with a handkerchief. Todd carries her so they can make it to his office faster. Todd notes Jeannine smells like her mother. Jeannine replies Todd smells like her dad. Back at his office, Jeannine uses the bathroom while Todd wonders if she’s his child. He writes a letter to his legal partner, Jimmy Andrews, leaving him instructions on how to win Harrison’s inheritance case. Jane arrives for Jeannine and invites Todd over for a cocktail. Todd agrees. On his way out, Todd doesn’t say a final goodbye to any of his colleagues, and he doesn’t pause to take in his office one last time. On the way to the Mack’s, Todd senses his plan to end his life finalizing.

Jane tells Todd the Macks are going to plan a trip to Italy. They might sell the house and could be gone for a few years. Jane and Harrison both try to gauge Todd’s reaction, believing he’ll be upset, but Todd is indifferent and supportive of their plans. Harrison believes Todd and Jane should stop seeing each other when the Macks return. Todd agrees. Jane states they should just end it now, and Todd agrees again. Jane and Harrison clarify they don’t want Todd to be angry and don’t regret the way their friendship developed. Todd reiterates he isn’t upset, but the Macks still don’t believe him. Jane and Harrison appear more connected than ever before, while Todd is disconnected: “We talked for a while in the bathroom, but there was coolness between us. And at dinner afterwards, the talk, though pleasant (even relieved), was devoid of warmth. Harrison and Jane seemed fused into one person, entirely self-sufficient” (212).

After dinner, Todd uses the bathroom before leaving. He worries that when he kills himself the Macks will think he did it because of them. Todd is anxious, but only for a moment. He realizes it doesn’t matter to him what the Macks believe after he’s gone: “What difference did it make to me how they interpreted my death? Nothing, absolutely, made any difference” (213). On his way out, Todd passes his childhood bedroom. He sees the mirror from the incident with Betty June and laughs. He says goodbye to the Macks and walks away in a joyous mood. 

Todd pauses by a creek. He debates about what to do about Harrison’s inheritance case. He has the evidence to win, and the instructions for Jimmy to finish what he started, but he could also destroy the evidence and the letter. He considers the events of the day. Each of his interactions with the Macks was a test to determine if he would win them the money. Jane’s letter from the morning calling him a pansy was good, as was Harrison’s cynicism during their lunch.

The final factor is Jane’s decision whether to show her nude body to Capt. Osborn or not. Jane’s indifference to the idea makes Todd’s decision harder:

She’d been neither angry nor insulted, nor had she felt obliged to carry out her end of the bargain. She’d simply laughed at the whole thing. Was this evidence of obtuseness, insincerity, or a real and formidable strength? In fact, I no longer knew how to feel about the Macks at all, whether their new resolutions manifested a commonplace sentimentality or a strange integrity, I had no feeling about them at all. (215)

Unable to decide based on his previous criteria, Todd flips a coin. Heads, he saves the evidence and letter. Tails, he destroys them.

The coin lands on tails, but Todd doesn’t destroy anything. He puts the evidence back and sends the letter to be delivered to Jimmy: “Harrison had survived a double chance: that the coin would demand the destruction of the letters, and I would allow myself, a free agent, to be dictated by a miserable nickel” (215-216). Satisfied with himself, Todd journeys onward, whistling along the way. 

At around six o’clock, Todd comes home and spends time writing. Through his writing and research, he tries to better understand why his father hanged himself, but the task proves difficult because of the mysteries and complexities of human nature: “And no less—for it became apparent to me after a mere two years of questioning, searching, reading, and staring, that there is no will-o’-the-wisp so elusive as the cause of any human act” (218). Todd knows he might never fully understand his father’s reasons for committing suicide, but he believes the time he spends writing is still a pleasant way to pass the time.

Among Todd’s notes are extensive letters to his father explaining foundational life moments: his incomplete boat, the German soldier, Betty June. For most of Todd’s life, he’s been distant with his father. They’re imperfect communicators, and Todd hopes the letters will one day help him explain himself. Todd’s plans prove fruitless, however, when his father kills himself. Todd saves all his writing, grouping them into separate categories for a larger body of work—one that questions life, death, and himself. Todd repeats life has no intrinsic value. He confesses the masks he’s taken on in life have been a means to keep his heart and mind separate. Each time a persona fails, he finds another one. His personality has always been shifting, finding new ways to try to navigate life.

He remembers the previous night. Jane mentions his clubbed hands. Her comment sends him down a spiral of self-doubt about his entire adult life: “How silly, for that matter, was my whole life during those thirteen years—one feeble mask after another!” (225). He almost pleads to God but clutches onto Jane instead. Todd has continuously failed to fully understand life, to grasp what drives him. After that night, he wakes up determined to destroy himself. His decision to commit suicide puts him in a better mood. He might not understand his life, but he can master it by ending it himself. Todd writes some final notes: There’s no definitive reason for living. Life is a series of actions, and nothing more. Completing those thoughts, Todd concludes his writing project.