A GLOWING FUTURE by Ruth Rendell

This is a strange and ghoulish little story, more popular with young women than men. Maurice comes back to London after a year in Australia and asks his old girlfriend Betsy to put him up for a couple of nights. They sleep together on his first night. In the morning over breakfast Maurice tells Betsy he plans to return to Australia with his new resident permit, start a new job, and then get married to his new girlfriend Patricia. Betsy is profoundly shocked since she thought Maurice had come back to be with her. Maurice orders tea chests and a large trunk to pack all his stuff from the flat in London where he and Betsy had lived together for two years. Betsy gets violently upset, and after various arguments and humiliations, she kills Maurice by smashing him over the head with a lamp, then stuffs his body into the trunk together with the note Maurice had written to Patricia: this is for you, my darling, for ever and ever. The trunk (and contents) will probably take three months to get to Australia.

A Glowing Future (Rie)

This is what I thought after I read the story.?

I've never read such a owful story. I cannot believe in what Mourice did to Betsy. What a bloody man he is!

Of course, I think what he did to her is owful but I think she should not have killed him. But I do not know what would happen if I were her. I might kill him as well or want to break his life up into pieces. I am sure Betsy has been hurt very much. I think she did nothing wrong accept the murder.Mourice shuld have told about Patricia when he rung Betsy. Then,Betsy must have been able to prepare to meet Mourice again. Mourice is very annoying and stupit and not faithful. I can not possibly tell why Betsy dwelled on him that much.Maybe, it is her adherence.It might not be a love at the and of story. She just had a grudge. If she were not upset, she must have given up on him and tried to find a new boyfriend. I know it is not easy though... But I think it could'nt be couldn't be helped. now,it is after she has killed him! What she shuld do at the moment is just surrender herfelf to the police. Sooner or later, she would be arrested. It is the best way to do, I think.

By the way, I Think there is someone we must not forget. Yes, Patricia!How about her? She is waiting for Mourice and trusts him.They were going to get married. I think she is the other miserablewoman in this story. she might not know about theMourice's old girlfriend.When she gets the boxes from London, she might become sick. It is must be very hard for her to realize what is going on. I am so sorry for Patricia.

I am not going to trust everything what guys say.I should be calm always, come what may!

A Glowing Future (Yukiko)

I liked this story very much. First, I thought this story was quite
scary, but as I read, I became to like this story. I think the structure of the story was good. It was scary though, but it was so exciting. My eyes followed the sentences and sentences. I couldn’t stop my fingers to turn the pages.

At the beginning, I liked Maurice more than Betsy. I thought Betsy was
such a mean and nasty woman. But as I read the story, I became to hate
Maurice so much, and I sympathized to Betsy. Also I sympathized a bit to Patricia, too. Well, there was nothing bad about Betsy and Patricia. There was nothing to accuse them. Maurice was bad. It was all Maurice’s fault.

He was such a bad, nasty guy. I can’t understand why Betsy loved such a nasty guy like him. Well, when they were together, maybe he wasn’t a nasty guy. But later on, she became to know that he’s nasty, and that he is the worst man in the world. Then, I thought she could throw away him and go to find the new boyfriend who is better than him. If I were her, I would do so. I can’t understand why she had to kill him. She killed him, and that means she has to go to the jail. She could come out from the jail someday, but she killed a person, so her life goes off the rails. If she had thrown him away and went to find the new man, she could be happy, and everything had gone fine. She messed her life by herself for Maurice. Why she had to?

That’s what I can’t understand. Why you have to spoil your life by
yourself for just one man? Maybe something very good was waiting after that tragedy. For that point, I thought Betsy was a bit stupid. Well, I haven’t loved a man that much; I don’t know what the real love is yet, so maybe I just don’t understand Betsy’s heart. But if I became an adult and if my boyfriend cheats, I think first, I will cry and swear. But soon, I would throw away him, and go to find more good man than him, and make my life happier than the time I spent with the ex-boyfriend. I wouldn’t kill him like Betsy and make my life to go off the rail. Why I have to make my life bad by myself just for one man? I’m not that stupid. I would live clever.

We can’t know what will happen in the future. Something really good or
something very bad could happen. If there was something so bad, maybe
something very happy is waiting after that. What important is not to lose control of yourself. I learned much from this story.

A Glowing Future (Keiko)

Well, I thought the accident like this story could be happened truly (except killing somebody). Betsy and Maurice (and Patricia) are ordinary. From the first, Maurice had been very rude to Betsy.How could he come back to Betsy's house? As he said (felt?), he shouldn't have come back if he doesn't want to argue and explain about Patricia, but he came back and slept with her.I still can't understand that. Maurice made Betsy upset on purpose a lot. He was rude to not Betsy but also Patricia very much, I think. Therefore I understand why Betsy attacked him. Of course she shouldn't have killed him and to send the dead body to Patricia is very horrible!!!

A Glowing Future (Ena)

“How can he do this?”

I couldn’t believe that Maurice, who was Betsy’s boyfriend

and who had lived with her for two years, came back to

London from Australia where he stayed for a year not to see

Betsy but to get his things in her house. He never wrote to her

while he was in Australia but he phoned her just twice. The

first time was to say he was missing her very much and he

loved her and the second time was to ask her to put him up

when he got to England. Betsy thought it was quite strange

but Maurice was a quite weird person so she didn’t really mind

what he’d done then.

However, the following morning after she slept with him who

just came back from Australia, he told her that he was going to

move to Australia and he’d got a new girlfriend called Patricia

there. Betsy was thinking that she was going to marry him

and she waited for him for a year so she got cross with him so

much. No, she didn’t just get cross with him. She actually

went mad. Even though she had been so mad and lost her

temper, he would’ve behaved as if he hadn’t done anything

wrong. That made her madder.

Finally, she killed him with the lamp.

I agree with her because he had been horrible and he made

her so mad, sad and lonely. I still think murder is not good

though. If I were her sister or something, I would advise her

to tell the police that she did it because I bet she would be

going to be found anyway even if she tried to escape to foreign

countries.

I hate murder and every kind of crimes. I was moved by the

expression “Crime Never Pays”, our book’s title so much. I

really agree with it. I hope crimes will disappear from the

world (I don’t think it’s possible though).

A Glowing Future (Fuki)

I think that was really strange and also really scaly!!!

At first I thought that Marice is really nice man because i didn't think that he made love with Betsy. I think he should pack his things by himself not ask her or his friends to do it.

if i was Betsy i don't want him to ask me to pack his things and also i don't want his friends to come and take his things which is really good memories with him so i want him to come to do it any way after i knew that he slept with her i changed my mind. he is really nasty and so bad guy.

I thought the end was gonna be like that Betsy is gonna go to see Patricia and she will do what ever she like such as be her friend without saying Betsy is his ex-girlfriend and then try to make his life worth or go to see her and tell everything
anyway i think she could choose other way not to send his dead body. I think she could go to price and tell them that he hatted her and she had to protect her body so that was accident.

Any way even if i was really panicked i could do better i guess!!

A Glowing Future (Yui)

I'm going to tell you my opinion about the story "Glowing Future".
My first impression of this story is just I hate Maurice. Because he was very bad, awful man and he didn't understand about women's emotion.

But second time when I read this story, I thought Betsy was wrong too. Cause she distroyed his life.

Maurice was bad man but if she didn't killed him, he may possibly change to be good man or they might be more peaceful separation.

I imagine the story after Betsy sent chest to Patricia. If I was Betsy's friend or family, I will advice her to go to the police. I don't want Betsy to carry the regret or failure for long time and waste her whole life. So she should go to the police before her head bruice get dissapper.

I think human is most scary creature especially women. Because only human has emotion in the creature and I think women have more pure emotion than men.
Each person has their view point. So I think it is hard to make the same opinion.

I like SF or Fantsy but I really enjoyed this story.

A Glowing Future (Saki)

my first impression is that this is a cruel story because the title of textbook is "crime never pays", so i have thought this book would give me scared somethings.(actually, it was true because when i read it, i becqme to get some kinds of scared and nervous things.)

anyway, u think this story has given us a good nervous thing ( which i don't know what i mean and say about,,,)

there is a the man whose name is maurice and who had been a boyfriend of betsy who had lived with him for two years.unfortunately, whilst he had been in australia for a year, he made a new girlfriend whose mane is patricia.that's why he hadn't beeb keeping touch with betsy a lot.

in fact, he did, but that was just two times.the first time, he said to her that he loved and missed her a lot, but the second time, he called her just before he was going to leave australis, and he said that he could put him up or not,,,,
when he arrived england to her flat, he slept with betsy .at that time, he hadn't told her which he had got a new girlfriend and he was going to move to australis , to a new girlfriend, which meant to say good-bye.he had predended everything was well!betsy wouldn't have thought it possible, unbliebable.she had gone white.maurice came back to her flat to just pack his stuffs up.she couldn't give up to separate with him.but, he kicked her, etc....

she wrote a letter to patricia which had the truth which he had done when he arrived london on first day.she became angry and KILLED him!!
and she sent the dead thing in the tea chest to patricia....

i guessed betsy was going to send the dead thing to patricia when i haven't finished reading it . and, that was true!!how awful and terrble it is!!if i were betsy, i would not kill him because it's not fair ant it'S redicurous.

A Glowing Future (Miharu)

This story was really terrible for me. I think Maurice was a bad boy,but Betsy went a bit too far to kill him.

Patricia was a the most poor girl , because maybe she did not know Betsy at all. Maurice shold have explained Betsy about Patricia early.

If I were in Betsy's places, I would have talked well with Maurice. She loved him very much,so she killed him. I don't understand her mind. Why she needed to kill her boyfriend in spite of she loved him?

I think Betsy was jealous that girl who Maurice really loved was not her, but Patricia. Betsy ought to have allowed him with big heart.

But then, maybe Betsy intended to marry him. It was quite natural for Betsy to think so, because they had been living with for two years. He didn't understand her feeling.

It is no good to love other person if anyone has a steady.

You asked us "If you were Betsy's sister, what will you do?" In my opinion, Betsy should surrender herself to the police. If possible, to England.

But, I don't want to be concerned with relationship like this. I want to live with a steady happily.

A Glowing Future (Mao)

i think maurice is a really really nasty man. i cant
believe what he did. im sure patricia whould say goodbye
to him if she knew what he did to her, betsy and maybe
other women(maybe!! he had other girl friends!!.....who
knows?) i think i could never guess how awful betsy felt
when she heard everything from him. i think it was much
much more worse than what im thinking. because she loved
him but she killed him! if she thought "he's awful but i
will find a new boy. goodbye maurice", she wouldn't kill
him!! i really hope every boy(man) in the world is NOT
like maurice. i believe maurice is a special man who is
very BAD!!!!!!!!! i hope i will never meet any men like
maurice in the rest of my life!!!!
i really dont know if people(you) could understand my
opinion even if it was in japanese but this is my
opinion!! i hope you could understand it!!
is this too short??i will copy this to my notebook and if
it dosnt go on the bottom of the page, i will write some
other opinion and send it to you!

A Glowing Future (Chieko)

I  have  ever  read  English  picter  books  written  by  English  but  it  was  fitst  time  to  read 

a  short  story  written  by  English .

At  first ,  I  could  not  understand  what  the  short  story  was  written  about .

I  just  know  some  muders  would  happen  in  this  story ( From  P,41 ) ,so  I  was  very   

suprised  the  ending . ( How  poor  Patiricia  is !!! )

I  think  not  onlu  Betsuy  ia  terrible  but  also  love  and  women  are  terrible .

Anyway , Maurice  is  really  dirty  man , is  not  he ?

I  hate  him !!!

I  do  not  knoe  why  he  came  back  to  Betzy's  flat .

He  should  have  written  to  her  and  asked  someone  to  send  his  things .

If  he  had  done  like  this ,  he  would  not  have  been  killed  by  Betzy .

If  I  were  Betzy ,  I would  do like  her  but  I  could't  send  the  dead  thing  (Mourice) 

to  Patricia .

I  would  go  to  police .

As  Itold  you ,  I  couldn't  understand  the  story .

When  Iread  this  story  as  a  homework , I  was very  confused .

I  couldn't  read  even  characters'  names !

I  didn't   want  to  take  the  class , but  now  I  really  enjoyed  this  story !!!

It  was  very  interesting !

Thank  you  for  your  wonderful  explanation  and  peformance !

 Still  now ,  I  can't  understand  the  meaning  of  the  title, " A  Glowing  Futer " .

 " A  Glowing  Futer "  ?   For  whom ?

You  told  us  " AGlowing  Futer "  means  succesful  futuer .

"A  Glowing  " means  Mourice' blood ?

I  want  to  know  the  meaning .

Some  day ,  I  want  to  be  able  to  read  English  books  only  my  self  !!!!

                                                               See  you  Monday .         Chieko

PS    This  homework  is  really  hard  for  me , because  it  takes  lots  of  time  to  type  for 

me . ( It  took  about  an  hour  !!!!!! )

A Glowing Future (Mari)

I think this story is not only a scene of one's daily life,but also a horrible thing.
  I understood Betsy's phychology,but I couldn't understand a reason why she killed Maurice.
If I was Betsy,I would accuse him of his affair and lie or go to Australia and see his new girl friend,Pareicia.
  Murder is crime,and Betsy had done it. She should be caught in murder,but I think Maurice was to blame,too. If Betsy didn't kill him,he was the very offender. He deceived Betsy. He didn't confess his secret to her that he had a new girl friend before he return to Betsy's flat!! Maurice was selfish,inconstant,egoistic man. I hate the men like him.
  By the way,did Patricia know that Maurice had gone to Betsy's flat? Did she know Maurice and Betsy were steady? And if she knew it,why she didn't keep back him? She had the right to do that. When Maurice's body had returned her house,she must be regret at allow him to go to London. If she knew his secret,she would call to Betsy and stop her crime. But if she didn't know that...it's Maurice's crime. Either way,Patricia is innocent.
  Maurice's body was send by sea mail with his furnitures. Then,how Betsy packed the body into the trunk? It takes about three months to deliver the baggage from London to Australia by sea mail. The body must be decay. Parhaps Betsy didn't think that...
  I think Patricia is a poor woman,Maurice is a bad man,and Betsy is a honest and pitiful woman.

A Glowing Future (Ayano)

I like mystery books very much !!
The most of my books are mysterious and comics.
So, this novel "A Glowing Future" is very interesting and exciting !!
  It is difficult to understand mutual sexes, if anything, I think it is
impossible to understand that.
Perhaps, what Maurice say is right.
If I were in his position, I might behave like him.
But, what Betsy says is right, too.
It is natural that she should be angry with him.
If I were in her position, I would feel angry, sad and have the urge to
kill him.
Her feeling is very natural.
So, both of them are right.
But, muder will out after all.
I think Muderer is always a loser.
Whatever may happen, never commit muders.
Maurice is really faithless, heartless and hatefull, but even so, I think,
Betsy shouldn't have killed Maurice.
She should have think another way to avenge his behavior, to argue
him into silence.
For example, smack him, ditch him, say him "Go away ! I will never
see your bloody face, never speak to you ! " and drag him out of
the room with his treasure household.
After that, make a new boyfriend, forget him all.
Then, she get a glowing future !
  I think, the most miserable is Miss. Patricia who looked nothing
she had seen in all her life.
And Betsy and Maurice are miserable, too.
After all, nobody gets a glowing future.

A Glowing Future (Sachiho)

I tell you my senitement about a growing future. I thought Betsy is awful women.First,I was surprised to write letter to Ptricia. I think Betsy hated Patricia considerably.Second,I can't believe that she sent the corpse to partricia.It's terrible.If I were Partricia,I'm very glad because Mourice was coming to my home and we were getting married.But I will lost my consciousness when the Mourice's corpse arrived at me.It's too horrible. But that is not altogether bad. Maurice is bad,too. I hate the man who fool with
women. I can't allow it,so I was satisfied thing that Betsy killed
Maurice,because he hadn't found flirtation to be wrong at all.When Maurice kicked Betsy away, I sympathized with her, because she has done nothing wrong I thought.

But murder is illegal, so she should recognize tha she was wrong and she should be arrested.I think she will regret someday what she had done. The eternal triangle is impossible for me. I want to be devoted to each other.I hope I have a happy home in the future. I don't want to marry like Maurice. My favorite type is gentle,faithful and educated. I want to marry like this man.

If I were her,I sob bitterly and I hit him good and hard.I demand him why you fooled.why?why?why? His flirtation is a terrible shock to me, but I wouldn't kill him. I find a new boyfriend forgetting him and I start  new love. It's glowing future!!!

A Glowing Future (Mayuka)

This stoy is very sad and disgust me. i felt love,sorrow,hatred and regrect.
Main characters are Betsy,Maurice and Patricia. Besty and maurice lived with for 2years,so they were married practically.But when maurice was in australia, he fell in love with patricia. When besty knew the fact, she was shocked and hated him.

She wrote a letter about the truth, maurice and her' relationship to patricia. Finally,she hated him so much that she killed him. She said,'have you ever been smashed in the face,maurice?' Then, the worst thing happened. Besty raised the lamp and struck him with the lamp on the forehead.and she struck again, and again and again....... She raised blows on his face and his head last. maurice was dead. She couldn't move momentarily. And she cleaned the room carefully, not to leave his blood. Because mauice's company come to carry his stuff, the six tea chests and one trunk. But she hided body.where did she hide the body? She undid the trunk, she took evrything and she packed the body into the trunk　with a letter which maurice wrote to patricia when he is living,he wrote it front of besty. 'All this is for you, darling patricia, for ever and ever.' the trunk will reach patricia 3 months later.

How awful!! But if i were besty,i hate him so much! but i don't kill him. i want to kill him. But i don't want to bearrested and send to jail. So, i torment him gradually. of corse, i'll tell patricia the truth. and i move another country. i 'll send a lot of unhappy letters to him.

If i were witch and i could use magic, i would make him so small. and i pack small him into a ginger jar,i want to sink "it"!! i never see him. and i want to have a happy life. So, i sympathize with besty. If i were patricia, i ask him why you did secret the important truth. But i will not do like besty. i break with him soon! i think that maurice should distinguish . The accident is also a big judgment from besty and God, i think so.

A Glowing Future (Yurie)

this horrible story-a glowing future-is very interesting for me,and i can understand Betsy's feelngs when she killed Maurice,tried to attacked him etc...

if i were her...i tried to kill him. NO! its joke!!! probably i tried to talk with him,and tell him 'dont leave me alone! dont go to Australia! dont see Patricia!' now,im sure he is a very BAD guy,and NOT faithful,but then i still love him very much and can not believe that he will leave from me. i tried to talk again and again and again. but parhaps, he didnt care about it,and he didnt think of me. so i shouted 'get out of here,Maurice! i dont want to see you forever!' and i threw his six tea chests and a big trunk out of windows...like a film 'the mexican'...hehe. then ill try to make a new boyfriend,get married, make children and live together happily. it is 'a glowing future'. right??

i think she can not get such a happy and wonderful life, im not absolutely sure,but Betsy killed Maurice. so shi is a offender. she has to continue escaping or go to a prison...or kill herself.

i think she loved him very very very much!!! she seriously thought that they will get married, and he also loved her,kind to her. im very sure they had a good relationship at first...before he met Patricia in Australia.

there are many guys like Maurice all over the world. i think men and women should read this story, and think about each sex. it is important to understand it. i dont want guys like Maurice-selfish,unkind,flirtman and men who are not good for me. we,all women and girls must select one good man or boy, if you want to get happy life. if you select a man like him, your life is end.

this story is really complicated,i think. no...story is not complicated. i mean their minds and feelings are difficult to understand. i believe that love is only one remove from hate. we always in between love and hate. so, crimes like this story happens everywhere, and everyday...

love is the most difficult problem and sometimes love is changed to another feelings. it is really natural, but you know, murder is really bad act even if the victim is very bad man.

this horrible story told me something about men and women. and then, ill get good guys,and im not be taken in by a smooth talker!!!! be careful every girls and women!!!

A Glowing Future (Ayaka)

This is my opinion about “Glowing Future”


At the beginning of the story I couldn’t really understand what was going on, but as the story got clearer and clearer I found it interesting.

I think the writer is very clever. I didn’t like the ending but it was really good. It was rather scary than interesting. Story worked very well. I thought it was really short story! It was interesting and thrilling. If the story could have been longer, it would have been very suspenseful story and I would liked it very much.

I liked this story because it was not just a criminological story like the one I found in book store, and this book was quite different because we knew who the killer was, so this story had different kind of interestingness. I usually like the kind of story like finding the killer but I liked this story very much.

This book leaves very nasty taste and the end of the story made me shiver, I didn’t think that she really could send “Maurice” to Patricia, with that letter that Maurice had written for Patricia when he was still alive. I don’t feel sorry for Maurice, he is a real nasty guy and it was his fault that he had been killed. He pushed Betsy to the edge and he was a real fool that he thought Betsy wouldn’t hurt him. Of course she would!
I feel sorry for Betsy because her heart was broken and Maurice kept hurting her so much, but I most feel sorry for Patricia, she doesn’t know what Maurice did with Betsy when he just arrived her flat and she has no way to know what Maurice would have done during his “as a single man” trip around Europe, and she waits for him and the his stuffs first arrive, and she opens the trunk and she finds “Maurice, the body”! I think she hasn’t done anything wrong because obviously Maurice is not a faithful respectable and trusted man, perhaps Maurice hasn’t even told that he was a lover of a woman called Betsy! May be Patricia doesn’t know the existence of Betsy, how bad Maurice is! He should be the most hated man in the world!
I think Patricia will call the police but also I think Patricia will go mad, finding her lover’s body and his letter, “this is all for you my daring Patricia for ever and ever.”! How disgusting it is!
I think of two possibilities about what Betsy might do.
First one.
Betsy will stay her flat and live with feeling of nothingness for three months and the rest of her life.
She doesn’t escape but stays there, when police came and asks her what had happened to Maurice, she would say “I killed him.” She goes to prison for 5 or 6 years. I want her to go there for least 10 years because she sent the body to Patricia with the letter! I think that was as nasty as what Maurice had done to Betsy; cheating and breaking her heart badly. She comes out and she will live with nothingness for the rest of her life and she’ll die.

Second one
She will get her new identity and new face as well and she will escape from England forever.
She first gets her new face and new name with support of someone who knows lots about crime like lawyer (In this case I mean the lawyer who knows and helps criminals to escape.) or might be the criminals and with the same supporter she gets new identity and lots of money or earn money and go to wherever she wants to go. She might escape country like China because I think it will take time to find her if she escapes to Asian country because we don’t speak same language so the police will need interpreter and I think it will take time to find her in China!

She escapes to China, and live there for a quite long time and when the limitation of her case run out she will go back to England and live another new life.

I hope she will go to prison because I think she has done very bad thing. Killing people is a crime and she is now committed crime, even if she could run away form London the police but the truth will not change, she will has to remember him all the time.

She will never forget and she will never be able to escape from the fact, the truth.
I definitely want her to go prison; I don’t like what she’s done after she killed Maurice. She is so nasty!

I hope the next story won’t leave me that much nasty taste like this story. I don’t mind one character killing the other character because that is the way story works but I hope next character doesn’t lock the body up in the trunk or whatever it will be, and I really hope that the next character doesn’t send letter like that! That really scared me!