Longing for Youth

Rose, in the story of "The Other Woman", is one of several characters who exhibits the theme of longing for youth. In Rose's case, it's not only her youth that she longs for, but the opportunities of youth. Rose is engaged when her mother dies and she breaks off the engagement, apparently preferring to remain in her childhood home with her father than to begin a home of her own. When her former boyfriend marries and has a child, Rose wonders if she's made a mistake. Later she tries to adopt the child, partly because she wants to give the girl, now an orphan, a home, but also because the child symbolizes her own missed opportunity for happiness and a family of her own.

The two men in "The Woman" are additional examples of this theme. Both men see a pretty young girl and vie for...