Summary of The Way Up To Heaven

THE WAY UP TO HEAVEN BY ROALD DAHL

Genre: The Way Up to Heaven is a macabre short story.

Theme: Some critics consider that the theme of the story is Committing a Perfect Murder.

Summary of Plot: The story is about a rich lady named Mrs. Foster, who has an "almost pathological fear of missing a train, a plane, a boat, or even a theatre curtain". She is planning to fly to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris. Her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, a retired businessman, seems to enjoy taking his time while preparing for this event, which distresses Mrs. Foster tremendously. Her husband intends to stay at a club while she is away, and their servants are given six weeks off. The next day Mrs. Foster is terrified she will be late, and expresses her worries to the butler, Walker, who assures her that she will make her flight. She arrives at the airport on time and soon finds that flights have been delayed because of bad weather. The taxi she arrived in has already left, and she continues to wait in the airport for further news concerning her trip. Finally, it is announced that her flight has been delayed until 11 am the following day. She calls her husband, returns home and spends the night there.   The following morning as Mrs. Foster prepares to take the taxi to the airport, her husband announces that he wants to be dropped off at the club on the way, which terrifies her, as the club is out-of-the-way. Before they leave, he pretends to have forgotten a present he had intended for their daughter Ellen, and to Mrs. Foster's despair he goes into the house in search of it. As she grows increasingly impatient and anxious while waiting in the car, she notices the present –a comb– hiding in the crack of the seat where her husband had been sitting and "couldn't help noticing that it was wedged down firm and deep, as though with the help of a pushing hand ". So she tells the chauffeur to go and tell him to come back. The chauffeur tries to enter and notices the door is locked. She decides to go herself, but then, having already put the key in the lock she suddenly freezes, as if listening intently. After a few seconds, she returns to the car, says there is no time, and is driven off to the airport. She makes her flight with a few minutes to spare. Things go well in Paris, and she writes to her husband each Tuesday. When she returns from Paris, she is mildly surprised to find her husband has not sent a car to meet her, but she gets into a taxi, arrives home, rings the bell but there is no answer. She sees the mail has built up behind the door and smells a peculiar odour. Noticing that the elevator is out of order, she calmly dials for a repairman and waits at her husband's desk for his arrival. The implication is that Mr. Foster was stuck in the elevator, and that despite hearing him begging for help, Mrs. Foster condemned him to death by leaving as the house was going to be unoccupied for six weeks. She could have waited or went to the house but rather she would be in time for her flight.

Character analysis: Mrs. Foster is neurotic about being on time for things. When her husband gets stuck in the elevator at their home, Mrs. Foster leaves him there while she goes on her six-week trip.

Mr. Foster likes to torment his wife by forcing her to be late. He is a cruel guy.

Climax: One of the main turning points is the moment when Mrs.Foster freezes at the front door to listen to a sound which is coming from the house. The other one is when the reader realizes that the elevator is stuck and Mr. Foster has been there for six weeks, which the reader only learns at the very end of the story (a typical device of short stories, especially those with an unexpected ending).

Symbols: The elevator, which takes Mr. Foster up, not only to the 3rd floor, but also to Heaven. Mr. Foster dies there precisely, in the elevator.

Mrs. Foster always worried about being late.