“It Becomes Necessary” or “The Cold Peace” by Ward Moore

First appeared in Gent and was reprinted by Judith Merril and Ellen Datlow.

            Summary

American Mrs. Fieldman has become a permanent ex-pat in France after her husband is murdered in her native country for his being a Jew. She is lured back to the U.S. with money, but she isn’t buying.

Recommend skipping this tale although it is short. You can find it stored here on Wayback.

            Commentary with Spoilers

However, when a Frenchman tries to burn an American flag, her patriotism reasserts itself and she tries to stop him, so the French beat her to death. Too pedantic and talky (it’s mostly a conversation), but a decent ending (decent aesthetically, not morally, of course--for those unfamiliar with the blog), which often seems to be Moore’s strength.

The original title, “Cold Peace,” makes multiple commentaries on the multiple societies involved. Perhaps Moore felt it necessary to comment on the ending through the title, which is what I presume the new title was intended to do.