WIDE NET

William Wallace Jamieson’s wife Hazel was going to have a baby. Even though the final stage of pregnancy remained six months away, Hazel behaved as though it would be the next day itself. If her husband didn’t pay enough attention to her needs, she refused to talk to him or spend time with him. As this practice began to continue on a daily basis, William Wallace got more and more irritated with his young wife. So one night he went out drinking with two boys of their neighbourhood and stayed out all the night. But when he returned home, early morning, Hazel had vanished. After searching the house inside out for her, William found she had left a letter for him. William swallowed hard on reading it, for Hazel stated that she would no longer put up with him and was going to the river to drown herself.

Upset and anxious, William ran to call his friend Virgil Thomas and insisted they should collect some villagers to assist in the dragging of the river. And as the river dragging party would require a wide net, he decided to collect it from the old local doctor, known as Doc. The two friends then recounted their experiences with Hazel and analysed her behaviour. As they searched for traces of Hazel in the grove amidst the deep interior of woods, William Wallace caught hold of a rabbit, stroked it and argued with his friend who had to remind him that he was out to catch not cotton trails but his missing wife.

Soon the river dragging party headed by William Wallace, Virgil and old Doc, along with the Doyles with their ferocious dogs and four nigger boys followed the path of the old Natchez Trace. It took them through the deep woods and led them down below to the Pearl river. The wide net was cast on to the river, which stretched from one bank to the other and its weights holding it all the way to the bottom. The net caught into it almost all of the river’s store of fishes, weeds, shoes and other things, so Wallace and his companions had to empty the net often, from top to bottom. As Wallace kept on diving to the bottom, he once reached the deepest part of the river. He stayed there for a pretty long time and as he broke on the surface of the river, he felt a deep agony at his heart. Soon it was noon and all felt hungry. So they dragged up the haul onto a wide sandbar, built a fire, cooked and ate the catfish. After having their fill, all of them fell asleep. Then something unexpected occurred before the bewildered river dragging party. William Wallace began to leap up and down excitedly, having hooked a big catfish to his belt buckle. The weather changed, showing signs of an approaching storm. Heavy drops of rain started pouring down, lightning struck trees, sudden currents and whirlpools thronged the river; and Wallace cut his foot walking on a sharp rock. The party decided to retreat to their Dover village, once the storm got over. Towards late afternoon, they reached the road leading to their village patched with tar. The river dragging party entered the village, showing off their catch with pride. Even Wallace Williams gained a profit by selling off his fish for three dollars.

Now, as Wallace returned home after the futile search, he saw a rainbow which seemed like a lady’s summer dress, a faint veil through which the stars showed. To his surprise, the familiar voice of Hazel greeted Wallace from the bedroom. He found Hazel as she was before. After supper, they sat on the front steps for a while, and as Wallace came to know that hazel was hiding and enjoying herself all the while, he turned her up and spanked her. Both of them behaved as if nothing had happened between them. They realized the fact that both needed each other’s company. Though it looked as if Wallace had dragged the river to capture Hazel who now lay smiling in the crook of his arm, it was really Hazel who had captured Wallace in her net. Thus Welty illuminates a universal truth here. It is only through personal loss that one realizes the full worth of a companion or friend.