In this story by Patrick White, a woman with very low self-esteem spends her life at the beck and call of a rancorous, dominating husband. As they age and he gradually wastes away, they spend their days “traffic watching” from the veranda of their small house on a busy road. She becomes obsessed with a strange-looking man who drives by at five-twenty every day and, following a chance meeting after her husband dies, experiences what may be her first passionate stirrings. Sadly, death comes between them. Themes include patriarchy, gender roles, aging, loneliness, lack of passion and fulfilment, freedom, loss.
Published in 1968, the heyday of the Women’s Liberation Movement, the story could be considered a parody of the traditional view of marriage in which a devoted wife is subservient to every whim of her dominating husband and any passion in the relationship is driven by the man’s needs rather than the woman’s.
Five-Twenty Text / PDF (8,850 words)