The Robber Bride

Years later, after her parents have died, Roz find out from Uncle George, also near death, that her father’s fortune came from stealing valuable artifacts during the war, as well as smuggling out the occasional Jew. Roz is morally torn; she wonders whether she should give away her “dirty” money or make more of it. She strikes a compromise, giving generously to charity while continuing to build her fortune. Her pet project is the woman’s magazine, WiseWomanWorld. When she invests capital to keep the magazine afloat, she insists on being the majority stakeholder, appointing Mitch to the board of directors, a move that angers much of the female staff.

Curious about her father’s past and eager to redeem his reputation, Roz decides to invite Zenia over for a drink, despite Tony’s warnings to “watch your back” (391). In retrospect, Roz realizes that her love for her father as well as her own ego were the chinks in her armor.

Roz and Zenia chat over cocktails. Roz is nervous because of Zenia’s history with Tony and Charis, but she believes she is savvy enough to handle her. Zenia relates a story about her childhood: After fleeing the Nazis in Berlin, her mother left Zenia, then an infant then, with a neighbor. Her parents are taken away despite the fact that neither is Jewish by birth, and her aunt resolves to smuggle her out of the country. Zenia claims Roz’s father provided the necessary forged documents. Although she’s never met Roz’s father, Zenia sees him as a “hero.”

Roz is so grateful to hear this story, a validation of her father’s essential goodness, that she wants to compensate Zenia for her suffering. Then, she hears Tony’s voice in her head reminding her that Zenia is a masterful liar. When Roz presses Zenia on the conflicting stories she told to Tony and Charis, Zenia concedes that she didn’t always tell the truth when she was younger. She pleads mental illness brought about by her hardscrabble life after her aunt died, which included prostitution, stripping, and drug abuse. Therapy, she says, has revealed her true self. Roz is impressed that Zenia has owned up to her past. When she suggests that Zenia’s story would be good material for WiseWomanWorld, Zenia sobs: “It’s just a story. It’s just material. Something to use” (403). She bemoans the lack of stability in her life, looking to Roz as the pinnacle of success and happiness. Roz sees Zenia as a lost “waif” and pledges to help her.

Over dinner with Roz and her editor, Zenia regales them with tales of her warzone journalism in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and El Salvador. She often uses men’s names in her byline to protect her identity. She claims she relocated to Canada because it’s safe. When Roz offers her a job writing for WiseWomanWorld, Zenia offers instead to increase their advertising revenue. Thanks to Zenia’s contributions, profits go up, and soon she has assumed an editorial position. At parties, Zenia works the room like a professional, but Mitch avoids her. Despite Zenia’s apparent professionalism and the uptick in magazine sales, Roz feels uneasy, although she cannot pinpoint why.

At an editorial meeting, Zenia suggests changing the name of the magazine to simply Woman. Before Roz realizes it, the magazine itself changes; there are no more uplifting stories of women overcoming hardship or serious news reporting. Zenia transforms it into a glossy, high fashion publication featuring sex quizzes, fad diets, and fashion advice. Roz is unhappy about the changes, but the magazine is profitable now, and she doesn’t want to risk looking like a “vindictive shrew” by firing Zenia.

One day, Mitch leaves. Apparently, he and Zenia have been having an affair behind Roz’s back, and he takes his belongings when she is out of the house. Looking back, Roz thinks that maybe throwing her money around, giving Mitch everything, and not allowing him to contribute was part of his dissatisfaction. Maybe in Zenia, he sees someone who will allow herself to be rescued. Roz hires a private detective named Harriet to investigate. She finds Mitch and Zenia living in a penthouse near the harbor where his boat is docked. Questions about Zenia’s background are harder to answer. Harriet finds no trace of Zenia’s past in Germany, but she did write some magazine articles in London, mostly about fashion. The ones under men’s names, the political reporting, are actually by men, most of whom are dead. After some sex scandals with politicians, Zenia disappears.

Roz is jealous and angry, but she puts on a brave public face. She doesn’t respond to Tony and Charis’s calls, who can tell something is amiss. One day, Harriet reports that Zenia is seeing another man, a cocaine dealer, behind Mitch’s back. When Roz sends this information to Mitch anonymously, Zenia flees to London. Later that night, Mitch reappears at Roz’s home looking utterly shaken. Zenia left and swindled Woman of $50,000 by forging Mitch’s name on the checks. Despite Roz’s admonition that Zenia used him and tossed him aside, Mitch goes after her.

In the dead of winter, Mitch returns as a hollowed out, sagging husk. Unable to find Zenia, he announces he wants to come back just to have a place to sleep, but Roz knows that once he’s recovered, he will be after Zenia again. She refuses, ushering Mitch out into the winter night. Eventually, they work out a financial settlement and separate. Roz seeks therapy and is on the verge of asking Mitch to join her when she hears of Zenia’s death. Death, however, does not relieve Roz’s trepidation “because Zenia is nothing if not vengeful. Being dead won’t alter that” (424). Roz assumes that Zenia’s death will shake Mitch out of his doldrums, but weeks pass, and she hears nothing from him. Eventually, his body washes ashore off Lake Ontario, and his boat is found drifting aimlessly. Roz believes it was suicide but tells the children it was an accident. She cleans up the mess and ties up the loose ends, even emptying out the penthouse he shared with Zenia in which she still finds a few lingering remnants of Zenia’s presence.

Roz tries to muddle through her days, but the guilt and grief are overwhelming. She wanders the house in a funk. Unable to sleep, she takes a handful of sleeping pills washed down with scotch, telling herself it is not an overt suicide attempt. As Roz recovers, Charis sits by her bedside, pouring healing energy into her, and although Roz dismisses such New Age frivolity, it seems to work. Tony and Charis move in temporarily and tend to Roz until she begins to show signs of her old self.

In her basement, Roz rummages through old children’s books and mementos of Mitch’s, pining for what might have been. Feeling lonely, she considers inviting Tony and Charis over, but Charis is home on the Island and won’t want to travel back to the mainland at night; and Tony is home preparing dinner for West, she imagines. She thinks of Zenia and wonders how such women move through the world of men, insinuate themselves into their lives, wreak havoc, and then move on. Roz thinks about the promise of the feminists that all women would one day unite against the patriarchy. She does not know how Zenia fits into this game plan. Roz goes upstairs and finds the twins sitting in the kitchen. They notice that she’s been crying, and they jokingly try to mother her. “Wait until you have to do it for real,” she thinks.