In the lives of these two young people there was no middle distance. The result was bound to be either love or hate, and in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Bodman it was hate of the most bitter and arrogant kind.
― Robert Barr, An Alpine Divorce
The term “Alpine Divorce” came to my attention a few weeks ago. Last month, an Austrian man was convicted of manslaughter after leaving his girlfriend behind so he could get help during their mountain climbing expedition. I won’t go into the details of the case, but it is harrowing.
As news of the sentencing spread, many people, mostly women, began sharing personal stories on social media of being abandoned by their partner during hikes or on camping trips. Until this point, I had no idea that abandoning your partner in the wilderness was a thing. I kind of want to know more, but I also don’t.
One of the writers I follow (Lyz Lenz) posted about this topic today, and linked to a short story from 1893 called An Alpine Divorce. Again, I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS A THING!
While I don’t think that the term came from the short story, making me shudder at the number of ‘accidents’ that fall (ha…um..) into this category, it is fascinating to know that this trending topic is neither recent nor original.
The story is not what I expected but it is the blackest of black humor take on a marriage gone bad. It reminds me that I need to break out of my favorite genres and open myself up to discovering things that were written well before my time but read as very modern. And it’s a plus when stories are as funny and as surprising as this one.
