To enter into a relationship, honesty and sincerity must be at the heart of that relationship. For, if a relationship isn’t founded upon these principles, it won’t flourish.
A Business Trip
Young John Platt is the junior partner of the dry goods emporium of Navarro & Platt in Cactus City, Texas. Since the senior partner, Mr. Navarro, is getting older and tired, young Platt heads to New York City to purchase goods for the store.Though a little reluctant, Platt heads to New York and soon arrives in his Texan outfit at “the wholesale cloak and suit establishment of Zizzbaum & Son, on lower Broadway.” Upon entering, the quick, intelligent Mr. Zizzbaum greets Platt with a firm handshake and inquires after Mr. Navarro.
Despite this warm welcome, it’s too late in the day to discuss business, so Zizzbaum’s son, Abey, offers to take Platt on a tour of New York City. After a brief cigar, Platt and Abey head out on the tour.
Suit Model
The moment Miss Asher walks into the room, Platt “feels for the first time the wonderful bright light of romance and glory descend upon him.” As she wears and displays the different outfits, he hardly notices anything else but her.In fact, he is so distracted that, when Miss Asher finishes modeling all of the outfits, he is not thinking of buying clothing. Rather he is considering “the best building sites in Cactus City, trying to select one on which to build a house for his wife-to-be.”
Noticing Platt’s hesitancy, Mr. Zizzbaum gently assures him that he can think over all of the outfits that he has seen. Perhaps, Mr. Zizzbaum suggests, Platt should go to dinner with Miss Asher, so that his time is not so dull. Platt is stunned. He gets to go to dinner with Miss Asher!
Later that evening at dinner, Platt presents Miss Asher with a diamond ring and says: “I knew it was you the minute I saw you yesterday. I’m going back home tomorrow, and you’re going with me.” He assures her that he will build her the best house.
She coldly responds that he is just like all of the other buyers whom she has dealt with for Mr. Zizzbaum’s sake: “You think because we girls have to go out to dinner with you or lose our jobs that you’re privileged to say what you please. Well, forget it.”
Yet, after coldly and bitterly scolding him, she suddenly realizes that he’s different, unlike all of the other men before. Candor and openness play a great part in the beginning of a real relationship.
Through this story, Henry demonstrates that, when relationships lack good faith and plain speaking they don’t thrive, whereas those that do possess these virtues.
Just as Louisa May Alcott says in “Little Women”: “Simple, sincere people seldom speak much of their piety; it shows itself in acts rather than in words, and has more influence than homilies or protestations.”
Honesty and sincerity possess more weight and persuasion than any amount of flattery and falseness.
