Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Neighbour Rosicky, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Good Life
The City vs. The Country
Family, Community, and Kindness
Money vs. Happiness
Summary
Analysis
Rosicky’s own childhood ended early, and this is perhaps this is why he’s so fond of his sons. Back in the present, he worries about his eldest son, Rudolph. Every Saturday, Rosicky’s sons and daughter, Josephine, drive their Ford into town to go to the movies and look at the shops. But this Saturday morning, Rosicky asks them to give the car to Rudolph and his new wife, Polly, instead. Rosicky’s sons are disappointed, but Rosicky tells them that he is concerned that Polly, a girl who grew up in town, is disappointed with her new country life. He wants to give them the car every Saturday through New Year’s, to try to make her happy. Before their sons can complain, Mary cuts in to say that it’s a good idea—she, too, feels worried about Polly and Rudolph’s marriage.
Polly and Rudolph’s different upbringings parallel the wider differences between urban and rural living that recur throughout the story. Their different opinions about how to live again raise the question of what constitutes a good life. Polly grew up in a town, not a city, but it is still a struggle for her to adjust to rural living. Rosicky, on the other hand, actually experienced city life, and he knows that it’s perhaps overrated given that country life offers greater freedom and a close connection to nature. Rosicky’s desire to make every effort to help Rudolph and Polly’s marriage again shows how deeply he values family.
Themes
That night, Rosicky drives to Rudolph and Polly’s new house, which is small and bare. Polly is slim, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and has plucked and painted-on eyebrows like Pearl. Polly greets him coldly, referring to him as “Mr. Rosicky,” which Rosicky takes as evidence that she feels ashamed of marrying into their first-generation immigrant family—even though she has known and loved Rudolph since high school. Rosicky offers her the car to go to a movie, and initially, Polly says no because she has too much work to do inside the house. But Rosicky insists that they go, offering to do their dishes himself. Polly tries to protest but eventually agrees, touched by his gesture of kindness and generosity.
Polly does not come from a first-generation immigrant family like Rudolph does, and Rosicky even thinks that she’s ashamed of associating with them. Polly’s initial coldness to Rosicky contrasts with how every other character in the story views him—with love and affection. But Polly seems to associate Rosicky with the rural lifestyle as a whole; she’s hesitant to warm up to him, just as she’s hesitant to embrace the Rosickys’ way of life.
Themes
Polly asks Rosicky what it was like living in the city, and if he gets lonely living in the country. Rosicky knowingly explains that cities are only a good place to live if you’re rich, but not if you’re poor. But Polly still wishes to move to New York one day, and she wants to one day hear about Rosicky’s time there and in London. But Rosicky simply tells her to get ready to go—and just then, Rudolph arrives home. Rosicky gives Rudolph the car and some money to spend on Polly in town. Rudolph feels embarrassed to take the cash from the father, even though he needs it—there was crop failure this year, and he and Polly are struggling with their finances (as well as their marriage).
Polly’s fantasy of moving to the city contrasts with Rosicky’s lived experience of its difficulties. While Rosicky was neither rich in the city nor the country, he is much happier in rural Nebraska than he was in New York or London, and he tries to pass this lesson onto Polly and Rudolph. Still, Rudolph grew up in the country, so he has nothing to compare it to. And now that he is married, life is becoming increasingly more expensive and difficult to navigate. Rosicky displays his generosity again as he gives a reluctant Rudolph money. Rosicky is not much better off than his son, but for him, money is not nearly as important as his family’s happiness.
Themes
After Rudolph and Polly have left, Rosicky does their dishes and thinks about the couple. He knows that living in the country is difficult for Polly, an all-American girl who grew up in town. Polly isn’t enthusiastic about doing housework, and she misses the social element of working as a shop clerk in town. Rosicky worries that Rudolph will take a factory job in Omaha so that he and Polly can move to the city. Having worked in factories before, Rosicky believes that the only way to be truly free and happy is to own land, to work for no one but yourself. Rosicky plans to do some carpentry work for Polly to make her feel cared for. He thinks how much happier and at-peace he fills in the country, rather than the city.
Rosicky’s concern about Rudolph and Polly’s marriage is more than just a desire for their happiness. Much of Rosicky’s dream of moving to Nebraska in the first place was tethered to a desire for freedom in nature—and freedom from the constrictive, oppressive nature of being an employee rather than a landowner. Rosicky feels greater liberty and happiness owning land and relying on himself for work, and he wants the same for Rudolph, whom he fears will be lured to the city by job opportunities. The enticing nature of the city, then, is connected to a youthful fantasy. Rosicky, now older and wiser, and having lived in cities in his own youth, believes that this fantasy is nothing more than a mirage.
Themes
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