The Adulterous Wife story from The Pigman

[teemingONE]

This story has been bothering me for the better part of the day today. I tried googling it but I haven’t found anything. There are many dopers that are a lot better at googling then I am and I am wondering if anyone is able to help. Can anyone link me to the story or can anyone tell me it if they know it? Thanks for any help

[Marley23]

Here’s the answer I found. It’s from a teambuilding exercise page, hence the phrasing.

This isn’t exactly a puzzle…more of a psychological test…but it’s great fun. It’s from Paul Zindel’s YA classic, The Pigman.

One day Husband gets up and announces to Wife that he’s leaving on a business trip. She pleads to go with him, but he refuses to take her. Wife is eager to go because she has been trying to end an affair with Lover, but as soon as Husband leaves, she crosses the river and spends the night with Lover. The next morning she wakes up in a panic, starts to cross the bridge, but sees Assassin waiting for her at the other side. The only other way to cross the river is by ferry. Wife approashes the Boatman, who demands the fare, but she has no money. Wife hurries back and asks Lover for the fare, but he refuses to help her. Despairing, Wife then dashes across the bridge and meets the Assassin, who stabs her to death. It helps to accompany the story-telling with a crude map (included in the book). After telling the story, ask each participant to number from 1-5 and rank each character from most responsible to least responsible for Wife’s death (including Wife herself). Tell them that, according to Edward Albee, who got the story from Greek fishermen, this exercise reveals your values, or what matters most to you in life.

An answer key follows.

[sandra_nz]

Here’s how I’d rank them. What does it reveal about me?

1. Wife
2. Assassin
3. Lover
4. Boatman
5. Husband

[Capa84]

Who hired the assassin?

[mobo85]

@sandra_nz

Here’s how I’d rank them. What does it reveal about me?

Based on the answer key, you prefer

fun over other things.

[Capa84]

I originally had them ranked exactly like Sandra, but have a few quantifcations now.

If the Assassin is a wandering thug, who kills her because she just happens to cross the bridge at the wrong time, I rank them as Sandra did.

If the Husband hired the assassin, I feel this mitigates some of the Wifes responsibility, as she was seeking to end the affair, and shouldn’t be betrayed by the Husband(two wrongs do not make a right)…so

1)Husband
2)Assassin
3)Wife
4)Lover
5)Boatman
If the Lover has hired the hitman(perhaps he knows if the Husband finds out, then his own life is in danger, or cannot bear to live without the Wife), then I rank them:
1)Lover
2)Wife
3)Assassin
4)Husband
5)Boatman

My other questions would be–did the Husband/Lover also hire the Boatman to refuse her service? Is he in cahoots with the Assassin?

[Lochdale]

I’d put the assassin and whoever hired him at the top. Adultery is bad form but murder is, well, murder.

[Lama_Pacos]

Here’s my ranking. I didn’t assume that the husband hired the assassin or anything; I presumed all the events to be coincidence.

1. Assassin
2. Wife
3. Lover
4. Boatman
5. Husband

[sandra_nz]

Interesting!

I could not rank anyone except the wife as number one, as she chose to dash across the bridge to the assassin, she had the option of remaining with the lover (except, of course, her husband would then have found out about the affair).

[kaylasdad99]

What is an Assassin doing, killing people he’s not getting paid to kill?

[kaylasdad99]

Oh, and I rank them all equally responsible, for being involved in a team-building exercise.

[Menocchio]

1. Assassin
2. Lover
3. Boatman
4. Wife
5. Husband

[teemingONE]

thank you very much!

[saoirse]

@kaylasdad99

What is an Assassin doing, killing people he’s not getting paid to kill?

Maybe he’s just practicing.

[Hal_Briston]

@Lama Pacos

Here’s my ranking. I didn’t assume that the husband hired the assassin or anything; I presumed all the events to be coincidence.

1. Assassin
2. Wife
3. Lover
4. Boatman
5. Husband

Ditto. I can’t see ranking anyone #1 over the guy who, ya know, actually performed the murder.

[Renee]

To me, assassin implies a person actually hired to kill another person, and the husband seems the most probable suspect in that, although we aren’t given the whole story. Assuming the husband did hire the killer, that puts him pretty high on the list. Anyway, my ranking would be:

1. Assassin
2. Husband (if he hired assassin)
3. Lover
4. Wife
5. Boatman