Summary Analysis of The Boarding House

Mrs. Mooney, after a bad marriage that ended in separation, opens a boarding house with the money she had gotten out of the marriage. Since Mrs. Mooney is a strong and strict woman, she earned the title of "Madam" from the guests, who were mainly city clerks or tourists. Her son, Jack, and her daughter, Polly, both live in the house with her. Polly, who previously worked at an office, now cleans and helps her mother at the boarding house. Surrounded by so many young men, Polly, being the young, flirty girl she is, develops a relationship with one of them; his name is Mr. Doran. Even though Polly knows that her mother is aware of her affair, she continues to see Mr. Doran frequently. Polly wonders why her mother is not stopping them, but Mrs. Mooney wants to wait until the right time to intervene. Once she does, she first speaks with Polly, but the conversation is rather awkward and uncomfortable. Then, she plans to talk to Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney feels confident she will be able to win him over by convincing him to marry Polly. However, Mr. Doran feels the opposite. He dreads going to the meeting because he knows he only has two options; either marry Polly or run away. Knowing that the second option is unrealistic, he braces himself for the meeting. While pondering his options and his new life, Polly comes into the room upset and distressed. This makes Mr. Doran realize why he loved Polly in the first place. A little while after, while Mr. Doran is in his meeting, Polly prepares herself for what is next to come; marriage. This story shows that marriage is not always about true love or finding the right person. In this case, what began as a simple affair, turned into marriage, even though Polly and Mr. Doran do not necessarily want that. Mrs. Mooney is basically arranging her daughters marriage, by forcing her to marry Mr. Doran after what they did together.