3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

chapter 3. of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald, performed by Anna Butterworth

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Three, even after the new additionto the Button family had had his hair
cut short and then dyed to asparse, unnatural black, had had his
face shaved so close that it glistened, and had been attired in small boy
clothes made to order by a flabbergastedtailor. It was impossible for Button to

(00:20):
ignore the fact that his son wasa poor excuse for the first family baby,
despite his aged stoop. Benjamin Button, for it was by this name
they called him instead of by theappropriate but invidious Methuselah, was five feet
eight inches tall. His clothes didnot conceal this, nor did the clipping
and dyeing of his eyebrows disguise thefact that the eyes under were faded and

(00:46):
watery and tired. In fact,the baby nurse, who had been engaged
in advance, left the house afterone look, in a state of considerable
indignation. But mister Button persisted inhis unwavering purpose. Benjamin was a baby,
and a baby he should remain.At first, he declared that if

(01:06):
Benjamin didn't like warm milk, hecould go without food altogether. But he
was finally prevailed upon to allow hisson bread and butter and even oatmeal.
By way of a compromise, oneday, he brought home a rattle,
and, giving it to Benjamin,insisted in no uncertain terms that he should
play with it, whereupon the oldman took it with a weary expression,

(01:27):
and could be heard jingling it obedientlyat intervals throughout the day. There can
be no doubt, though, thatthe rattle bored him, and that he
found other and more soothing amusements whenhe was left alone. For instance,
mister Button discovered one day that duringthe preceding week he had smoked more cigars

(01:47):
than ever before, a phenomenon whichwas explained a few days later when entering
the nursery unexpectedly, he found theroom full of faint blue haze, and
Benjamin with a guilty ex expression onhis face, trying to conceal the butt
of a dark havana. This ofcourse called for a severe spanking, but

(02:07):
mister Button found that he could notbring himself to administer it. He merely
warned his son that he would stunthis growth. Nevertheless, he persisted in
his attitude. He brought home ledsoldiers, he brought toy trains, he
brought large pleasant animals, made ofcotton, and to perfect the illusion which
he was creating for himself. Atleast, he passionately demanded of the clerk

(02:31):
in the toy store whether the paintwould come off the pink duck of the
baby put it in his mouth,But despite all his father's efforts, Benjamin
refused to be interested. He wouldsteal down the back stairs and return to
the nursery with the volume of theEncyclopedia Britannica, over which he would pour
through an afternoon, while his cottoncows and his Noah's ark were left neglected

(02:55):
on the floor. Against such astubbornness, mister button efforts were of little
avail. The sensation created in Baltimorewas at first prodigious. What the mishap
would have cost the Buttons and theirkinsfolk socially cannot be determined, for the
outbreak of the Civil War drew thecity's attention to other things. A few

(03:17):
people who were unfailingly polite, rackedtheir brains for compliments to give to the
parents, and finally hit upon theingenious device of declaring that the baby resembled
his grandfather, a fact which,due to the standard state of decay common
to all men of seventy could notbe denied. Mister and Missus Roger Button

(03:38):
were not pleased, and Benjamin's grandfatherwas furiously insulted. Benjamin, once he
left the hospital, took life ashe found it. Several small boys were
brought to see him, and hespent a stiff jointed afternoon trying to work
up an interest in tops and marbles. He even managed, quite accidentally to

(04:00):
break a kitchen window with a stonefrom a sling shot, a feat which
secretly delighted his father. Thereafter,Benjamin contrived to break something every day,
but he did these things only becausethey were expected of him, and because
he was by nature obliging. Whenhis grandfather's initial antagonism wore off, Benjamin

(04:20):
and that gentleman took enormous pleasure inone another's company. They would sit for
hours. These two, so farapart in age and experience, and like
old cronies, discussed with tireless monotonythe slow events of the day. Benjamin
felt more at ease in his grandfather'spresence than in his parents. They seemed

(04:41):
always somewhat in awe of him,and despite the dictatorial authority they exercised over
him frequently addressed him as mister.He was as puzzled as any one else
at the apparently advanced age of hismind and body at birth. He read
up on it in the Medical Journey, but found that no such case had
been previously recorded. At his father'surging, he made an honest attempt to

(05:08):
play with other boys, and frequentlyhe joined in the milder games. Football
shook him up too much, andhe feared that in case of a fracture,
his ancient bones would refuse to knit. When he was five, he
was sent to kindergarten, where heinitiated into the art of pasting green paper
on orange paper, of weaving coloredmaps, and manufacturing eternal cardboard necklaces.

(05:31):
He was inclined to drowse off tosleep in the middle of these tasks,
a habit which both irritated and frightenedhis young teacher. To his relief,
she complained to his parents, andhe was removed from the school. The
Roger Buttons told their friends that theyfelt he was too young. By the
time he was twelve years old,his parents had grown used to him.

(05:53):
Indeed, so strong is the forceof custom that they no longer felt that
he was different from any other child, except when some curious anomaly reminded them
of the fact. But one day, a few weeks after his twelfth birthday,
while looking in the mirror, benchminmade or thought he made an astonishing
discovery. Did his eyes deceive him? Or had his hair turned in a

(06:17):
dozen years of his life, fromwhite to iron gray under its concealing dye.
Was the network of wrinkles on hisface becoming less pronounced? Was his
skin healthier and firmer, with evena touch of ruddy winter color? He
could not tell. He knew thathe no longer stooped, and that his

(06:38):
physical condition had improved since the earlydays of his life. Can it be,
he thought to himself, or ratherscarcely, dare to think? He
went to his father. I amgrown, he announced determinedly. I want
to put on long trousers. Hisfather hesitated, well, he said,

(07:00):
said, finally, I don't know. Fourteen is the age for putting on
long trousers, and you are onlytwelve. But you'll have to admit,
protested Benjamin, that I'm big formy age. His father looked at him
with illusory speculation. Oh, I'mnot so sure of that. He said,

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I was as big as you whenI was twelve. This was not
true. It was all part ofRoger Button's silent agreement with himself to believe
in his son's normality. Finally,a compromise was reached. Benjamin was to
continue to dye his hair. Hewas to make a better attempt to play

(07:41):
with boys of his own age.He was not to wear his spectacles or
carry a cane in the street.In return for these concessions, he was
allowed his first suit of long trousers.