A Woman of Independent Means

by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

  10. In Bess’s disjunctive last letter, written to her granddaughter Betsy on June 19, 1968, Bess states, “Must call Sam so he to bed. Then I can sail. Dining with Captain tonight.” Do you think this is the work of a fragmented memory, recalling its many voyages and the instance of dining with the Captain, or is this a metaphor for her final voyage? How does this last letter offer a resolution to the life of Bess Steed Garner, and how does it anticipate a forthcoming life of the spirit, as Bess’s desired epitaph—“To be continued”—promises?