WhenThe Price of Saltwas first published , it return LGBTQ+ readers something they had never encountered before : a novel that did n’t punish its master fiber for being jolly and allowed them at least the theory of a Happily Ever After .
The Scripture was unloose in 1952 — the same year the American Psychiatric Associationclassified queerness as a mental illnessin its firstDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . There had been gay and lesbian novels before , but there were usually only three options useable to the chief character by the end of the Good Book : death , madness , or a life of repression and denial . AsThe Price of SaltauthorPatricia Highsmithrecountedin an afterwordto Bloomsbury ’s 1990 reprint , gay and lesbian character unremarkably “ had to pay for their deviation by trim down their wrists , drowning themselves in a swimming pool , or by switching to heterosexuality ( so it was stated ) , or by collapsing — alone and miserable and shunned — into a depression equal to hell . ”
No such fate expect Therese Belivet and Carol Aird , the Manhattan shop girl and glamorous socialite whose swoony , steamy romance plays out inThe Price of Salt(and later in Todd Haynes ’s recherche motion-picture show version , Carol ) . concord toThe New Republic , 1000 of readerswrote to Highsmith — or , more accurately , to her anonym , “ Claire Morgan”—to thank her for offering them a love story with a hopeful ending . They might have been surprised to check they were actually write to the talented young psychological suspense generator whose entry novel , Strangers on a gear , had beenadaptedbyAlfred Hitchcockin 1951 .
Seventy years after its publication , here are eight thing you should know about Highsmith ’s groundbreaking romance novel .
1.The Price of Saltwas intensely personal.
According to Joan Schenkar ’s 2011 biographyThe Talented Miss Highsmith , The Price of Saltwaslargely inspiredby Highsmith ’s least sandpiper in the Bloomingdale ’s toy department during the 1948 Christmas shopping season . ( She wanted the money topay for psychoanalysis , partly in Bob Hope she could “ regularize herself sexually . ” ) It was there that Highsmith briefly encounter Kathleen Wiggins Senn , a married New Jersey woman whom the novelist would later describe as “ blondish and elegant . ” The details of the get together will be conversant to anyone who has read the book or seen Haynes ’s 2015 film adjustment : Senn , wrapped in a pelt coating and fiddling with her mitt , approached the counter to buy a doll for her daughter , and Highsmith was smitten . She went home that eventide and , in about two hours , sketch out the plotofThe Price of Salt .
Besides Senn , Highsmith alsodrew on her unredeemed love affairwith Philadelphia socialite Ginnie Catherwood to flesh out the character of Carol Aird and her steamy Romance language with Therese Belivet , the untested char she meets in a New York section storehouse . “ Oh God , ” Highsmithwould write in her diary , “ how this story emerges from my own bones ! ”
2. Highsmith considered several different titles.
Before she settled onThe Price of Salt , Highsmith tried out a number of titles ranging from the obvious to the esoteric . The Bloomingdale Storyis self - explanatory , whileThe Argument of Tantalusmust have referred to amythic Greek kingwho was condemned to drop timeless existence stand in a puddle of piddle he could n’t drink , beneath a tree bearing fruit that was forever out of his reach . sacrilege of Laughterwould have been a outcry - out toVirginia Woolf ’s 1931 experimental novelThe Waves , but Highsmith life history are silent on whatPaths of Lighteningmight have signify .
3. She publishedThe Price of Saltunder a pseudonym.
When Highsmith began writingThe Price of Saltin earnest in 1949 , her publisher and federal agent wereencouraging herto spell another book in the vein ofStrangers on a Trainto “ strengthen [ her ] reputation ” as an author of suspense . Highsmith claimed she had n’t set out to write a suspense novel , and she seemed leery of being pigeonholed . agree to an afterword Highsmith compose , she had standardized concerns that she would be “ labelled a lesbian - rule book writer , ” so she decided to “ extend [ The Price of Salt ] under another name . ” She chose “ Claire Morgan ” as her pseudonym .
harmonise to Andrew Wilson ’s 2003 biographyBeautiful Shadow : A Life of Patricia Highsmith , there was one other concern thatweighed heavilyon the author ’s intellect and persuaded her to issue under a penitentiary name : She did n’t require to untune her 84 - year - old grandmother . It would be nearly 40 years before she finallyclaimed creditfor her groundbreaking novel — in 1990,The Price of Saltwas re - loose with a young title , Carol , under Highsmith ’s own name .
4. Highsmith (sort of) stalked the woman who inspired one ofThe Price of Salt’s main characters.
According to Highsmith ’s journal , the writer wasso infatuatedwith Kathleen Senn , the woman who buy a chick from her Bloomingdale ’s heel counter in 1948 , that on two occasion , Highsmith made the journey to Senn ’s hometown of Ridgewood , New Jersey , to discover Senn ’s menage . ( She had memorized the woman ’s reference from the Bloomingdale ’s reception a year and a half originally . )
Highsmith made her first dispatch to Ridgewood on June 30 , 1950 — the day after she finish her first draught ofThe terms of Salt . “ [ L]ike a manslayer in a novel , I board the string for Ridgewood , New Jersey , ” she wrote of the journey , which made her so nervous that she had to drink two whiskeys just to work out up her bravery . It was n’t the first time Highsmith had on the Q.T. follow a woman who intrigued her ; in an article she title “ My life story with Greta Garbo , ” Highsmithwroteabout followingthe reclusive actresson the street of New York .
But as stalkers go , Highsmith did n’t turn out to be a very good one . At one point during her first slip to Senn ’s home , she boarded the wrong bus and ended up with an intact busload of passengers shouting directions at her as she hear to make her style to Senn ’s street . Highsmith did n’t get Senn during that jaunt , andwhen she returnedsix calendar month later , Senn ’s plate wasempty .
While Highsmith hint at a happy ending for Carol Aird , the real - living Senn was n’t as fortunate . She died by self-destruction in October 1951 , about seven calendar month beforeThe monetary value of Saltwas published . Highsmithnever find out .
5. Highsmith originally conceived a darker ending.
The Price of Saltbecame a turning point of queer lit in part for its happy close , but Highsmith ’s first inherent aptitude was less sunny . Sheoriginally intendedfor Carol and Therese to split up at the end , but she presented her agent , Margot Johnson , with two versions : one where her lovers part way , and one that envision them reunited . Johnson convert Highsmith to go with the more cheerful ending .
6.The Price of Saltwas rejected by Highsmith’s publisher.
accord to Schenkar , Highsmith was travel in Europe during the summertime of 1951 when her agent contact her with inauspicious news : Harper , which had bring out Highsmith ’s debut novelStrangers on a string , had rejectedThe Price of Salt . grant to Highsmith ’s journal , Harper had claimed there was “ not enough exuberance from the editorial board ” and that the author had n’t taken “ the ‘ mature advance ’ ” to the theme matter .
Less than three hebdomad after Harper turned it down , The Price of Saltwas accepted for publication by Coward - McCann , with the promise of a $ 500 advance . Noel Coward - McCann would also publish Highsmith ’s 1955 psychological suspense masterpieceThe gifted Mr. Ripleyand the Highsmith - illustrated 1958 children ’s bookMiranda the Panda Is on the Veranda .
7. It was marketed as a seedy lesbian pulp novel—to great success.
The Price of Saltfirst appear in hardback in 1952 , but , according toThe New Republic , it was n’t until a paperback version wasreleased the following yearthat the Word found an enthusiastic readership . The Bantam Books edition , with a covering price of 35 cent , billedThe Price of Saltas “ the novel of a love order forbids ” and featured an illustration of a predatory - looking charwoman get handsy with her younger girlfriend while a threatening male figure loom in the ground . The paperback came with a indorsement fromThe New York Timespromising that the book “ [ handles ] explosive material … with earnestness and good taste , ” but readers who were drawn to its salacious cover probably hoped not .
The timing of the paperback book discharge could n’t have been good . In 1950 , Tereska Torrès’sWomen ’s Barrackshad helpedkick offa spate of sapphic dime - store novel whose lurid cover often did n’t equal their comparatively tame capacity . Two years later , Marijane Meaker’sSpring Firereportedlysold 1.5 million copies . Sales shape forThe Price of Salthave been notoriously tough to nail down , with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands of copy toupward of a million . But even with the more button-down numbers , Highsmith ’s novel was a hit .
8. There’s some disagreement about the meaning of the title.
Most source correspond that the title has its roots in the Bible , which Highsmith often spent mornings reading . According to Schenkar , Highsmith identified the titleas a scriptural cite but did n’t specify which enactment inspired it . Phyllis Nagy , who accommodate the Word for the 2015 filmCarol , reportedly saidthat the title is a nod to the story of Lot ’s wife , who was turned into a pillar of salt after defy an angel ’s orders to fly the death of Sodom without looking back . Schenkar , though , mull over that the title might have get along from a 1925 Gallic novel calledThe Counterfeitersby André Gide . She quote this passage as the potential inspiration for Highsmith ’s cryptical title : “ If the salt have lost its flavor wherewith shall it be salt ? ” It ’s probably a reference toMatthew 5:13 , which concerns Christ ’s Sermon on the Mount .
A closemouthed reading of the book seems to back up Schenkar ’s hypothesis . While Therese is separated from Carol , she wonders“how would the world come back to life ? How would its salt come back ? ”
