A Wedding Dress Morley Callaghan Summary

Citizens usually uphold justice and follow the law unless motivated by other factors such as personal desires and harsh living conditions. In the story “A Wedding-Dress” by Morley Callaghan, Miss Schwartz steals a dress in a department store and conflicts arise within Miss Schwartz, between her and law enforcement officers, and between her and the society. The internal struggle of Miss Schwartz is caused by her greed. When she is in the department store, she tries to satisfy her desires through legal means. She wants a cheap fancy dress but is disappointed by the fact that “a plain dress would cost twenty-five dollars” (9). The relatively immense price forces her to choose between morals and Sam’s liking while her desires to look pretty at her wedding prompts her to “carelessly [draw] the dress into her wide coat sleeve” (11). This internal conflict leads to Miss Schwartz’s criminal behaviour..
At the same time, an external conflict arises as Miss Schwartz is going through the judicial process.
When a policeman is taking her to the station, she explains to him that “[she] [has] to go to Windsor” and hopes that he will show mercy and release her, but the policeman “[shrugs] his shoulders” (21), restating his position. At the court, Miss Schwartz is embarrassed as everyone looks at her and “the Crown attorney [seems] to find Miss Schwartz amusing” (30). The law enforcement officers, represented by the policeman and the Crown attorney, and Miss Schwartz are pit against each other because of their positions and conflict of interests. Hence, an external conflict
arises. Moreover, the Miss Schwartz’s initiative implies a conflict between her and her society. Miss Schwartz has waited for “Sam Hilton” to get a good job so they [can] get married” (1) for fifteen years. In other words, Sam has to work for more than fifteen years in order to earn a salary that can support a family, revealing the problem of low social mobility in their society. Even after Sam finds a good job, Miss Schwartz still cannot afford a fancy dress that “[is] marked seventy-five dollars” (11), hinting at the soaring prices and the diminishing purchasing power of citizens. Thus, Miss Schwartz and other citizens are probably living in poverty. The conflicts exist within Miss Schwartz, between her and the law enforcement officers, and between her and her society. These conflicts reveals her life as a lower class as she lives in poverty and struggles to uphold morals. Yet, in the end, Sam still wishes to marry her, proving that his love for Miss Schwartz will not change under any circumstances.