The Second Wife story
A newlywed woman thinks that her husband killed his previous wife. Directed by: Joseph M. Newman. Story by: Robert Bloch (teleplay), Richard Deming (story).
11 total · 2 choice · 4 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| mistrust | choice | Gossip, innuendo, rumor and unfounded suspicion around Luke having murdered his first wife lead to disaster. |
| spouse murder | choice | Martha thought Luke was a spouse murderer who planned on repeating his evil deed. She therefore bought a gun and shot him pre-empively, only to find that he had merely been preparing a fancy Christmas present for her. |
| ironic twist of fate | major | Martha thought Luke was leading her into the basement in order to slay her and therefore shot him pre-emptively. Little did she suspect he was merely about to unveil a lavish Christmas present to her. |
| newlywed couple | major | Martha and Luke got married after meeting through a correspondents club. |
| romantic love | major | Martha and Luke discussed their feelings for one another several times and Luke, especially, was conspicuously taciturn. His true feelings, which were warm, became posthumously evident. |
| what if I fell into the clutches of a homicidal maniac | major | Martha increasingly came to believe that her new husband killed his first wife and planned to kill her as well. Because of their living arrange, she had not where else to go and nobody to turn to. |
| friendship | minor | Martha had a friend, named Sylvia, whom she somewhat confided in. One of Martha's gossiping friends led her to believe that Luke was a wife murderer. |
| humanoid robot | minor | In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock introduced a trio of robot actors to his viewers. |
| marriage ceremony | minor | The story commenced with a somber and austere wedding. |
| miserliness | minor | Points were made about how penny-pinching Luke was. For example, when Martha complained about the lack of heat in the basement, Luke simply told her to wear more clothes. In the end, it was revealed that Luke had installed a new furnace in the basement after all. |