The Doorway

"The Doorway" by Evelyn E. Smith is a science fiction story from the mid-20th century that considers regret and other lives that we may have led. The book looks at the effects of decisions and how these can shape our view of ourselves and our connections with other people. The hero, Bill Hughes, is unhappy in his marriage to Gloria. This is exposed when he accepts an offer from a professor friend to test jumping to another world where his life took a different turn. Through this door he confronts feelings he has for a past love, Lucy Allison, and the nagging dissatisfaction in his current relationship. The story uses uneasy, ghostlike images that express heavy emotions and the complex ideas about what we want and the different ways our lives could go.