Reality In Astronomer's Wife, By Kay Boyle

For as long as humans have inhabited the Earth, mankind has dreamt of out-of-reach aspirations and have developed theories for which cannot be proven. Yet these dreams, however unattainable as they may appear, have yielded the greatest discoveries in history. While it is essential for human advancement to continue furthering ideas and comprehension, there is a necessary balance of theories and reality that a man must achieve if he wishes to be not only understood by his peers, but to be socially accepted. One can choose to dream beyond the reality of success, such as flying entrepreneur Samuel Langley, who directed most of his life to developing a heavier-than-air flying machine only to result in the loss of federal funding at multiple failures. …show more content…
Boyle develops a story of an astronomer, who is constantly devoted to his work of discovering what the heavens may hold, his wife, the recipient of his lack of affection, and a plumber, who is used as a contrasting piece to the astronomer through his down-to-earth methods. The author uses key phrases to place the …show more content…
By contrasting the astronomer’s high ambitions and the plumber’s down-to-earth behavior, Boyle draws attention to the mistreatment of the astronomer’s wife, and thus her resulting unhappiness, which is a repercussion of her husband’s dreams. Her only outlet of happiness comes with a man who takes the time to speak plainly to her so that she may understand. This parallels human behavior in the real world, Boyle warning against getting caught up in theoretical work and leaving loved ones confused and therefore