The Price of Salt

On Christmas Eve, Therese pawns the silver St. Christopher medallion that Richard gave her to pay for an expensive handbag for Carol. Carol sends Therese a telegraph at Frankenberg’s saying she will meet her at five o’clock.

Carol confirms that she and Harge are divorcing, and Therese confirms that she and Richard have had sex, but she doesn’t like it. Carol says pleasurable sex “takes time” and can go “sluggishly”—often, sex is about something else. Therese admits that Richard treats her humanely and doesn’t restrict himself to labels. Therese wonders if Carol would like Richard.

In Carol’s car, they pick out a Christmas tree and then go to Carol’s house, where Abby, Carol’s friend, arrives in an open-topped car. Therese doesn’t find Abby attractive, and Abby and Carol discuss Carol’s divorce and custody fight. Carol lost “the first round,” so Harge gets to keep Rindy for three months, starting now.

Abby drives Therese back to New York City. She offers to go somewhere with Therese, but Therese wants to go home. Therese gives Abby the handbag and a card to give to Carol.

At Richard’s family home in Brooklyn, Therese feels like another person—like Carol is taking over her. The noisy house bothers Therese, so they go to Prospect Park to fly a kite he made. As they watch the kite in the sky, Therese asks Richard if he ever loved “a boy.” She wonders if he ever heard of two people—two “girls” or two men—suddenly falling in love. Richard has never loved another man, and he has heard of gay and lesbian people, but he’s never known any. Richard doesn’t think Therese could ever love “a girl.”

As the kite disappears into the sky, Richard cuts the string. Therese calls Richard “crazy,” but Richard thinks it’s “fun.” He says he can always create another kite.

One afternoon, Carol stops by Therese’s apartment. She thinks the bag is “beautiful,” but says it is too much. She has a present for Therese—a leather suitcase. Therese shows Carol some of her stage designs, and Carol offers to lend Therese the money if she gets a job on Broadway and needs to pay for a union membership. Carol likes seeing Therese, but she’s going on a trip soon. She decides to go look at furniture, but she says she’ll be back tonight. Before she leaves, she puts her arm around Therese’s waist.

Richard rings the doorbell, and Carol meets him on her way out. He asks her if she’s a painter. Carol says she’s “nothing,” and then she takes off. Richard wonders about the suitcase. Lying, Therese says Carol gave it to her because Carol left her wallet on the counter at Frankenberg’s, and Therese took it to her. Therese wants to be alone, and as Richard leaves, she gives him a book of Edgar Degas (a 19th-century French impressionist painter) reproductions. Richard offers to pay her back for the book, but Therese declines. At night, Therese and Carol visit Chinatown, and it rains.

The play is in chaos. Phil McElroy walked out in a “huff,” so a new actor plays his part, and there’s a new director who likes Therese’s functional set design. Abby calls Therese at the theater, and they meet for lunch. Abby knows theater people, and she’s known Carol since she was four. They ran a furniture store together. Now, Abby is an entomologist, extracting bugs from fruit and flowers. Abby invites Therese to a cocktail party, but Therese declines. Abby says Carol wants to go on a trip with Therese. The interaction rattles Therese, and Abby claims Therese won, though she won’t clarify what she means.

At a drugstore, Therese calls Carol and makes plans for tonight. She runs into Dannie McElroy, and they hang out in his nearby apartment. Therese likes Dannie—there’s no “small talk” with him. Dannie claims friendships arise from concealed needs—people possess “perversities,” and their actions aren’t always logical. Dannie recalls riding a horse in Pennsylvania and feeling complete harmony. The experience makes him think about consuming and letting go. He kisses Therese on the lips, and she doesn’t mind.

Therese writes a love letter to Carol that she doesn’t send. At Carol’s house, Therese senses a disconnect between the Carol in the letter and the Carol in front of her. Carol tells Therese that Abby doesn’t dislike her. Therese becomes suspicious of Carol’s Irish maid, Florence, who seems aligned with Harge.

As Rindy will stay with Harge for the next three months, Carol can go on her trip, and she invites Therese to see America with her. She writes Therese a check for $200 as spending money for the trip, but Therese doesn’t want it. Therese isn’t sure if Carol actually wants her to go with her, but Carol says her company would give her “pleasure,” just like giving Carol the handbag gave Therese “pleasure.” When Therese decides to go on the trip, Carol becomes happier. She cancels her evening plans and plays “Easy Living,” a love song, on the record player. Therese thinks of it as their song. She sleeps over Carol’s house in a separate bedroom.

Carol thinks Harge picked her out “like a rug,” and he made a bad choice. He doesn’t love her, but he wants to control her. He runs a real estate investment firm and hangs out with people who golf. Harge’s family doesn’t like Carol because she’s a nonconformist. Carol admits that Harge is a dutiful father, taking Rindy to school and picking her up, but he doesn’t let Carol see her often. Carol muses that he wants to control her. When Carol isn’t with Rindy, they talk on the phone every day.