Kansas City
Across the River and into the TreesKansas City is both a place in Richard Cantwell’s memory and the setting of a future trip he imagines taking with Renata. His recollection gives the city a warmth absent from their present conversation in Venice, while their plans turn it into a shared destination that remains only prospective.
Memory and Reputation
Cantwell recalls coming to Kansas City from Fort Riley to play polo at the Country Club. Asked whether the city’s new money was as objectionable as the wealth Renata sees in Venice, he says that Kansas City was quite pleasant and that its particular part was very beautiful. The memory makes his answer more than a general defense of the city: he distinguishes the social world he experienced there from the one Renata is criticizing.
A Journey Imagined
In conversation with Renata, Cantwell proposes that they stay at the Muehlebach Hotel and pretend to be oil millionaires. Their joking plan gives Kansas City the shape of an imagined shared life, extending their intimacy into a place he already knows and likes. Renata asks where they will leave the Cadillac; Cantwell’s response suggests that even the details of their projected journey are still being improvised.
Travel Plans and Limits
Cantwell says they will buy the car in Kansas City and get Missouri plates, adding that they could fly there or take a particularly good train. Renata remembers a flight to Albuquerque instead, and he clarifies that it belonged to another time. The exchange leaves Kansas City as a future destination rather than an episode that has occurred: its significance lies in Cantwell’s remembered affection for the city and in the tentative plans he makes with Renata.
