Previous
Smith
Nettie Smith is Smith’s overly affectionate wife. According to Smith, Nettie constantly smothers him with hugs and kisses and rarely lets him out of her sight. Although Smith knows he should be grateful for Nettie’s loving nature, he also feels suffocated by his wife and longs for a little break from her—even just one night a month. However, at the end of the story, it’s clear that Nettie wanted a break from her husband, too, and purchased a marionette of her own. Smith’s repeated observation that Nettie has been even more affectionate than usual the past month suggests that he has been unknowingly living alongside a marionette for over a month—thus, the real Nettie doesn’t appear in the story whatsoever. When Smith realizes that the bulk of their money is gone, his first thought is that his wife gluttonously purchased several thousands of dollars’ worth of hats, handbags, and perfume, consequently depicting Nettie as thoughtless and vain. However, Smith’s second thought is that Nettie purchased—without permission—the small vacation home alongside the Hudson that she’s been talking about for months. This small detail feels similar to Braling’s desire to go to Rio, and his plan to buy a marionette to allow him to do so. This suggests that perhaps Nettie did the same thing, buying a marionette and running off to the place she’s been dreaming about that her husband has barred her from. In addition, Smith’s horror that Nettie did something without his permission implies that he is a domineering, controlling partner, and that perhaps the pair had an unhappy marriage.
Nettie Smith Quotes in Marionettes, Inc.
The Marionettes, Inc. quotes below are all either spoken by Nettie Smith or refer to Nettie Smith. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
“Marionettes, Inc.” Quotes
“[I’m] married to a woman who overdoes it. I mean, after all, when you’ve been married ten years, you don’t expect a woman to sit on your lap for two hours every evening, call you at work twelve times a day and talk baby talk. And it seems to me that in the last month she’s gotten worse. I wonder if perhaps she isn’t a little simple-minded?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As Smith and Braling walk home from their night out, they talk about their respective marriages, which are both unhappy ones. While Braling’s problem is that his wife (so he claims) is hateful and controlling, Smith’s problem is that his wife is overly loving and attached at his hip. Smith depicts Nettie as being childlike, obsessive, and “simple-minded.” Smith is clearly uncomfortable with Nettie’s lavish displays of love, underscoring how important mutual affection is in a marriage. Furthermore, Smith’s assertion that “in the last month she’s gotten worse” is an important moment of foreshadowing—later, he comes to understand that this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio
“Thank you […] You don’t know what this means. Just a little respite. A night or so, once a month even. My wife loves me so much she can’t bear to have me gone an hour. I love her dearly, you know, but remember the old poem: ‘Love will fly if held too lightly, love will die if held too tightly.’ I just want her to relax her grip a little bit.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Braling has just given Smith the business card for Marionettes, Inc. so that Smith can purchase his own marionette and have “a little respite” from his wife, Nettie. Smith quotes an anonymous poem, which reads, “Love will fly if held too lightly, love will die if held too tightly.” This means that if someone is too indifferent toward their spouse, then their spouse may leave them. On the other end of the spectrum, if someone tries to control and cling to their spouse too much (like Nettie does), the relationship will suffocate. Through the poem, Smith points Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perfere
“Really, you make me feel like a criminal. You have been such a good, loving wife. Sometimes it is impossible for me to believe you married me instead of that Bud Chapman you once liked. It seems that in the last month you have loved me more wildly than ever before.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After his night out with Braling, Smith returns home and watches his wife sleeping peacefully. He tells the sleeping Nettie that she makes him “feel like a criminal” for wanting to escape her grasp. Once again, it doesn’t seem that Smith actually loves his wife. In this passage, he merely expresses guilt for not warmly receiving her indulgent displays of love, and he voices pride in that she chose him “instead of that Bud Chapman [she] once liked.” The mention of Bud Chapman is interesting because it is fairly jarring, as his name appears suddenly and is never brought up Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus e
And then, the horrid thought. And then the terror and the loneliness engulfed him. And then the fever and disillusionment. For, without desiring to do so, he bent forward and yet forward again until his fevered ear was resting firmly and irrevocably upon her round pink bosom. “Nettie!” he cried.
Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Smith frantically begs his wife to tell him what she’s done with ten thousand dollars of their money (which Smith refers to as his money). In this moment, it seems as if Smith realizes what ten thousand dollars can buy—a marionette. When he grasps this, Smith is “engulfed” by horrible feelings of “terror,” “loneliness,” “fever,” and “disillusionment.” For much of the story, Smith has been planning on deceiving Nettie with a marionette of his own, and never seemed to consider the dubious ethical nature of the plan or the emotional impact it would have on Nettie were Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum
Get the entire Marionettes, Inc. LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Nettie Smith Character Timeline in Marionettes, Inc.
The timeline below shows where the character Nettie Smith appears in Marionettes, Inc.. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
“Marionettes, Inc.”
...exactly been roses” either, and Smith agrees. His problem, he asserts, is that his wife, Nettie, “overdoes it.” He remarks to Braling that after ten years of marriage, you’d think your...
(full context)
...He says all he wants is “a little respite,” even just once a month. Currently, Smith’s wife hates when he’s out of the house for even an hour. Even though he loves...
(full context)
Braling says that Smith is actually fortunate—Nettie loves Smith too much, while Mrs. Braling simply hates Braling. Smith says the problem is...
(full context)
...wait. In just two months, his ribs will be healed from being constantly crushed by Nettie’s embrace. His hand will be healed from being constantly squeezed and held, and his bruised...
(full context)
...up, and Smith climbs on, humming as he does. He thinks about how he and Nettie have fifteen thousand dollars in their joint bank account. He can just “slip eight thousand...
(full context)
Smith arrives at his house and wanders into his bedroom and finds Nettie—“pale, huge, and piously asleep.” He is overwhelmed by the sight of her “innocent face.” Softly,...
(full context)
...missing, leaving the couple with only five thousand dollars in their account. Immediately, Smith blames Nettie, yelling that she’s purchased “More hats, more clothes, more perfume.” He thinks she’s even purchased...
(full context)
Smith runs back into the bedroom, yelling for Nettie to wake up explain what she’s done with his money. At first, Nettie doesn’t wake...
(full context)
...by “fever and disillusionment.” Although he doesn’t want to confirm his suspicion, he leans into Nettie and presses his ear against her chest. All he hears is “Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick.”
(full context)
