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The Case of the Double Husband

 The Case of the Double Husband
type
TVTItem
 The Case of the Double Husband
label
The Case of the Double Husband
 The Case of the Double Husband
page
TheCaseOfTheDoubleHusband
 The Case of the Double Husband
comment
The last of Margery Lawrence's Miles Pennoyer short stories, The Case of the Double Husband was published in 1971 as part of August Derleth's Dark Things horror anthology.In this tale, Pennoyer invites his friend and faithful chronicler Jerome Latimer to join him on vacation in Devonshire to observe a mutual acquaintance of theirs who has undergone a remarkable transformation. Ted Eliot was once a boorish bachelor — but following the death of his best friend George Arnold, he's taken on George's decidedly patrician taste and habits. Ted is now married George's widow Grace, who has her own ideas about what inspired the turnabout...Unmarked spoilers below.
 The Case of the Double Husband
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2023-08-25T19:43:59Z
 The Case of the Double Husband
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2023-08-25T19:43:59Z
 The Case of the Double Husband
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DBTropes
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: Overlaps with I Should Write a Book About This — Pennoyer knows that Jerome will get a kick out of retelling what's transpired between George, Ted, and Grace, then goes on to suggest a title for the eventual story.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_18d15922
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_1c6dc230
type
Dad the Veteran
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_1c6dc230
comment
Dad the Veteran: Zig-Zagged and Downplayed — George fought in the second world war and was left paralyzed from the waist down by an injury that eventually killed him. Though his body died, his soul lives on in Ted's body. By the end of the story, Grace and George-in-Ted's-Body have conceived a child.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_1c6dc230
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_24055b6c
type
Madonna Archetype
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_24055b6c
comment
Madonna Archetype: Downplayed — Grace's purpose in the world (as stated by the "Wise Elders") is to give birth to a "a great soul whose influence will mean much to this troubled world" and to raise this child with George. She doesn't know the specifics yet, only that a "great work" is expected of her. She eagerly accepts the responsibility.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_24055b6c
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_3016de81
type
Reincarnation Romance
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_3016de81
comment
Reincarnation Romance: In one of their many previous lifetimes, Ted and George were members of the Roman army and Grace was the woman they both loved. She favored George, which drove Ted mad with jealousy. Ted killed his friend in the heat of battle and married Grace himself, incurring a karmic debt to George's soul that persisted until their most recent lives.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_3016de81
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_373e2b9f
type
Murder the Hypotenuse
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_373e2b9f
comment
Murder the Hypotenuse: George and Ted's past lives as Ancient Roman soldiers saw them as rivals for Grace's hand in marriage. Grace favored George, and Ted secretly killed him to remove the competition..
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_373e2b9f
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_373e2b9f
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_41a32b6
type
Mystical Pregnancy
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_41a32b6
comment
Mystical Pregnancy: Downplayed, though it overlaps with Madonna Archetype and Messianic Archetype — Grace and George were reincarnated in their most recent lives in order to conceive and raise a child that will greatly influence the world. When George's body died, his soul was shuffled over into Ted's body to carry out "The Great Work," and Pennoyer happily reports to Jerome at the end of the story that Grace is already pregnant and will give birth to the child early next year. It would seem that the physical bodies of the parents that conceive the child are inconsequential in the equation; only the souls in them truly matter.
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_41a32b6
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_41a32b6
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_5158ccb3
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The Case of...
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_5158ccb3
comment
The Case of...: …the Double Husband.
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_5158ccb3
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_5158ccb3
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_53de87e5
type
Willing Channeler
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_53de87e5
comment
Willing Channeler: Overlaps with Demonic Possession — Ted willingly volunteered his body for George's spirit to inhabit.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_53de87e5
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_569a95e9
type
The Teetotaler
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_569a95e9
comment
The Teetotaler: The barkeep at the Happy Angler is well aware of Pennoyer's habits, and Jerome notes that the pub has started keeping a supply of soft drinks on hand for his visits.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_569a95e9
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_6459cc02
type
I See Dead People
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_6459cc02
comment
I See Dead People: Grace has minor "mediumistic" abilities. This is how she "saw" the moment when George's soul swapped places with Ted's.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_6459cc02
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_777baed3
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Out-of-Character Alert
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_777baed3
comment
Out-of-Character Alert: After George's death, Ted begins to act strangely. His normally boorish behavior and low-class tastes start to align with George's — this is what clues Grace in to the fact that George's soul has taken residence in Ted's body.
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_7aed96a9
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White Magic
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_7aed96a9
comment
White Magic: Discussed — see Black Magic above.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_7aed96a9
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_887ca31e
type
Noble Male, Roguish Male
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_887ca31e
comment
Noble Male, Roguish Male: George is the "noble" male, an intelligent and sensitive aesthete with an appreciation for literature, classical music, and culture. He wore understated clothes in neutral colors and enjoyed antiquing. Ted is the "rogue", a lazy bachelor with a desperately messy home and tastes that run to the lowest common denominator. He prefers loudly patterned jackets and ties (when he isn't wearing raggedy old flannel pants with an "open-necked shirt"), loves to gamble on sports and dog races, and the only "literature" he reads is cheap paperback mysteries. George drank wine and mixed cocktails, Ted drinks beer or whisky sodas. George was a master of polite conversation while Ted is abrasive and argumentative.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_887ca31e
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_906365a2
type
Demonic Possession
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_906365a2
comment
Demonic Possession: Overlaps with Willing Channeler. As George's physical form grew too weak to sustain him, Ted willingly gave up his body for George's soul to inhabit. This allowed George to live on while Ted's soul passed into the afterlife.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_906365a2
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_9e2c893
type
Black Magic
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_9e2c893
comment
Black Magic: Discussed, overlaps with White Magic — Jerome was under the impression that body-swapping is an evil sort of magic, but Pennoyer corrects him. Magic is magic, and whether it's good "White Magic" or bad "Black Magic" depends on the purposes for which it's used:
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_9e2c893
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_a8cbf649
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I Should Write a Book About This
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_a8cbf649
comment
I Should Write a Book About This: Zig-Zagged — Pennoyer knows that Jerome enjoys writing down his adventures and even suggests the title for this particular tale:
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_a8cbf649
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b2d54738
type
Reincarnation Friendship
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b2d54738
comment
Reincarnation Friendship: Grace, George Arnold, and Ted Eliot are the most recent reincarnations of a trio of souls that have been companions throughout many lifetimes. In some lives the friendship becomes romance (as described below).
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b2d54738
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b545453b
type
Internal Homage
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b545453b
comment
Internal Homage: Grace recognized "Mr. Pen" as the famous Miles Pennoyer because she's acquainted with the characters of another Miles Pennoyer story, The Woman on the Stairs:
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b545453b
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_b545453b
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b7e0c5ff
type
Love Triangle
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_b7e0c5ff
comment
Love Triangle: In their past lives in Ancient Rome, George and Ted competed for Grace's hand in marriage. Ted killed George because he couldn't stand the thought of his friend marrying the woman they both loved. In their current incarnations both men are still in love with Grace, but Ted values his friendship with George above his love for Grace.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_b7e0c5ff
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_bafa1190
type
Unfinished Business
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_bafa1190
comment
Unfinished Business: George's soul remains in the mortal world because the "Wise Elders" require him and Grace to raise a son. Since a war wound left him paralyzed and unable to father a child in his original body, George's soul was put into Ted's body while Ted's spirit moved on.
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_c98b7916
type
Messianic Archetype
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_c98b7916
comment
Messianic Archetype: Downplayed — The reason George's soul is able to remain in the realm of the living (inside Ted's body) is because the "Wise Elders" deem it necessary that he and Grace conceive and raise "a child whose body will be the earthly house of a great soul whose influence will mean much to this troubled world." The machinations of supernatural beings ensuring the birth of a son to a certain woman (and that the son be raised by a certain man) echoes the mythology surrounding the conception of Jesus.
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_cd9d3d92
type
Past-Life Memories
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_cd9d3d92
comment
Past-Life Memories: Pennoyer discovers the karmic debt between Ted and George when Grace allows him to hypnotize her and dredge up the memories of her life in Ancient Rome:
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_cd9d3d92
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 The Case of the Double Husband / int_e1311c40
type
Romancing the Widow
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_e1311c40
comment
Romancing the Widow: Zig-Zagged — when George dies, Grace begins a relationship with his best friend Ted and the two eventually marry. But George and Ted's souls swapped places, so Grace is actually re-marrying George-in-Ted's-body.
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The Case of the Double Husband / int_e1311c40
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_ecc96193
type
Backup from Otherworld
 The Case of the Double Husband / int_ecc96193
comment
Backup from Otherworld: Implied — Ted is able to bargain with the "Wise Ones"/ "Those on the Other Side"/ "Elder Brothers" (i.e. psychically powerful beings who have some sway over who passes into the afterlife and who must reincarnate to pay their karmic debts) to offer his own body for George's soul to inhabit. George's body will perish, but his soul will live on in Ted's body. Ted's soul will pass on into the afterlife having repaid a millennia-old debt to George.
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The Case of the Double Husband

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Case of the Double Husband
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Demonic Possession / int_2ad439e4
 The Case of the Double Husband
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Noble Male, Roguish Male / int_2ad439e4
 The Case of the Double Husband
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Willing Channeler / int_2ad439e4