Like father, like son? The acorn never falls far from the tree? Describe it any way you like, in Elizabeth Taylor's short story "Perhaps a Family Failing", from the collection Blush, the men in the Midwinter family leave much to be desired! I think Mrs. Midwinter already knows that. However young Beryl Cotterell is finding out the hard way.
Another very good short story by Taylor. This one is told from different perspectives, or rather moves from character to character and family to family to show a young, just-getting-married couple. The wedding has just come and gone and the fact that Mrs. Cotterell, the mother of the bride, in the opening paragraph of the story says right off the bat that Mr. Midwinter, the groom's father, is a man she "detested" pretty well sets the tone. However, it is the further implication of what that means for Beryl. It's what comes at the end of the story that makes you shake your head and imagine what her life will be like.
I suppose it is just the tiniest bit comic, and there is a knowingness about the story. Taylor turns her razer-sharp eyes towards domesticity and the idea that happily ever after so very often isn't really happy after all. There is no need to read on or wish for more story to see what happens after the wedding, since it is easy to imagine what's going to come next. What's impressive about Taylor's writing is the fact that she doesn't just assign blame in a clichéd manner. There is always more at play in her work.
Maybe Geoff and Beryl are actually made for each other, though when Beryl says she is sure she can "break him of the habit" of his obsession with public houses you just know it is not going to be as easy as she thinks it will be. As a matter of fact, she will likely learn the hard way that you can't break someone else's bad habits. The wedding goes off without a hitch. Mrs. Cotterrell is happy that the reception is her affair and she can keep a close eye on the details (the Cotterell's being teetotalers so there will be no drunken nonsense). Mr. Midwinter in all his obnoxiousness has tied a sardine can to the back end of the married couple's car (to be removed at the first opportune moment).
The only thing to come even close to mar the day is the sudden shift of weather. A seaside honeymoon is marked by a bleak stretch of promenade from the bedroom window as a strong gale blows in. The clash of family preoccupations is evident, though with Beryl she is perhaps a bit more worried about appearances and the desire that everything should be "just so" including her dress, hair and makeup. The Cotterell's seem a reasonably nice, upstanding, moral sort of family whereas the Midwinters are headed by a somewhat belligerent, overbearing father with several sons who probably ride roughshod over all and sundry and a poor mother who is shoved to the background hampered by her meekness. Beryl castigates Geoff for his teasing and wish for a little hanky-panky before dinner ("Oh don't be so silly. It's broad daylight."). And Geoff's father tellingly notes that he's like his dad ("Not given to asking anybody's by-your-leave when he feels like a pint.").
So, I've told you everything except the best part, which is what happens (or doesn't) in the bridal suite on the honeymoon of this very "happy" occasion. You're just going to have to read the story for yourself.
Four stories left in this collection, which I plan on finishing in April (several contenders for May short story reading already). Next up is "Good-Bye, Good-Bye").