MASTERPLOTS

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Volume

Six

Grea-Hnng

15 -Volume Combined Edition

FIFTEEN

HUNDRED AND TEN

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from

the

WORLD'S FINE LITERATURE

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MAGILL

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VOLUME SIX-GREA-HUNG

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1964,
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MASTERPLOTS

FIFTEEN-VOLUME

COMBINED EDITION

Volume

Six

Grea-Hung

THE GREAT VALLEY

Type of work: Novel
Author; Mary Johnston (1 870-1 936)
"Type of plot: Historical romance

Time

of plot: 1735-1760
Locale: Virginia and Ohio
First 'published:

1926

Principal characters:

JOHN SELKIRK,
JEAN SELKIRK,

ANDREW

a Scottish Presbyterian minister

his wife

<f*'

SELKIRK, their son

ELIZABETH,
ROBIN, and

TAM

SELKIRK, their younger children

a wealthy Virginia landowner

COLONEL MATTHEW BURKE,

CONAN BURKE, his son, later Elizabeth Selkirk's husband

NANCY MILLIKEN SELKIRK, Andrew Selkirk's wife
STEPHEN TRABUE,

a driver

and guide

Critique:

Mary Johnston's fame in the early decades of the twentieth century was established

by

a long series of historical ro-

mances, most of them with Virginia backgrounds. The Great Valley is representative o

a type of fiction which, though it

has attracted scant critical attention, has

enjoyed a long popularity among Amer-

there

west to find better hunting grounds.

Stephen Trabue, a friendly driver and
guide, was to accompany the Selkirk family

on part

As they

ican readers.

The

men but had been assured that

would be no trouble, since the lands
treaties and
had been obtained through
o
since many Indians had moved farther
white

many
Story:

John Selkirk

and

his family, including

a spinster sister of Mrs. Selkirk, were
with a number of
bound for Virginia
o

other immigrants in the small ship Prumindence. Mr. Selkirk, a Presbyterian

*
ister somewhat too liberal for his con*

in Scotgregation at Thistlebrae Kirk,

land, had decided to establish a new kirk
in the Shenando or Great Valley of Virin Williamsburg, where
ginia. Arriving

Andrew was already living,

he was introduced to Colonel Matthew
Burke, who was developing a large tract
of land in the valley and seeking settlers
for it. John and Andrew Selkirk together
purchased four hundred acres and prepared to set out for the valley. John had
asked Colonel Burke how the Indians felt

his oldest son

about having their lands

occupied by

he explained to them
the conditions and details of

daily living which they

their new homes. Even

who had

might expect in

Nancy

Milliken,

just become Mrs. Andrew Selkirk, would find life in the valley very
her
different from that in Wiliiamsburo,
o'

former home.

Seven years later John Selkirk had a

congregation of two hundred in his Mt.
Olivet Church, and Andrew had three

hundred acres, three indentured youths

to
help him farm them, a grist mill, and
ambitious plans for increasing his holdings and obtaining more helpers, including Negro slaves. John did not favor
slavery,

with

it

but Andrew saw nothing wrong

as long as he treated his slaves

humanely.
A few of John's Calvinist church members objected to the joyousness in his sermons. Liking fire-and-brimstone threats

THE GREAT VALLEY

Little,

of

of the journey to the valley.

traveled,

by Mary Johnston. By permission of the agent, Biandt & Brandt. Published by

Brown & Co. Copyright, 1926, by Mary Johnston. Renewed. All rights reserved.

1393

from

the

who thought

that certain evil peoof practicing witchcraft.

were
capable
ple

those

Shortly
in3 a visit

Colonel Burke died dur-

after

to the home of his son Conan,

married Elizabeth Selkirk and
settled in Borke's Tract, both Conan and
a day's
John Selkirk decided to move
Into Burke's Land, an unwest
journey

who had

developed
also

which the colonel had

tract
to

planned

fill

with

new

settlers.

There John established Mount Promise

Church and Conan looked forward to
the growth of a thriving new community
been the wilderness. Some

in \\hat had

excitement was caused by a visit from a

who
vouno
o
O surveyor. Mr. Washington,
*

'

'

'

reported that the French ivere expanding

their colonization along the Ohio River

and were moving eastward into Virginia

lands, Also, the French had stirred up the
Indians, especially the Shawnees, so that
they had become a menace to the English and Scots
in the western Virliving
ginia settlements.
To the grief of her family, Jean Selkirk died after a brief illness. The Sel-

were disturbed by reports of

spoand revenge killings by whites. Yet when Andrew Selkirk
warned Conan to move back to Burke's
kirks

radic Indian massacres

Tract,

Conan

refused, believing that if

proper precautions were taken there was

no need

to

Not long

fear the Indians.

afterward John Selkirk was tricked into

following what he thought was a loslamb into the woods where he was shot
by an Indian.

The increasing
frequency of Indian
attacks soon caused
settlers to flee
many

south into North

Carolina,

who

remained

In a surprise attack on Conan's homea small group of Shawnees tri-

that

they complained
infant
their minister did not believe in
damnation and was even scornful of
*
pulpit,

and those

on

stead

umphed, murdering men, women,

children, scalping their victims, and
and two of
ing captive Elizabeth
children, Eileen and young Andrew;
Mother Dick, who had come with

into Last

Leap River.

For some time the five remaining

captives lived with the Indians in a
village

near the Ohio River. Elizabeth, who had

been taken as a squaw by Long Thunder,
bore

him

time

when

but she was hiding the

she might escape with Mother
Dick and Eileen, who was still too
young
to be claimed
by some other brave as his
a son;

squaw. Elizabeth finally managed to slip

away from camp with her daughter and
the frail but undaunted old woman. Left
behind was the half-Indian
baby whom a
young Indian woman had promised to
care for

if

anything happened to IH/a-

Regretfully left with the Indians

were also the Negro, Ajax, and the white

beth.

servant, Barb,

age to return

The

to

who might someday manVirginia,

painful journey and the

struggle against exhaustion and starvalong,

were too much for Mother Dick,

died on the
way. Elizabeth and
Eileen, continuing their
journey eastward
into the
rugged mountains, were constantly on guard against roving Indian
bands and
diligently seeking food from
tion

who

stream or forest to
allay their hunger. At
last
they reached Last Leap River, into

which the baby Andrew had been thrown

marauding Indians was

kept up by the Virginians, many of whose
Scottish and Irish forebears
had fought
in much the same
their
way to

paddled, not by Indians as she at

feared, but by her brother
Robin,

against the

protect

Old World homes from

English

invaders.

the

westward, one brave, annoyed by young

Andrew's screaming, tore him from Elizabeth's grasp and threw him over a cliff

so

war

her

Old

family from their former home in Burke's

Tract, and two of the Burke servants. As
the Indians and their captives moved

permanent
guard. No new people moved into such
areas as Burkes Land, and a
guerrilla

stayed

and
tak-

long ago. Elizabeth, peering through

bushes toward the river, saw a canoe

heading

down

it,

going westward.

It

was
first

the
guide Stephen Trabue, and her husband
Conan Burke. After the
joyous reunion,
Conan explained that
though Elizabeth

1394

had seen him attacked by some of the

raiders and apparently killed, he had actually been rescued by neighbors after
having been gravely wounded. His slowly
healing wounds and the continuation of
the Indians and the
the war against
o
French had prevented his and Robin's
pushing toward the Ohio to rescue, if
possible, the Shawnees' captives. Finally
peace had come in America, though not
yet in Europe between England and
France and the word had spread to all

wandering bands that

travel in
sible

Indian

he had

now

was

safe to

As soon

as pos-

it

territory.
set out with

Robin and
loved ones. As

Stephen to search for his

the happy group sat about a fire to eat a
breakfast which was like a banquet to
Elizabeth and Eileen, the famished girl
clung to the belief she had had a short
time before, when she wakened from a
deep sleep to find her mother and her
father standing above her. To her the reunion seemed miraculously wonderful.

THE GREEN BAY TREE

Novel

-work:
AJtiJior:

Louis Bromfield (1896-1956)

TVt?e of

plot.

Time

Social chronicle

twentieth century

cf plot: Early

Locale: Middle

West
1924

First ipublished:

Principal

characters:

JULIA SHANE,

wealthy widow

LILY, and

IRENE SHANE, her daughters

THE GOVERNOR, father of Lily's child

HATTIE TOLLIVER, Julia Shane's niece
ELLEN TOLLIVER,
MONSIEUR CYON,

Lily's

double theme.

The

Hattie's

daughter

hushand

Critique:

This novel has

first

that the children of the

is

problem which their parents

did not face, the problem of
being pioneers with no frontier left in which to
their

energy and their

The second theme

secrets of the soul
lated.

Through

is

talents.

that all of us have

which cannot be viobook also runs a

the

deprecation of material progress and the

materialistic
of America in

philosophy

the early twentieth

century. Bromfield,
however, is not carried away by the

naturalism or sharp social criticism of his

contemporaries in dealing with this aspect

of

American

life.

Tlie Story:
Julia

Shane was

wealthy old woman,

upon her grounds. Although the house

was now surrounded on three sides
by
reread yards and steel mills,
Julia Shane
refused to move
away. Mrs. Shane was
worried about her

pious to

live.

governor, a

The

Lily,

who was

had been

years old,
she.

the

girls. Irene,
youngher mother's
opinion, too

in

was,

man and

The Shanes were

for

Lily
abroad.

to

leave

her mother.

wealthy;

the

town

it

was easy

for

Her departure caused no

trip

tals

or

scandal,
although Mrs. Harrison,
whose son Lily had also refused, was

suspicious.

During the four years Lily was in

Europe, life was dull in the gloomy old

mansion.

Irene taught
English to the
workers in the mills and tried to convince her mother that she wanted to

become a nun. Old Julia Shane, the last

of a long line of Scottish
Presbyterians,
would hear none of such nonsense.
Then, unexpectedly, Lily came home.
again there were parties and dances
in the old house,
Lily was much impressed by her cousin, Ellen Tolliver, a
talented pianist, and offered to
help the
girl if she would go to Paris, The
day
after Christmas, Irene and
Lily were
taken on a tour of the steel mills
by Willie Harrison, the mill
owner, who once
again asked Lily to marry him. She re-

Once

living with her two daughters in a mansion which had

decayed greatly since
the mills of the town had encroached

er,

the governor
despite the urg~

ings of both the

States have a

exercise

mam

to

United

man

real

in

twenty-four

love with the

twenty years older than

complication was that Lily

was going to have a
baby and refused

fused, disgusted with the

spineless businessman who was ruled
by his mother.
When news came from Paris that her
small son had the
measles, Lily was glad
to leave the town
again. Shortly afterward Ellen Tolliver also
escaped from
the town
by marrying a salesman from

Pension

1396

of the author

Hifptr

New

York.

Several

years

later there

was

a strike

Only Hattie Tolliver,

Julia Shane's niece and Ellen's mother,
braved the pickets to enter the mansion.
in the steel mills.

Without her help life at the house would

have been extremely difficult. Although
Julia Shane was dying and confined to
her bed, the merchants of the town refused to risk deliveries to a house so near

where shots were occasionally

and where mobs of hungry strikers

to the mills
fired

loitered.

On

one of her errands of mercy

Hattie Tolliver learned that her

daughter,
a widow, was in Paris
studying
music.

now

When

she heard that her mother was

dying, Lily returned from Europe. She
and Hattie Tolliver stayed with Julia

Shane until she died a few weeks later.

Irene was no help.
Hattie Tolliver
shrewdly summed up Irene for Lily by
noting that the younger girl was selfish
in her unselfishness to the
poor workers
and filled with pride in her lack of ordi-

with her house, her growing son, and

her lover, the officer son of an old
aristocratic

family.

lived part of the time with

Lily.
In 1913 Lily's lover told 'her

her as she approached middle

age. The
news that the town wished to buy the

old Shane mansion and use the

grounds
for a railroad station further aroused her

antagonism. She did not need the money

and also felt that the attempt to buy the
place was an intrusion into her private
.ife.
Later Lily's lawyer wrote that the

Shane mansion had burned down.

One day Lily unexpectedly met Willie
Harrison in Paris. He had left the mills
and sold most of his holdings. He brought
word that Irene had become a Carmelite
nun and was in France in a convent at
Lisieux.

ters

remained in the mansion until the

estate was settled.
Lily was bored, but

War,

through the
strikers. Her sister had
given them permission to hold meetings in the
large
park surrounding the house. Lily watched
the meetings from a darkened window.
She recognized Krylenko, a huge Russian

and he was

came

to

her

who had been Irene's pupil and who was

now a close friend. While Krylenko was
speaking, he was shot by a
one of the mill sheds.

gun

fired

from

Krylenko entered
the mansion with a key Irene had
given
him. Lily bound up his wound. When

she almost fainted,

Krylenko placed her
on the sofa. As he did so, Irene entered
and saw them. She berated them both
with all the suspicions which her sterile
mind evoked. Both she and Lily refused
to speak the next
day. Lily returned to
Paris.

In Paris Lily confined herself to the

friends of her chaperon, Mme.
Gigon.
It

was a quiet

life,

but Lily was happy

that

war with Germany was inevitable. The

news increased Lily's moods of depression which had begun to come
upon

nary worldly pride.

After her death, Julia Shane's
daugh-

excitement

who

Ellen Tolliver,

had taken the professional name of

Lily
Barr, was now a famous concert pianist
on the continent and in England, and

When

France entered the First World

her son were sent

Lily's lover and

to the front.
Only the

When
was

at

the

to

corne

son was to return,

back a cripple.

Germans invaded France,

her country house with

Lily

Mme.

who was dying. During the night

the soldiers were there
Lily discovered
Gigon,

they were going to blow up the bridge

in the vicinity. Armed with a
pistol she
had stolen from a German officer, she
killed several men and an officer and

saved the bridge, not for France partic-

ularly, but with the hope that it might

be of some help to her lover and her
son, for she knew that their regiment

was

in the area.

During the years of the war she became closely acquainted with M. Cyon,
a French diplomat whom she married
shortly after the Armistice.

During the

peace meetings at Versailles she saw the

governor whom she had refused to marry
years before. She was glad she had not
married him, for he had become a florid,

1397

She preferred
vulgar politician.
her dignified French diplomat for a husband, despite his white hair and greater

recent death.

number

newspaper that Krylcnko, who

had become an international labor leader,
had died of typhus in Moscow. Now her
family and o d friends were all gone.
Only Lily survived. It was with pleasure
that she saw her white-haired husband
enter the garden and walk toward her.
There, at least, was peace and

DOrtlv,

with the

her

meeting
Shortly
governor, Lily received a letter from the
her that Sister Monica
Carmelites
telling

had

died.

For a few moments Lily did

not realize that the person of

had written was

Irene.

Lily

whom

they

had come

to think of her sister as dead when she

had entered the Church; it was something of a shock to receive word of a more

last

link with

America and the

when

she read in a

Socialist

of years.
after

Lily's

town was broken

instead of a

lonely old age in

Midwestern town.

security,

a drab

GREEN GROW THE LILACS

Type of work: Drama
Author: Lynn Riggs (1899-1954)
Type of plot: Regional romance
Time of plot: 1900
Locale: Indian Territory (later Oklahoma)
First -presented: 1931
Principal characters:

CURLY McCLAiN, a cowboy

LAUREY WILLIAMS, a young farm owner
AUNT ELLER MURPHY, an elderly homesteader
JEETER FRY, a hired man
ADO ANNIE CARNES, Laurey's friend

A PEDDLER

OLD MAN PECK, a neighbor

CORD ELAM, another neighbor

Critique:

Green Grow

the.

Lilacs,

upon which

the phenomenally successful musical play

Oklahoma was based, represents American folk drama at its hest. The simple
is like an expansion of the story in
plot

some mountain ballad, and the many

lads and folk songs which are introduced
into the play greatly enhance its alterand
nately romantic, suspenseful, rowdy,
bal-

sad scenes.

The

Old Man Peck's. Lauand even

pretending indifference
scorn for Curly, turned down the invitation and went back to her bedroom, rewas going
appearing later to say that she
but that Jeeter Fry, her hired
to the
to a play-party at

rey,

party

her. At first angry, Curly

small organ in the livingroom and played and sang the old song
"Green Grow the Lilacs," which tells of

man, was taking

down

confided her fear that Jeeter might sometime burn it down. This fear of him was
what made her accept his attentions and
Aunt Eller bego to parties with him.
littled her fears.
Carries arrived with a
whom
from
Laurey bought for
peddler,
Ado Annie a pair of garters and some

Ado Annie

Story:

Curly McClain, a tall, curly-haired

of
young cowboy, called at the home
Eller MurAunt
and
Williams
Laurey
with him
phy to ask if Laurey would go

sat

where Jeeter lived.

In Laurey's bedroom, a little later,
Aunt Eller announced that she was gowith Curly. Laurey
ino
& to the party
T
1
showed no great interest. Instead, musing
on how much she loved her place, she

at the

powder to hide her freckles. They

were startled when they heard a shot
from the direction of the smokehouse,
and then another.
Meanwhile, before and during a card
game in the O
gloom and dirt of the smokeO
house, Curly had learned that Jeeter's
mind was obsessed by two things: lurid
crime, which he liked to read about, and
sex, which dominated his thinking and

liquid

his talk

much

cards, Jeeter's

of the time.

two

As they played

pistols lay

on the

table.

a rejected lover. Then; quickly recovered

from Laurey's rebuff, he asked Aunt Eller
with him in his hired
to
to the

of him about
Curly's persistent needling
his dirty, dark thoughts and his filthy
personal habits so angered Jeeter that he

surrey. He left,
a little call at the

suddenly picked up one pistol and fired

at random, splintering the opposite wall,

go

fringe-top

would pay

party

saying he
smokehouse

GREEN GROW THE LILACS

by Lynn Riggs. By permission of the owners and the publisher, Samuel

Howard E.
French, Inc. Copyright, 1930, 1931, by Lynn Riggs; Copyright, 1957, 1958 (in renewal), by
Remhe mer, Executor. Application for the right to present this play should be made to Samuel French, Inc.,
if
in
Canada to
or
or
7623
Sunset
Calif.,
N.
Hollywood
46,
Blvd.,
Y.,
of 25 West 45th St., New York 36,
Samuel French (Canada) Ltd., 27 Grenville St., Toronto, Out.

1399

the

and

other

pistol
Curly picked up
Aunt
fired" neatly through a knothole.
the pedand
Ado"
Annie,
Eller, Laurey,
dler,

to learn

hurrying in

what the shoot-

was about, were relieved to learn that

ncTharm had been done. After the women
remained to bring forth
left, the peddler
interest to men.
his wares of
in<*

special
the efficiency of a long-bladed
praised
knife for Jeeter. Curly considered the
of buying a pair of
possible advantage
brass knuckles just in case.

He

At Old

Man

was

Peck's the party

al-

when Aunt Eller arready in progress

rived with Curly, followed a little later
Ado Annie, and

by Laurey,

Jeeter,

who

Laurey because she had

Invited Ado Annie to go with them.
Keeping Laurey from entering the house,
he asked why she tried so hard to keep
from being alone with him. When, torto

complained

mented by

he caught Laurey, she

slapped him hard, then told him that he
was no longer her hired hand and that
he was

desire,

to

leave her place forever.

He

slunk away with a dark look.

Laurey
asked Ado Annie, who had come back
to
complain about her tight garters, to
send Curly out.

When Laurey was finally able to tell

Curly her fear of Jeeter, he promised to
get her a new hired hand, suddenly asked
her to marry him, and as
quickly found
himself accepted.
Jokingly, he asked if
she would
give him, a penniless cowboy, a new saddle blanket for a

wedding

present.

When the party crowd came out on

the porch,
they joked about the two love
birds, Jeeter, a bottle in his
hand, looked
bioodingiy
to drink a

Laurey and Curly, started

mocking toast to them, and

at

then hurled the bottle across the

yard,
where it crashed. The crowd,
keeping

Curly and Jeeter

"Skip to My Lou."

One

evening, a

and Curly

stole

apart,

began

month

to

sino
5

They headed for the house, folunknown to them, by a group of

men bent on shivarceing the new couple.
Their rude jokes were interrupted when
married.

lowed,

and with his shirt ripped,

Curly, angry
was dragged from the house by several
men. Laurey in her nightgown, frightened and ashamed, followed, surrounded
of other men. To trie
by a wide circle

accompaniment of bawdy taunts, Curly

and Laurey were made to climb the
ladder of a

then the ladder

haystack;
*

tall

was thrown down.

Suddenly, amid the obscene jesting,

was the cry of "Fire!" and Jeeter

came up with a flaming torch. As be
sprang to light the stack, Curly leaped
down and knocked the torch from bis
hand. The fire was quickly doused, but
the drunken Jeeter, bis knife out, atthere

tacked

In

Curly.

on

fell

tripped,

the

Laurey

quietly across a hayfield

toward the Williams house.

They were
whispering that they had given the crowd
the slip after
going to town and getting

and

Jeeter
still.

lay

Cord Elam suggested that Curly go and

explain the fight to the law.

A few nights later Aunt Eller and Ado

Annie sat in the Williams living room
wondering when Curly would be let out
the Claremore jail,
Laurey, coming
from her room looking pale and much
of

spoke of her fears for Curly, the

shock of hearing the
bawdy things the
men had said at the shivarce, and the
older,

troubles
Eller,

that

life

brings

many

people,

Aunt

troubles,

explained
that one simply had to have the
strength
to endure such
things, The lesson sank
in, and Laurey apologized for
being such
citing

a baby.

The dog Shep began barking outside,

suddenly stopped. A moment later

then

Curly came
the

in;

he had broken out of

night before his

trial

in a

let

happen at the
him free he would

ing cows and

beautiful acres.

Old
^

ties

1400

him

while, he said, but be had to

that she would wait for him, what-

little

know
they

jail

in order to see

Laurey. His pursuers would be after

ever might
later,

struggle

his knife,

Man

learn

to

trial.

When

forget herd-

farm Laurey's

Peck and several other

depuCurly to jail, but

arrived to return

Aunt

Eller refused to let

before morning.

When

them have him

the others showed

early in the morning.

Aunt

From

Not

too

early, said

sympathy

bedroom came
Curly's voice singing "Green Grow the

still

Lilacs."

for Curly and Laurey, who had

not had their wedding night, Peclc
agreed, promising to return bright and

Eller.

the

GREEN MANSIONS
Novel
H. Hudson (1841-1922)

of work:

Type

Author:

W.

of plot; Fantasy

Type
Time

of 'plot: Nineteenth century

Locale: South American jungles
First pfrlished;

1904
Principal characters:
MR. ABEL, an old

man

a creature of the forest

RIMA,

an old hunter
Critique:

The

only leaend of

its

tl
the
The Indian had said that
Didi inhabiIted the
daughter of the spirit
spirit
Abel felt sure that the nearly
forest.

sound.

kind that has

Green Mansions

become a modem classic,

owes its popularity to its mystic, religious
and to the beauty of Rima's haltfeeling
expressions.

ing,

-poetic

his

own deep

language of the hirdlike

sounds were associated with the one to
whom the Indian referred.
Again and again Abel returned to the

intelligible

Loving nature

and tie wild life of the countries which

he explored, Hudson was able to express

forest

the characfeeling through

soul.

was

like that;

to

cided that she

Perhaps, to Hudson, nature

too lonely and sorrowful

her

way with

impart complete understanding and

knowledge

The

of herself to

The
him

one in Georgetown could remem-

a tale of

Ms

sat

of

must be connected in some

he had

the warbling sounds

Indians had

been encouraging

continue his quests into the area

of
mystery. He decided at last that they
were hoping he would try to kill the

ber his full name, and so he was known

only as Mr. Abel, He told a strange story

one evening as he

the source

heard.

mankind.

Story:

No

for

with a bird. The girl disappeared among

the trees, but not before Abel had de-

was so great that she would

no one to look into the depth of

of loneliness
suffer

in his search

the warbling sound, but always it eluded

him. Then one day he saw a girl playing

who

ter of Rirna, the strange birdlike girl

ivas one with the forest and whose sorrow

to

creature
forest.

who seemed

He was

the idea.

talking to a friend,

youth.

While he was

to

be haunting

their

stricken with horror at

One day he came

face to face

with the elusive being,

tie had been

the

him

living among the Indians

In the jungle, a
nearby savannah caught
his fancy. The Indians claimed it was

menaced by a small venomous snake, and

he was about to kill it with a rock when

haunted and would not go near it. One

day he set out to explore the savannah
for himself. For a
long while he sat on

vigorously in her

a log
trying to identify the calls of the

One particularly engaging sound

seemed almost human, and it followed
as he returned to the Indian
village.
Soon he bribed one of the Indians to
eater the haunted savannah. The Indian
became frightened, however, and ran
A, ,
awav, leaving Abel alone with the weird

"birds.

Mm

girl

appeared before

to protest

odd birdlike warbling

language. She was not like any human
he had. ever seen. Her
coloring was her
most striking characteristic; it was luminescent and it
changed with her

every
mood. As he stood
looking at her, fascinated by her loveliness, the snake bit him
on the leg.

He

started back toward the

village
kelp, but a blinding rainstorm overtook him on the
way. After falling uncon[ONS by W. H. Hudson. By permission of the
'-*"
Alfred A Knoof
publishers,
Inc ^
^nopi, inc,
v
"
T
Knopf, Inc.
,

^ or

Renewed, 1943, by Alfred A.

1402

scious while
tie

old

awakened

mnaing through
in a

man named
fear

pressed

the trees,

tions

hut with a bearded

Nuflo.

and hatred

The man
of

ex-

the Indians

who, he said, were afraid of his grandchild, Rima. It was she who had saved
Abel from dying of the snake's venorn
and it was she who had been following
him in the forest. Abel could not believe
that the listless, colorless girl standing in
hut was the lovely bird-

a corner of the

creature he had met. On closer

examination he could detect a likeness of
and features, but her luminous
figure
like

radiance
dressed

was missing.

him

When

in Spanish,

Rima adhe questioned

her about the musical language that she

emitted in the trees. She gave no explanation and ran away.

In a few days Abel learned that Rima

would harm no living creature, not even
for her own food. Abel grew to love the
untamed girl of the
strange, beautiful,
forest. When he questioned her,
green
she spoke willingly, but her speech was
and difficult to understrangely poetic
She expressed deep, spiritual
stand.
longings and made him understand that

communed with her

died long ago.
Rima began to sense that since Abel,
the only person she had known except
her granc.father, could not understand
her language and did not understand her
other human
longings, she must be unlike
beings in the world. In her desire to
meet other people and to return to the
birth where her mother had
place of her
to Abel the name of
Rima
revealed
died,

in the forest she

mother,

who had

her birthplace, a mountain he knew well.

Rima demanded that her grandfather

Mountain. Old
guide her to Riolama
Nuflo consented and requested that Abel

come

also.

Before he took the long journey with

Rima and Nuflo, Abel returned to the
Indian village. There, greeted with quiet

and awe because of where he

had been, Abel was held a prisoner. After
six days' absence he returned to Rima's
Nuflo and Abel made preparaforest.
suspicion

for

started,

their

journey.

When

they

Rima followed them, only show-

when they needed directions.

Nuflo began Rirna's story. He had
been wandering about with a band of

ing herself

outlaws

when

heavenly-looking

woman

appeared among them. After she had

fallen and broken her ankle, Nuflo, who
thought she must be a saint, nursed her
back to health. Observing that she was
to have a
baby, he took her to a native
village. Rima was born soon after. The
woman could learn neither Spanish nor
the Indian tongue, and the soft melodious
sounds which fell from her lips were unintelligible

woman

to

faded.

everyone. Gradually the

As she lay dying, she

made the rough hunter understand that

Rima could not live unless she were taken
to the dry,

cool mountains.

their search for her mother's

people to be in vain, Abel sought to dissuade Rima from the journey. He explained to her that they must have disap-

Knowing

peared

or

have

Rima

been

wiped out by

believed him, but at the

thought of her own continued loneliness
she fell fainting at his feet. When she
Indians.

had recovered, she spoke of being alone,

of never finding anyone who could understand the sweet warbling language which
she had learned from her mother. Abel
promised to stay with her always in the
Rima insisted on making the
back
alone so that she could prejourney

forest,

pare herself for Abel's return.

The return to the savannah was not
easy for Abel and the old man. They

were nearly starving when they came to

their own forest and saw, to their horror,
that the hut was gone. Rima could not
be found. As Abel ran through the forest
searching for her, he came upon a lurking Indian. Then he realized that she
must be gone, for the Indian would not
have dared to enter the savannah if the
daughter of Didi were still there. He
went back to the Indian village for food
and learned from them that Rima had
returned to her forest. Finding her in a
tree, the Indian chief, Runi, had ordered

1403

his

men

destroy

to

bum

the

the-- daughter

tree

in order to

Half xnadwith sorrow, Abel fled to the

of an enemy tribe. There he made
village
a pact with the savages for the slaughter
of the tribe of Runi. He then went to the
forest,

also

whe/e he found Nuflo dead.

ashes of the fire-consumed tree.

her remains in an

of Didi.

He

foun$ Rima's bones lying among the

um

He placed

which he

carried

with him back to civilization.

Living in Georgetown, Abel at last
understood Rima's sorrowful loneliness.

Having known and lost her, he was suffering the same longings she had felt
when she was searching for her people.

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN

Type of work: Novel
Author: Daniel Pierce
Type
Time

of

'plot:

Thompson (1795-1868)

romance
776

Historical

of plot: 1 775-1
Locale: Vermont

1839

First published:

Principal character$:

CAPTAIN CHARLES WABBINGTON, a Vermont patriot

LIEUTENANT SELDEN, later EDWARD HENDEE, his friend
ETHAN ALLEN, leader of the Green Mountain Boys
ALMA HENDEE, loved by Warrington
CAPTAIN HENDEE, her father
JESSY REED, daughter of

a British officer

PETE JONES, a Green Mountain Boy

JACOB SHEBWOOD, a Tory
BILL DARROW, Sherwood's confederate
NESHOBEE, a loyal Indian

The

Critique:

No

other novel in our literature owes

so little to the tradition of the novel as a

work of conscious

A homespun

art.

prodA

time and place

as the granite
ledges and sugar orchards
of New England. Daniel Pierce
Thompnet,

it

is

as native to its

son, lawyer, editor, and judge, had spent

his boyhood on a farm near

Montpelier,

Vermont, and his knowledge of frontier

life was as extensive as
Cooper's. A writer
by accident rather than by choice, he presented in his half dozen novels a romantic
yet truthful record of the early history of
his state, Of his books, The Green Mountain
Boys is the best and the most popular.

first on a small
newspaper press,
ran through more than
fifty editions
by 1860. Because the story deals with
Ethan Allen and the struggle of his

Story:
In those troubled times

which preceded
Vermont setdements were in armed dispute between
the authorities of New York and the
the Revolutionary

War

the

ft

settlers

the

who

New

held their
lampshirc Grants.

titles

under

Many

of the

Gicen Mountain Boys, as the borderers

called themselves, had been outlawed for
their defiance of the New York Assembly. Among them was a you no landowner

named Captain Charles Warrington.

Early in April, 1775, Warrington and

four of the Green Mountain Boys ar-

Lake Dunmorc on their way to

some wronged settlers of the region,

rived at
aid

Printed

Colonel Reed, a British

it

Green Mountain Boys for liberty, the

book has become the classic novel of
Vermont. Thompson never strayed too

by, lie had then returned to Canada, leaving the fort garrisoned by a detachment

from facts or local scenery. In this

novel Captain
Warrington is Seth Warner under a fictional disguise made neces^1
o
sary by the plot. Selden and Captain
far

Hendee

_. 1

./-i

are also recognizable as real

per-

officer

holding
patent purchased in Albany, had built
a
log fort on the lower falls of Otter
Creek and evicted the settlers living near-

former Highlanders under Sergeant

Donald Mcintosh. One attack on the
fort had been
repulsed; Warrington and
his friends were planning a second at*
O

of

tempt.

While
camp for

the

men were

preparing

to

Mrs. Story, Munroe, Skene, Reed,

Mcintosh, Benedict Arnold, and Ethan
Allen appear under their own names, fa-

the night, they learned that a

band of New Yorkers led by Munroe, a

miliar figures in the

early annals of the

a friendly Indian,

sons.

"

state.

York

sent

1405

_-.-___
sheriff,
j

by Mrs.

in
was
--'--v'---

Ann

.(,+,
x^**"V ^W*
Neshobee,
pursuit.
brought the warning,
I'-twitm'-"!.**

Story,

T|Ttlt

iJA,j

widow who

was

resisting

farm.

and

men

his

from

eviction

her

fort, but Mclnlosh, warned

by
Sherwood, was ready to resist the onslaught from. behind log barricades block-

Reed's

half-

Forewarned, Warrington
ambush for the
arranged an

cleared

ing the approach to the

Yorkers and took the attackers by surMunroe and several others they

prise.

in the lake.

doused

Munroe's guide was

who was

in the

secretly

em-

New

York land-jobbers. Capploy

tured by Pete Jones, one of the Green
Mountain Boys, Sherwood was treated to
with beech
a beech-sealing
O a beatina
of

before he

rods

was allowed

to

take to

his heels.

The Green Mountain Boys

arated.

went

and
Warrinoton
o

to

then sepSelden

his friend

Mrs. Story's cabin, which they

the

empty.

voice

resembled that of a

told

woman

knew

whom

Several families
at last a

he thought far from the wilderhe investigated further, to find that

the singing
apparently came from underhe returned
sleep.

The

next morn-

and had drifted into the Grants,

where he joined Warrington in bis resistance to the harsh decrees of

ted that a xecent

guest

had departed, and

she showed
Warrington an underground
chamber fashioned from a cave, a
refuge
in which her
had
family and the

that time.

Warrington, after reestablishing the

along Otter Creek and sending a

party in pursuit of a York surveyor rein the

neighborhood, traveled

ported

southward to the region opposite Crown

Point. His own lands
lay there in the

at

shadow of Snake Mountain, and he was

Later in the

morning Munioe and his

men appeared at the cabin and almost
succeeded in
Selden,

surprised to find that a part of the wilderness tract had been

replaced by well-

trapping Warrington and

who were hidden

inside.

across

effective in

putting that
discomfited officer to rout. Before
Warrington's departure Mrs. Story made him
premise that he would not harm the fam-

whom Neshobee sewed.

His force increased
by other settlers
from the Grants,
Warrington attacked
ily

fields.
While he stood looking
Lake Champlain, he heard a woman scream. In a
clearing nearby a girl
was being
annoyed by a soldier from

tilled

Mrs.

Story confronted them with her rifle, but

the tongue
lashing she gave the sheriff

was even more

York

settlers

cryptically

high for him to leap

New

officials.

guest
spent the night. To Warrington's questions she
that the
replied
too

had fostered him

onies

ing Mrs. Story and her children appeared

from the forest. Questioned, she admit-

hedge was

He

place.
until

benevolent British nobleman had

provided for his education abroad. Tiring
of Europe, he had returned to the col-

the

to

dis-

her something about himself.

neither his name nor his hi itli

ness,

ground. Mystified,
cabin and went to

rccon-

delegated to convey her there safely.

On the way, impressed by her charms, be

Wairington, unable to
was
sleep,
wandering near the cabin
when he heard muffled singing. Because

found

While

were
the colonel's daughter, and
Jessy Reed,
Zilpah, her half-Indian .servant. Climbing over the stockade, they were able to
threaten the defenders from the rear.
Mclntosh asked permission to surrender
formally, and Warrington allowed the sergeant and his men to depart under parole
for holdings owned by Colonel Reed on
the New York side of Lake
Champlain.
Jessy Reed preferred to go to the home
of some friends, the daughters of Colonel
Skene, at Skcncsboro, and Selden was

who pretended
Jacob Sherwood, a settler
his neighbors in the
with
sympathy
Grants but

fort.

noitering, Warrington and Selden

covered that the only two occupants

the

opposite fort.

The man

fled

when

Warrington appeared and Warrington

found himself face to face with Alma
Hendee, who addressed him as Mr.
Howard. She told him also that her father held these lands under
a
and that she and her

1406

York

title

parent lived

in

daily dread of an attack by Warrington

and his band of border ruffians.

been pouring his drinks into his

boots;
he was sober.
Warrington called him
Ethan Allen. He was the leader of the
Green Mountain
Boys, a greater prize
than Warrington if the soldiers had

Warrington did not reveal his true

name. Several years before, while traveling as Mr. Flo ward, he had gone on a
mission to New York and there had met
Captain Hendee and his daughter. But
the family had disappeared
mysteriously
and he had uncovered no trace of them.
A short time later, when he called at
the Hendee cabin, he learned more of
their story. The captain had been compelled to leave New York suddenly because

known

into the forest.

The Green Mountain Boys held a rendezvous at the middle falls of Otter
Creek. Selden and Pete Jones arrived
with Squire Proury, a York
of

of

pressing debts. Years before

Jacob Sherwood's father had mismanaged
an estate belonging to the captain. He

had

also

justice

persuaded Gilbert Hendee, the

make a will naming

Sherwood the legatee if Captain Hendee's small son, Edward, should die before reaching his
majority. Edward Hendee had disappeared soon afterward; it
was believed that he had been killed or

the peace. Another

prisoner brought in
was the York surveyor. The
prisoners

captain's brother, to

stolen

by Indians. Jacob Sherwood, after

had acquired Gilbert Hendee's

his father
estate,

of

became

solicitous for the welfare

Alma and her

established

them

father.

in

After he had

the Grants he be-

came, with the captain's permission,

Alma's suitor. Neshobee was the Hendees' servant. Mrs. Story's
cryptic remark
and her request were clear to Warrington
at last.

While Warrington was

calling on the
another visitor arrived, a tall,

Hendees,
commanding-looking man who gave his
name as Smith. Fie brought word that
Americans and British had fought at Lexington and that American blood had been
shed. Before Warrington and Smith
could take their departure, some soldiers
from Crown Point entered the cabin.
They were led by Bill Darrow, who had

molested Alma in the forest. Darrow,

Sherwood's confederate, had recognized
Warrington and intended to make him a
prisoner. Because the presence of Smith
hindered his plan, Darrow tried to make
the big

man

drunk. Late that night Smith

and Warrington went to the bam to

sleep. Smith then revealed that he had

it.

Alma, by that time aware of

Warrington's
identity, sent Neshobee to the barn
with the guns the men had been forced
to leave behind. While the soldiers were
still
carousing, the two men slipped away

were sentenced

each other. Prouty

home, but
the surveyor was sent back across the

was allowed

to lash

to return to his

New

York line.
Ethan Allen summoned the Green
Mountain Boys to another
meeting near
Middlebury. There he reminded them
of the wrongs the settlers had suffered
and disclosed his secret project, the cap-

Fort Ticonderoga. When the

gathered ror a muster at Castleton, a dispute arose between Ethan Allen
and Benedict Arnold, who had arrived
with a force of men under his command.
ture

of

men

Warrington settled the difficulties between the two men and Ethan Allen
was named leader of the expedition.

Taken by

surprise, Fort Ticonderoga

but Warrington was not present at
the assault; he had been delayed while

fell,

obtaining boats for the militia. WTien

Ethan Allen offered him the command

an attack on Crown Point, Warrington said that Selden ought to be the leader, as Miss Reed was still at Skenesboro.
for

The Hendees,
across the lake,

father's

men

several bateaux filled

down on the
Crown Point. Through
her
o
spyglass Alma saw the gates of

with armed
fortress

aroused by cannonading

saw

bearing

at

the fort tirown open after a brief parley

British flag slowly lowered.

and the

short time later

1407

Neshobee brought word

was

that Warrington

command

in

of the

who had heard from Mrs.

garrison. Alma,
of Wairington's bravery
account
Stoiy an

and' Sherwood's duplicity, was in symthe Green Mountain Boys,

pathy with
but when Wanington sent her a note
to elope with him, she refused
asking her
for her Father's sake. Pete Jones

brought

her also a letter from Jessy Reed, in which

Miss Reed said that she was once more

When

Warrington renewed

Hendee

received

his visits

cabin, the captain gladly

him.

Sherwood, whose

Jacob

was ordered

been revealed,
when he next appeared.

treachery had
from the house

Meanwhile

*>

underground chamber, while the

prepared to defend the cabin. When

to the

men

the attackers set fire to the logs, those inside the cabin retreated through an un-

derground passage to the cave. Unable

to force the entrance to the chamber,
Sherwood ordered his men to dig out the

At Captain I lendec's suggesmine was rigged from some casks

powder stored in the cave, and as a

defenders.

Selden's prisoner.
to the

the fugitives, accompanied by

Selden
J
and Pete Jones, made their way to Mrs.
The women were sent
Story's clearing.

Jacob's father

had

died, con-

tion a

of

last

desperate measure of resistance the

attackers

were blown up, Sherwood

whom

Darrow, on orders

willing back the

Hendee property to the captain. While
the will was still in the possession of the

ward Henclee,

Sherwood attorney, Jacob Sherwood

burned some incriminating papers of his
lather s. Darrow reported to him that a

lay dying, Wanington

of horse arrived on the scene.

after

science-stricken,

young
ing

officer at

Crown

resemblance

Point bore a
the

to

lost

strik-

Edward

Hendee,
Burgoyne marched his troops from
Canada, and Jacob Sherwood recruited a

band

of Tories

and Indians

to harass set-

in the Grants. The Hendees, accompanied by Jessy Reed, fled, only to

be betrayed by their treacherous
tlers

guide.

Captured, they were taken

to the

Tory

camp, where Sherwood tried to force

Alma into marriage. Neshobee,
eluding
the guards, carried word of the Hendees'
plight to Wamngton, who was several
miles away with the rear
guard of St.
Glair's
army. Selden was dispatched to
effect their rescue.

After Neshobee's
hurried bis captives

escape

away from

Sherwood
the

camp,
From a cliff the prisoners watched the
battle of Hubbardton.
During the engagement Selden and his men appeared
and routed Sherwood's
guards. With

Sherwood and

his

band in

close pursuit,

es-

mutilated by
caped. Darrow, horribly
the blast, revealed that Selden was Ed-

from the older Sherwood, had kidnaped

and abandoned years before. As the guilty

and

man

troop

The

sol-

diers escorted the fugitives to a place of

safety in

After

one of the older settlements.

the battle

of

Bcnnington the

company reassembled at Captain liendee's for a double wedding, the marriage

of Alma and Wanington and that of

Edward Hendee and Jessy Reed, whose
father had sent word of his consent.

Pete Jones, carried

away by the

the occasion, proposed to

spirit of

Alma's maid,

Ruth, and was coyly accepted. Ethan Allen decided that still one more
marriage

would be in

order. Bluflly

he persuaded

Zilpah to accept the faithful Neshobee.

Then, having done all that man could

do, he asked the parson to do his
duty.
Warrington and Edward Hendee returned to Vermont at the war's end, to
lead

long lives of service to their state,

Pete Jones and his wife
prospered on

and Neshobee and

Zilpah remained with
Captain Hendee for many
years, Jacob Sherwood
finally found reftheir farm,

uge in a Tory colony in Canada, where

he died in
poverty and disgrace.

GRETTIR THE STRONG

Type of workAuthor-

Type
Time

Saga

Unknown

Adventure romance

of plot:

of plot: Eleventh century

Locale: Iceland, Norway, Constantinople
First transcribed: Thirteenth-century manuscript

Principal characters:

GRETTIR THE STRONG,

ASMUND LONGHAIR, his

an outlaw
father

ILLUGI, his youngest brother

THORBJOKN OXMAIN, Grettir's enemy

THORBJORN SLOWCOACH, Oxmain's kinsman, killed by Grettir
THORIR OF CARD, an Icelandic chief
THORBJORN ANGLE, Grettir's slayer
THORSTEINN DROMUND, Grettir's half-brother and avenger
Critique:

One

of the

most famous of

all

nowned, for he was valiant. At last he

died. His sons fought after his death
and his lands were divided.
Grettir of the line of Onund was born
at Biarg. As a child he showed strange

Norse

the story of Grettir, hero and

sagas
outlaw of medieval Iceland. Grettir, bom
is

about 997, was descended from Vikings

who colonized Iceland in the second
half of the ninth century, after they

quarreled constantly
Longhair, his father, and
he was very lazy, never doing anything
When he
cheerfully or without urging.
was fourteen years old, grown big in
a quarrel over
body, he killed Skeggi in

to

political

The

social history of

from his horse,

provision bag fallen
for that deed his father paid blood
money to the kinsmen of Skeggi. Then
the Lawman declared that he must leave

and

battle

a leg and
Treefoot.

at

was

coast,

that

Onund lost
known as Onund

Yuletide,

Grettir

sailed to Iceland to be free of injustice

in their homeland, where the unscrupu-

Onund
new

rob without fear of redress.

lived in quiet
land and his

all

In

years.

that

way

on land
got safely ashore

made

his

and plenty in the

name became re-

Thorfinn,

to

the

of

home

for

with

to a

wealthy

With him

district.

Thorfinn

household went

His wife was Aesa, daughter

of Ofeig. Thrand, a great hero, was his
companion in arms. During a time of
in Norway the two heroes
great trouble

lous could

three

belonged

landman

Hafrsfjord

thereafter

but

of booty
sea raids.

war and the taking

from towns plundered on far
a

for

the long outlawry of Grettir began.

Grettir set sail for Norway. The ship
was wrecked on rocks off the Norwegian

was descended from

famed for enemies

killed in

In

Iceland

the age.

Story:

Grettir the Strong

Onund, a Viking

Asmund

adventures of other folk heroes as well;

but in the main the saga is true to the

and

He

intelligence.

with

acknowledge Harold Fairhair as their king. Grettir emerges from

his mist-shrouded, lawless world as a
man so memorable that his story was
handed down by word of mouth for
more than two hundred years after his
death. By the time his story was finally
committed to writing, it had absorbed

had refused

time.

most

of

At
his

merrymaking and

Grettir to look after the farm, In

Thorfinn's absence a party of berserks,
or raiders, led by Thorir and Ogmund,
carne to rob and lay waste to the disGrettir tricked them by locking
trict.
left

them

in a storehouse.

through the

wooden

When

they broke

walls, Grettir,

armed

with sword and spear, killed Thorir and

Ogmund and pat the rest to flight. Some

1409

he had en-

time before this adventure

the tomb of Karr-the-Old,

tered

guarded
deed in

Grettir decided to return to

Norway.
was
Thorbjorn Slowcoach; they fought and

killing

sword from

ancient

Grettir killed his foe.

the

Grettir killed a great bear

which

The

travelers landed

where they were withwarm themselves and Grettir

a barren shore

on

treasure hoard of Karr-the-Old.

Next

the passengers on the boat

Among

hidden treasure. For his brave

the berserks Thorfinn

him an

gave

dead shepherd.

the

who

Thorfinn, a long-dead chieftain

of

evil spirit that

possessed
destroy the

to

father

out

fire

swam

to

and brave^. Then Grettir killed Bjorn

and was summoned before Jarl Sveinn.

the cove to get

burning
brands at an inn where the sons of
Thorir of Card, an Icelandic chieftain,
were holding a drunken feast. I Ic had
to fight to get the fire he wanted, and

Friends of

in

In
had been
off the sheep,
carrying
doing so he incurred the wrath of Bjorn,

who was

jealous

Bjom

of

Grettir's

plotted

strength

the struggle hot coals set

straw on the inn floor and

to take Grettir's

After he killed two of his enemies,

his friends saved him from the wrath

life.

the

of

jarl,

who had wished

His term

him.

Grettir

sailed

to

to

Iceland

At that time in Iceland

young Thorgils
quarrel over a whale, and
up the feud against those

in a

took

killed

him.

when Grer
became angry and threw a bystander
into the air. The king then banished him
from Norway, but because no ships could
church, hut the ordeal ended

slain

tir

Asmund
who had

The murderers were

ban-

Grettir returned,

Asmund

after his return, Grettir

some

men

after a horse

gave

The

him

fiend

night

tir

went

to

At

of Grettir's reputation.

he went to stay with

Thorsteinn Dromuncl.
Because they were men of the same
blood, Thorsteinn swore to avenge Grettir if ever he were killed.

his

man with

strength, Gret-

the house

Grettir's

have no
greater strength and less honor
arms from that
day on, and that he

would grow afraid of the

dark. Grettir
cut off Glam's head
and burned the
body

suit,

halforother,

his

angry

last Glam fell exhausted.

Defeated, he predicted that Grettir would

might.

man

Giving up his

meet Glam.
They struggled
of Thorhall and
ripped
down beams and rafters in their
in

mad fit and killed the robber

own sword. Grettir fell in love

in his

child to a

shepravaged the country-

Because he could find no

whom he could
prove his

side.

great frenzy
Grettir sei'/ecl

with Einar's beautiful

daughter but he
knew that Einar would never give his

had taken

Glam,

man who pretended

with his

sneered at the hero.

that a

country

lived

during his lawless raids.

been forgotten if
Thorbjorn Oxmain's
kinsman, Thorbjom Slowcoach, had not

Word came

wild

strug-

was halted
by a man named Thorbjorn Oxmain. The feud might have
gle

the corpse of
possession
pf
herd. At
Glam

He

some time with

a man named Einar, on a
lonely farm
to which
came the bcrsak Snaekoll,
that winter.

fought with

fight.

Iceland before the sprino Crettir

to remain in the

was allowed

him the welcome that was his due because of his fame as a brave hero. Shortly

to

sail

ished.

When

house

before the king, To prove his innocence

of the charge of willful burning, he was
sentenced to undergo trial by fire in the

the

spring.

Maksson, Asmund's kinsman, was

to the

the

Charged with deliberately setand burning those

ting fire to the inn
within, Grettir went to lay the matter

banish
in

ftie

burned.

of outlawry being ended,

back

across

father,

deathbed he

Asmund,
said

that

died.
little

On
good

would come of his son. Grettir's time of

bad luck in Iceland
began. Thorbjorn

Oxmain

killed Atli, Grettir's brother, in

revenge for the slaying of Thorbjorn
Slowcoach, and Thorir of Garcl,
that

1410

his

sons

had been

killed

hearing
in the

burning of the inn, charged Grettir with

their

murder before the court

Althing,

had

he

of

the

the time Grettir returned,

By

been

proclaimed

throughout Iceland.

He had

an

outlaw

little

and killed both the man and his son.

mother was delighted with his
deed, but she predicted that Grettir

Grettir's

live

Thorir

tory.

freely to enjoy his vicof Gard and Thorodd,

Thorbjorn Oxmain's kinsman, each put

of three silver marks upon his

Soon afterward Grettir was cap
tured by some farmers but he was released by a wise woman named Thora price

head.

bjorg.

Avoided by most of

his former friends,

longer help him, Grettir
far north to find a place to live.

who would
went

110

He met in the forest another outlaw

named Grim, but a short time later he
was forced
offered

time

for

there

companion because
him for the reward
head. About that

to kill his

Grim intended

to kill

Grettir's

was growing upon

Grettir

a fear of the dark, as Glam had propheThorir of Gard hired Redbeard,

sied.

another outlaw, to kill Grettir, but Grettir

discovered the outlaw's plans and
killed

him

also.

At

last Grettir realized

he could not take any forest men

into his trust, and yet he was afraid to
live alone because of his fear of the
that

dark.

Thorir of Gard attacked Grettir with

eighty men, but the outlaw was able
to hold them off for a time. Unknown to
him, a friend

men

named Hallmund

attacked

and the
But
failed.
Grettir
to
capture
attempt
Grettir could no longer stay long in any
Thorir's

place,

him.

for

all

from

the

rear,

men had

Hallmund was

turned against
treacherously slain

he had given Grettir; as he

died he hoped that the outlaw would
avenge his death.
One night a troll-woman attacked a
for the aid

traveler

named Gest

in the

off the

monster's right arm.

revealed himself as Grettir.
Steinvor of

worry

over his outlawry from the inn-burning.

Determined to avenge his brother, he
went alone to Thorbjorn Oxmain's farm

would not

he

lay sleeping.
They struggled all
night, but at last Gest was able to cut

room where

Sandhauger gave birth

whom many

a boy

Then Gest
to

called Grettir's son,

when he was seventeen and

no saga about himself.
Thorodd then tried to
gain favor by

but he died
left

killing Grettir, but the

outlaw soon over-

came him and refused to kill his

enemy.
Grettir went north once more, but his
fear of the dark was
growing upon him
so that he could no
longer live alone
even to save his life. At last, with his
youngest brother, Illugi, and a servant,
he settled on
Drangey, an island which
had no inlet so that men had to clirnb
to its
grassy summit by rope ladders.
There Grettir, who had been an outlaw
for some sixteen
years, was safe for a
time, because none could climb the steep
cliffs

to

attack him.

For several years

he and his companions lived on the

sheep which had been put there to
graze and on eggs and birds. His enemies
tried in vain to lure him from the
island. At last an old woman cut
magic
runes upon a piece of driftwood which
floated

to

the

island.

attempted to chop the

gashing his leg. He

When

Grettir

ax slipped,
log, his
felt that his end

was near, for the wound became swollen

and painful.
Thorbjorn Angle,
old

woman

who had

paid the

upon the fireupon the island

to cast a
spell

wood, led an attack

while Grettir lay near death. Gretdr
was already dying when he struck his
last blows at his enemies. Illugi and the
servant died with him. After Thorbjorn
off Grettir's head as
proof of the
outlaw's death, Steinn the Lawman decreed that the murderer had cut off the

had cut

head of a man already dead and that he

could not collect the reward because
he had used witchcraft to overcome GretOutlawed for his deed, Thorbjorn
tir.
went to Constantinople, where he enThere
listed in the emperor's guard.
Thorsteinn Dromund followed him and

1411

cut

(LIU.
i

off
\JiJL.

_i

which

murderers head with a sword

the
S-AA>- -"r
*,<jin, A
f-il'pn
vpars before,
nerore.
Grettir had taken, vears
i

from the treasure hoaid

or'

Kan-the-OJcl.

LA GRINGA
Type of work: Drama
Author: Florencio Sanchez (1875-1910)
Type
Time

of plot: Social

comedy

of plot: Early twentieth century

Locale: Pampas near Santa Fe, Argentina
first presented:

1904

Principal characters:

DON

NICOLA, an ambitious
MARIA, his wife

VICTORIA,

their

Italian

immigrant farmer

daughter

HORACIO, their son

DON CANTALICIO, an easygoing, native-born fannei
PR6spERO, his son, in love with Victoria
Critique:

In the development of Argentine

erature,
stories

many

early

and plays made

lit-

nineteenth-century
fun of the foreign-

born gringo. Later dramatists, however,

realized

the

foreigner's

contribution

to

the nation's progress and made the Immigrant a figure sympathetically presented. La GringaThe Foreign Girl is such
a play, written

by the short-lived Florencio Sanchez, one of Latin America's

greatest playwrights. Born In
Uruguay, he
spent most of his life on the Argentine
side of the

hemian

River Plate. Leading a bohe wrote rapidly,

existence,

sometimes completing a play in a single

night. His writing time for his eight long
and twelve short dramas was only about
thirty-five days in all. But he gave a new
technique to the stage and
theater of

modern

theses, as in

He saw

made it a
La Gringa.

the hope of Argentina in a blending of the creole, or native, spirit and

the blood of ambitious, industrious immigrants like the

Don

Nicola in

this play.

The Story:
Don Nicola was an immigrant landowner who worked hard on his farm and
expected his laborers to do the same.
Privately, his workmen and less ambitious neighbors criticized him because he
made his wife and children get up at
two o'clock in the morning to begin their

LA GRINGA

by Florencio Sanchez.
1927, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

By

daily chores.
One of his neighbors was Don
talicio, an easygoing Creole farmer

in

Don

Can-

deeply

Nicola's debt. Pr6spero, his son,

for Don Nicola and cast

many
languishing .glances in the direction of

worked

Victoria, his employer's pretty daughter.

Early one morning, coming to breakfast

with the other laborers, Prospero seized
his chance to kiss Victoria

when he found

her at her work. She offered

sistance to his embrace. Later

little

re-

one of the

boys reported that he had seen the Italian's white ox in old Cantalicio's
pasture.
Prospero was forced to defend his father against a charge of thievery.
Payment of a loan of forty-five

hun-

dred pesos being about to fall due, Cantalicio begged his

neighbor for a year's
extension of credit. Don Nicola said that
he intended to foreclose on Cantalicio's
property, his reason being that his son
Horacio, then studying in Buenos Aires,

wanted the land

although unable

for a farm. Cantalicio,

pay the debt, refused

his property.
Pr6spero
commented that his father should have
to give

to

up

When

planted wheat instead of trying to pasture

Cantalicio turned on his son and
accused him of becoming a gringo a de-

cattle,

spised foreigner.

Not long afterward Maria, Don Ni-

cola's wife, discovered

Prospero hugging

permission of the publisheri, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Copyright,

1413

her daughter. Told what had happened,

no
the Italian discharged the boy. It did
to ask for Victoria's
for
good
Prospero
hand. Don Nicola was not making money

any Creole son-in-law to squander!

later the customers in a
few

for

days
were drinking and teasing
nearby tavern
the waitress when a call came for the
doctor to attend a sick hut penniless peon.
He refused to budge, however, until

some
fee.

pay his

of the loiterers offered to

Into the tavern to gossip with the

manager's

wife

came Maria and Vic-

who had been shopping in town

while Don Nicola discussed with his lawtoria,

yer the confiscation of Cantalicio's propalso arrived, about to leave

Prospero
Santa Fe. He would not listen
erty.

Victoria pleaded with

him

to

when

stay.

had another quarrel with his father,

again accused

him

of taking the side of

foreigners against those of

tine blood.
Cantaiicio,

had brought

He
who

good Argen-

having lost the lawsuit he

an attempt to keep his

in

property, xvas also preparing to leave the

district. He
complained bitterly that the

immigrants were taking over all the land.

When Don Nicola appeared at the tavern to pay
tween lie

him the cash difference beamount of the debt and the

value of the farm, Canatalicio refused to

accept a note for a part of the settlement,
even
to see
though the priest

promised

was made good. The mined

cieole trusted no one, and he
wept as he
declared that
everyone was against him,
that the note

Two

years later many changes had

been made on the farm taken over
by
Don Nicola. To make room for a new
building, he planned to have the workmen chop down the ancient ombu
tree,

symbol of the old-time Argentine

gaucho!
Horacio, now settled on the
farm, was
to
his
father the use of
explaining
gravity
in connection with a new
reservoir when
the listless Victoria
She did
not seem interested in
in

plans for her

house.

appeared.

anything, not even

in the new

own room

Old Cantaiicio turned

up unexpected-

Working

ly.

oxen

for others,

he was

nearby town, and

to a

clrivino

lie

stopped
to see what his old home looked like,
Every change saddened him, but he reacted most strongly to the cutting down
of the ombu. Don Nicola had no ri^ht
to touch the tree, he asserted; it
belonged
to the land.

him somewas that she

months in Rosario.

Victoria kept trying to

thing,

but

all

tell

she could say

had been for several

There she had seen Prospero, who missed
his father. She also let slip the fact that
she was receiving letters from the
boy.
Horacio had further word of
Prospero;
he reported that Mr. Daples, an agent for
farm machinery in Rosario, regarded
Cantalicio's son as his most valued employee. The brother and sister offered to
take the old man around the farm. Still

he refused and
hurriedly
mounted his horse.
At that moment the auto of the man
who was building the new house chugged
over the hill. That symbol of modern
resentful,

frightened the Creole's -horse,

throwing Cantaiicio in front of the car.
Refusing the aid of everyone except Victoria, the hurt man begged her to
help
progress

him

ornbu; he wanted to die when

cursed Don Nicola,
calling
him a gringo.
Several weeks later
everything was going well on the renovated farm. Buyers
it

to the

fell.

He

were offering bonuses to

get Don Nicola's
wheat as soon as the thresher ar-

clean

rived to harvest

Don

Nicola told Howanted to many

Victoria and had asked for an answer before he left that
night. The father was
it.

racio that the contractor

anxious to consult her as (o her

choice,
but she was
spending most of her time,
looking after Cantaiicio,
his

right

arm through

of the household

be better

off in a

who had lost

Some

his accident

thought that he would

hospital

Overhearing their discussion, Cantaannounced that he would leave the

farm at once, on foot if
they would not
lend him a
wagon. But Victoria refused
to hear of his
leaving. Breaking down,
heio

1414

she insisted that she needed him, for she

was carrying Prospero's child.
Prospero, having been sent by Mr.
Dapies to run the threshing machine,
arrived at the farm. Great was Maria's
dismay when she again caught him em-

bracing her daughter.

for her husband to

When

she called

come

and drive
off the place once and for all,
Prospero
Don Nicola remarked on the young
man's industry and calculated that if the
boy married into the family they could

get

threshing done for nothing.

Cantalicio became reconciled to die

their

Even

gringosat least to one of themand let

drop the announcement of his expected
grandchild. All were excited. But Don
Nicola was never one to waste time, even
for such a reason. All
right, he declared;
Prospero could have Victoria. Meanwhile
there was the
threshing to be done.
Grandchild or no grandchild, the work
came first!

GROWTH OF THE
Type

of work:

Type
Time

of plot:

Author: Knut

Novel

Hamsun (Knut Pedersen Hamsund, 1859-1952)

of plot: Social chronicle

Locale:
First

SOIL

Late nineteenth century

Norway

fished: 1917
Principal characters:
ISAK, a Norwegian peasant

INGER,

Ms

wife

ELESEUS,
SIVERT,

LEOPOLDINE, and
REBECCA, their children
OLINE, Inger's relative
GEISSLER, Isak's friend

AXEL STROM,

neighbor

BAHBRO, Axel's wife

Critique:

One of the great modern novels,

Growth of the Soil won for its author the
Nobel prize for literature in 1921. It is
the

story of the

development of a home-

stead in the wilds of

plicity

worker, and she shared Isak's bed.

brought more things from her home,
eluding a cow.
That winter
Inger bore her first

Norway. The sim-

and power of the

style are

rem-

Reading the book

is like
crumbling the earth between one's
fingers; it brings nature to life on the

to

a stretch of
grass and woodland, with a
nearby. There he cleared his farmate. He had to
carry everything out from
the
on his own back.

a A

belongings.

^useof

her

some

woman

traveling
to

help in the
****>i

She was not beautiful

beharelip. But she was a good

to

make

possible for Isak.

the terms as
easy as
lost his

But Geissler

new officer came to look at

the land with his
assistant, Brcde Olsen.
He also promised to do what he
could for
position.

built a

Lapps

came to tell Isak that he would have

pay the government for his land. He

promised

stream

He sent word
^ he needed aby

was not good, but

potatoes

ficer,

implements, he wandered until he found

harvest

family through the winter

without hunger.
Inger bore a second son,
Sivert.
Then Geissler, the sheriff's of-

and

sod house,
procured some goats, and prepared for winter,

family. She
in the fall to take

summer.

out into the wilds to claim a homestead.

Carrying some food and a few rude

He

with no

while Inger and Isak

be married and to have the
child
baptized. The farm grew through the

The

village

boy,

to

carried Isak's
village

fine

care of the farm

went

Tlie Story:

Norwegian

to return

promised

printed page. The reader will not soon

i-orget Isak, the silent pioneer to whom
the soil is life,

Isak left a small

child

was

In the
harelip.
spring Inger's relative
Oline came to see the new

iniscent of the Bible.

set

He

Eleseus.

Isak.

One

In g
sent her husband to
While he was
gone, she bore her
third child a
girl with a harelip, Kn<
ing what the deformed child would <
A
1

town.

IT

1416

ft

the body in the woods. Later she convinced Isak she had not really been preg-

ceived a large sum for the

rights he had
retained on the
He was able
to

nant.

But Oline had

known

of Ingcr's con-

quarrel with her, for fear she

was changing. Men came

up a telegraph line. Beplace and the village, Brede,

old life

Little

by little, she learned the story of

Barbro and the baby.

through putting

A man

the helper of the sheriff's officer, started a

farm.
Other settlers appeared as the

for trifles. Speculating on copper

mining, Geissler bought some of Isak's
land. With the help of Geissler, Inger

money

and now farm life

seemed rough and lonely. She no longer
helped Isak with his work. Eleseus was
sent to town, where he got a job in an

learned city ways,

Sivert,

who was much

like

pear for

trial

in the town. Because there

went

free.

wife of the

who promised to see that

Barbro behaved herself.

his

sheriff's officer,

There seemed little hope that the mine

would reopen, for Geissler would not sell
his land. After Aronsen sold his store to
Isak, Eleseus was persuaded to return
from the city and take over the store propIsak was now a rich man. Then in
erty.
the spring Geissler sold his land and work
resumed at the mine. But the miners

Isak's.

to stay
his work.

with Axel and help him with

Inger bore another daughter, Rebecca,
and Isak hired a girl to help with the
housework. Eleseus returned from town
to
help on the farm. Geissler sold the
re-

new

so little evidence, Axel

Barbro went to work for the

came

copper mine property and Isak also

the

was

father,

Brede's daughter, Barbro,

in

mine owners would pay. The mine remained idle.

The trouble about Barbro and the baby
at last came to the attention of the authorities, and Axel and Barbro had to ap-

from prison.

Inger, whose harelip had been

operated on in Bergen, was happy to return with little Leopoldine. But she had
first

remained at home.
Axel Strom now had a farm near

named Aronsen

built a big
neighborhood. Soon
miners moved in to begin work on the
land Geissler and Isak had sold. Then
the mine played out. Geissler owned the
additional land needed to
keep the mine
working, but he asked more than the
store

years passed. Oline was unbearable. She

stole livestock from Isak and spent his

office.

leave

That winter Barbro went to

Bergen and
Axel had to manage the farm himself.
One day he was pinned to the ground
by
a falling tree
during a snowstorm. Brede,
who was angry with Axel, passed by without offering to help.
By chance, Oline
heard Axel's cries for help and released
him. Afterward srie stayed to
manage his
house for him, and never did she let him
forget his debt to her for saving his life.

a blemish.

finally released

would

him.

now that Inger was

from habit and
only
gone.
necessity. Geissler reappeared to tell Isak
that he had seen Inger in Bergen. She
had borne a girl in prison, a child without

At

In the

town. One
day he found Barbro down
by the brook with her drowned baby.
She said she had fallen and the
baby had
been born in the water. Axel did not

He worked

was

mowing machine

Eleseus took an interest in

Barbro, but
discovered she was
pregnant, he
went back to the
Axel bought
city.
Brede's farm when Brede moved back to

joy in his farming,

Isak's

property.

first

when he

was sent away to prison at Bergen for

For lack of anyone else,
eight years.
Isak was forced to hire Oline to come and
help with the farm and the children.
Isak got the deed for his land and paid
the first installment. But there was no

tween

the

district.

dition, and when she came again she

found the grave in the woods. Inger exher deed as well as she could to
plained
Isak; he was satisfied. Then Lapp begtold the story of the hidden grave and
gars
the sheriff's officer heard of it. There was
an investigation. After her trial, Inger

The

buy

4 1

>"7

lived

on the

another

far side of the property in

district.

The village was no

better

Barbro

could

no

stand

the

longer
watchfulness of the wife of the sheriff's
officer. When she returned to Axel, he
took her in again after he was sure she
meant to stay and marry him. Old Oline

would not leave Axel's farm. But she

soon grew ill and died, leaving the

young

people by themselves.
Eleseus did not manage the store well.

At

last,

when he saw

the failure

he had

made, he borrowed more money from his

and

returned.
carried

than hefore.

off

father

to the

down

set

out for America.

Sivert

some

He

never

and two other men

of the goods from the store

new mine. But

again.

They

the mine had shut

found

Gcissler

wandering about the deserted mine; he

said that he was
thinking of buying back
the property.
When the three

men

returned, Isak

was sowing corn. The copper mine and

the store, good times and bad, had come
and gone. But the soil was still there.
For Isak and Ingcr, the first sowers in the
wilds, the corn

still

grew.

DER GRUNE HEINRICH

Novel

Type

of ^vork:

Type
Time

of plot: Autobiographical romance

of plot: Micl nineteenth century

Author: Gottfried Keller (1819-1890)

and Bavaria
1854-1855; revised 1879

Locale: Switzcilancl
First published:

Principal characters:
HELNRICH LEE, son of an architect
FRAU LEE, Heinrich's mother

ANNA, daughter

of Heinrich's uncle, Heinrich's

first

love

who

JUDITH, a well-to-do widow,

loved Heinrich
ROEMER, a painter, Heinrich's teacher
ERICSON, Heinrich's first friend among Munich painters

LYS, a Dutch painter, prominent among Munich painters

SCIIMAUIOEFER, a second-hand dealer
GRAF DIETRICH zur
BERG, an admirer of Heinrich's art

DOROTHEA, adopted daughter

of

Count

berg

Critique:

Dcr grune Heinrich

the great German
one
of
(Green Henry),
Bildungsromane (educational novels), is
compared to Goethe's WilGottfried Keller's

Thereafter, with great love

a boundless faith in her son's future,

childhood.

and

Frau Lee devoted her

life

to his

happi-

helm Mehter.

ness. Methodically she used her small inrich

herited fortune for his education.

tent

the father,
supply of green cloth, left by

frequently

Its autobiographical conunmistakable: the book is an almost authentic description of Keller's life
is

in Munich,
in Switzerland, his struggles
f^f
and his disillusioned return home. The
\,

first

version of the novel,

in

1854-1855,

death. After

county
second,
griine

official

ends

Keller

which appeared

with

Heinrich's

became

a respected

in his native country, the

of Der

and standard, version

Heinrich appeared. This version,

new-found security,
reflecting the author's
ends on a fatalistic but not destructive
Keller, as enthusiastic about dehis romantic
scription of nature as were

note.

was continuously used for Heinrich's

nicknamed "Griine
clothing, and he was
Heinrich" (Green Henry).
After fifteen-y ear-old Heinrich had
been dismissed from school for his part
in a student prank, he visited relatives in
the country and fell in love with his
cousin Anna, a beautiful but frail girl.
In the same village he met Judith, a wellto-do widow, who loved Heinrich. Although she knew about his love for Anna,
she assured him that there was enough
room for both in Heinrich's heart. Judith

native

did not intend to leave their relationship

surroundings; however, he added strong

on a platonic basis only. Thus Heinrich

was drawn between his deep love for the
frail Anna and the strange attraction of

contemporary

writers,

loved

his

realism to his stones, which was quite

aushocking to his romantically inclined
dience.

The

value of

the novel

is

in-

creased by a dry sense of humor, which

book with confills the
basically tragic
of the plot on
trasts.

the sensual Judith.

Because
to

it

complete

was impossible
his

course

of

for

Heinrich

studies,

his

native elements

may be responsible for

the absence of an English translation.

mother agreed to help him fulfill his

dream of becoming a painter. All friends
of Frau Lee opposed this idea; it was un-

The

zen should undertake such an insecure

Strong dependence

Story:

Heinrich Lee

lost his father in early

thinkable that a child of a respected

and uncertain

1419

career.

citi-

In spite of these

objections

Frail

meet her any more, since lie wanted to

remain faithful to Anna. Disappointed,
Judith decided to emigrate to America,

Lee arranged Heinrich's

studio.

an etcher's
in
apprenticeship
Thereafter, when he visited the village
enin which Anna and Judith lived, he

taking Heinrich's diary with her.

Heinrich decided

called a painter.
joved being
'Anna, after a time spent in a school

in

Switzerland,

became

and

ill

suading
o

died.

the

^Before long Heinrich exhausted the

in the etcher's
knowledge he could gain
studio. His luck changed when he met a
Roemer. From
painter named

predictions

Roemer showed great interest

in Heinrich's work and agreed to be his
tutor for a reasonable fee. As usual, Frau
Lee was willing to help her son and again

his art.

folly.

In

saw

Herr Roemer was regarded as completely

and his talk about connecthe liberal-

was approached by Roemer

Heinrich received more les-

One

day Roemer sold a painting.

to

use the

Paris because life in the

come unbearable

for him.

as a

He

Lys

felt

insulted

and

chal-

tions

with

artistic circles,

Heinrich de-

cided to attend lectures at the university.

Living a carefree and cheerful student

town had beFrau Lee wrote

a polite note in
regard to the loan

painter

lenged him to a duel. The duel was never

fought, however, for Lys left Munich.
Having lost his most valuable connec-

for a trip to

money

The Dutch

also

strongly that

loan.

decided

drawings.

an avowed atheist. Though

Heinrich never attended church services,
he defended his "God exists" theory so

was

Heinrich, wanting to discontinue

money regarded

Heinrich's

in

followed.

discussion

Roemer's financial
situation seemed not to be as favorable
as he tried to have it appear. Proof came
citizens. Also,

sons in return for

promise

widow and left

Munich. Once Lys' irresponsible behavior
irked TIeinrich and a heated
toward a oirl
~

with members of the aristocracy

for a loan.

toward

Attracted to

Ericson married a wealthy

unreliable,

his lessons,

Ericson, a

Ericson and Lys gave Heinrich the contact he desired with the artistic world.

she was in opposition to the townspeople.

when

Munich Heinrich met

young and idealistic

Heinrich, he introduced the young man
to a
respected Dutch painter, Lys, who

start

minded

money

Munich, and pessimistic

were made about Frau Lee's

oainter with a realistic attitude

professional

made him unpopular among

Munich.

for his study in

ni^ht before her funeral.

tions

of

trustees

to

difficulty perHeinrich's in-

heritance to release the rest of the

Heinrich guarded her body during the

the

oo

to

Once more Frau Lee had

life,

and

he soon exhausted his

Recaused

credit.

alization of his financial situation

When

Heinrich tried

him

aristocratic

proached a well-known painter for help,

the artist looked at his work and
suggested that he show his paintings in a

trie

to
appeal to Roemer's
code of honor in order to
get

money. Surprisingly, Roemer paid

Weeks later Heinrich

without hesitation.

received a letter,
revealing that Roemer
was dying in an insane
asylum in Paris;
the payment to Heinrich had left him

without
there.

single franc after his arrival

Heinrich

lieved that

felt

guilty because

he be-

he had destroyed Roemer's

only

chance for a new life. 'To

body about his moral

somehe went to

talk to

guilt

Judith. She declared

bluntly that Heinricn had murdered Roemer and that

would be forced

he

to live

with his crime.

Heinrich told Judith that he could not

to

resume painting.

he ap-

There Heinrich noticed that his

work was placed in an obscure corner,
but a canvas
by the other painter, based

gallery.

on one of his

own

landscapes,

hung

in a

prominent place. Heinrich realized that

any other attempt to exhibit his works
would stamp him as a plagiarist.
Discouraged, he tried without success
to sell his work to small dealers. For
days
he did not eat; each
night he had apocalyptical

nightmares.

Money from Frau

Lee brought
temporary

1420

relief.

After pay-

had little left and

ing his debts, Heinrich
he tried to sell the drawings which he

had made before leaving home. A secondhand dealer, Schmalhoefer, took a few

When Heinrich returned to the

he was told that his drawings had
been sold, and Schmalhoefer asked for
more. Later Schmalhoefer offered him
work as a flagpole painter, and he acfrom morning
cepted, working steadily
After this work came to an end
to night.
o
he was able to pay all his debts, with
some money left over to make a trip
home.
On the way he accidentally found
of them.
dealer,

at

shelter

the estate of

Count

To

his surprise, he learned that

was the unknown patron who
when
had bought his drawings.
o
O Delighted

berg.

the count
!~i

he learned the identity of his guest, the

count offered Heinrich a chance to paint
undisturbed. Soon Heinrich forgot his intention to return to his mother. Also,
Count
berg had an adopted
with whom Heinrich
Dorothea,
daughter,
O

'

fallen deeply in love. It was impossible for him to declare his love openly,

had

however, because he felt that to do so

would abuse the count's hospitality.

WHaving

found

sponsor

in

Count

berg, Heinrich successfully exhibited a painting in Munich. His old

.

friend Ericson, after reading an account

of the exhibit, wrote asking to buv the

regardless of price. While in

Munich, Heinrich experienced another
great surprise when he was informed that
Schmalhoefer had died, leaving him a
large amount of money. The dealer had

painting,

been impressed by an idealistic painter

who was nevertheless ready to paint flagpoles from morning to night. The sale of
the painting, Schmalhoefer's bequest, and
additional payments by the count for the

drawings Schmalhoefer had sold to him

made Heinrich a fairly rich man. But in
spite of his good fortunes Heinrich was
still not ready to declare his love to Dorothea. Heinrich, who had not written to
his mother for many months, decided at

complete his journey home. When

he found his mother dying.
neighbors informed him that a short

last to

he

arrived,

The

time before the police, trying to contact

him in connection with Schmalhoefer's
bequest, had asked Frau Lee to appear
at police headquarters to
give information as to her son's whereabouts. Because
the police did not reveal the reason for
their questions, his mother had believed
rumors that a criminal investigation was

the cause for the inquiries; her fears and

Heinrich's silence had broken her spirit.

After some time Heinrich was able to regain the confidence of the townspeople

and was elected a county official. Then a

from the count informed him that
Dorothea, uncertain of his love, had married another. Peace came into his life
when Judith returned from America to
be near him. A realistic woman, she convinced Heinrich that marriage would not
be advisable, but she promised to be with
him whenever he needed her. After
twenty years Judith died and he recovered his diary, which he used to write the

letter

story of his life.

GUARD OF HONOR
of work: Novel
Author: James Gould Cozzens (1903-

Type

realism

Type of plot: Psychological

Time of 'plot: Three days during World War
Locale:

An

II

Air Force base in Florida

First fublished:

1948
Principal characters:

MAJOR GENERAL IRA N. "Bus" BEAL, Commanding General

of the

Ocanara Base

SAL BEAL,

his

wife

COLONEL NORMAN Ross, Air Inspector on General Deal's staff

CORA Ross, his wife
CAPTAIN NATHANIEL HICKS, an officer in Special Projects and an
in civilian life

editor

WAC

SECOND LIEUTENANT AMANDA TURCK, a

LIEUTENANT COLONEL BENNY CARRICKER, General Beal's co-pilot
BRIGADIER GENERAL NICHOLS, assistant to the Commanding General
of the Air Force

LIEUTENANT EDSELL, a writer, assigned to

LIEUTENANT LTPPA, a WAC, in love with
LIEUTENANT WILLIS, a Negro pilot
MR. WILLIS, his father

Special Projects
Lieut. Edsell

Critique:

Within the complex structure of

had characterized

his career as a

And Judge

judge
Ross needed all

large Air Force base in wartime, James

Gould Cozzens has evoked a world in

in peacetime.
his acumen to

miniature in which

Landing his AT- 7 one night at the

Ocanara Airstrip, the general came close

many

of the

conflicts of life are discussed. In a

major
flat but

cogent style the author delineates

problems that attach

ships, to authority

book

rectly the

is

to

power

to colliding with a B-17. The R-17,

piloted by Lieutenant Willis, one of the

the

relation-

and suppression. India profound indictment

of the self-willed
agitator and nonconformist; directlv, it is a striking revelalion of the

way

various types rise to

deal with the crises of

and

life.

The huge and sprawling Air Force

base at Ocanara, Florida, was almost a
world in itself. At its head was
Major
General "Bus" Beal, a hero in the Pacific
theater in the
early days of the

war and
an energetic and skillkeep the operation of the

at forty-one,

To

ful flyer.
"bass

running smoothly, the general relied

on his Air
Heavily
'inspector, Colonel
f
Nonnan Ross, who brought to his military duties the same resourcefulness that
k

Neoro fliers recently assignee! to Ocanara,

had violated the right of way. Lieutenant
Colonel Benny Carrickcr, General Beal's
co-pilot, struck and hospitali/cd Lieutenant Willis and in return was confined to
quarters

Tlie Story:

still,

Jm

do the job.

By

by General

Beal.

The

incident,

while small, triggered a

complex of problems that, in the next two clays, threat-

ened

to

the base.
the

destroy the normal operations of

On the following day several of

Negro

fliers,

Willis' accident

incensed by Lieutenant
and further outraged at

the fact that a

separate service club had
set
to enter
up for them,

been
the

attempted

white

officers'

recreation

This action came close

building.

smarting a riot.
To complicate
^w*^/ A^vr
A Ross's
A
.Colonel
%JiJ *J
A
difficul^>
^r
ties further, tension had
developed bei

-*^^* f^M*

fLA

to

\w<

m,\^f

\~*. AJLA..A

Swfc

tween the Air Force base and some lead-

permission of the

1422

citizens of the town.

i^

^^

Alone of Gen-

Colonel Ross felt the

hazards of the situation. For the others
in particular for Colonel Mowbray and
his assistant, Chief Warrant Officer Bot-

eral

Beal's

staff,

On the following day the base prepared for a birthday celebration. In honor
of General Beal's
forty-first year, Colonel
Mowbray had

organized a military pa-

winick

which was to include not only

marching men and WACS, but planes
flying in formation and parachute drops.

brooding unhappily over the arrest of

Colonel Carricker, and was further troubled by the recent suicide of an old

General Nichols shared the reviewing

stand with General Beal and his staff.
In the nearby field, near a lake. Captain
Hicks and his friend from the
detachment, Lieutenant Turck, were posted

the difficulties seemed ephemeral

and routine. Even General Beal was of
little aid to Colonel Ross, for he was

friend.

Among
base

the

members

of the Air Force

other forces were working to

and compound the difficulties.

WAC

as observers.

Soon the parade began, and from

itself

enlarge

For Lieutenant Edsell, the hospitalization

of the Negro pilot was the springboard
for agitation, and he helped arrange for
a visit of Lieutenant Willis' father to the
base hospital. Only a few of the base personnel understood the difficulties Colonel
skill with which he
Those who did, like Captain
Nathaniel Hicks, were too concerned

Ross faced and the

operated.

with their

own problems

to

be of much

assistance.

On

Mr. Willis was to visit his

Ocanara Base was host to another unexpected visitor, Brigadier Genson,

rade

the day

the

eral Nichols,

of the

Force.

the personal representative

of the Air

Commanding General
To the embarrassment

of all con-

cerned, General Nichols' purpose in corning to Ocanara was to award Lieutenant

Willis a medal for bravery.

Whatever Colonel Ross may have

dreaded from the visit, he was relieved to
find General Nichols a not unsympa-

thetic man, for the general had trained

himself into a stoical and tolerant frame
of mind. He understood the situation at
a glance, and at the awarding of the
medal at the hospital he conducted himself so well that

charmed.

Mr. Willis himself was

their

observation post Captain Hicks and Lieutenant Turck saw hundreds of parachutists begin the slow descent into a

simulated conflict.

Then

tragedy struck.

group of parachutists, having ill-timed

their leap, dropped into the lake instead
of hitting the field. In horror, Captain
Hicks saw them struggle briefly in the
water and then sink.

When

knowledge

of

the

disaster

reached General Beal's office there was a

moment of furious commotion. Charges
and countercharges were flung about
with abandon. To Colonel Ross it seemed
that fate had ordained nothing but problems for him and for Ocanara. But it was
now that General Beal shook himself out

gloom and took command, directing rescue operations with precision and
at the same time that
skill and revealing
^j
throughout the hectic few days that had
the
passed he had not been unaware of

of his

conflicts

going on.

That night Colonel Ross accompanied

General Nichols to the plane that was
to return

him

to

Washington. Reviewing

the difficulties of the past three days, the

colonel saw that General Nichols was

do one's best and,

right: one could only
for the rest, trust the situation to right
itself.

GUEST THE ONE-EYED

Type of work: Novel
Author: Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889Time:c. 1900

Locale: Iceland

Af Borgslaegtens

First published:

Historic, 19 12- 1 9 14; abridged in translation as

Guest the

One-Eyed, 1920
Principal characters:

0RLYGUR A BORG, a well-to-do landowner

ORMARR ORLYGSSON, his son
KETILL 0RLYGSSON, Ormarr's brother
GUDRUN (RUNA), Pall a Seym's daughter
ALMA, the daughter of Vivild, a Danish banker
0RLYGUR THE YOUNGER, son of Ketill and Ruiia
SNEBIORG (BAGGA), an illegitimate girl

In his fiction

Gunnar Gunnarsson

vides novels of traditional

bility,

made

particularly

their Icelandic

setting.

pro-

form and nofascinating

by

The atmosphere

at

Borg, of a father

and

two sons, and

one of his sons.

his

of the illegitimate child of

The Borg farm, portrayed

anyone who needed help,

as a
is

refuge for

the

home

of

of the ancient
sagas pervades his books,
putting his characters into association

0rlygur the Rich, an energetic and compassionate Icelandic farmer sometimes

with the past while making the

present

spoken of as "the King" because of the

none the

less

convincing.

The drama

of

essentially moral, and the

ethical dilemmas into which the charac-

the novels

is

ters fall are

Gunnarsson

neither gross nor abnormal.

is
adept at re-creating the

Icelandic character

and the Icelandic

human

mosphere; the

beings about

at-

whom

he writes move with

dignity and passion
across barren,
stony, but none the less attractive northern

One

vast

number

of servants lie retains

of his sons, either

is

interested

Ketill

issue

in

is

resolved

Although Gunnarsson retains a

view of life,
human

of character in

tragic

leviating influences of love,

tradition.

humor, and

Generation succeeds
generation

in his novels,

and although individuals

families persevere, so that Icelandic

traditions are
strengthened and, in turn,
strengthen those who share them. The

Wl,^

History of the Family at Borg-in the

original Af Borgslaegtens Historie-is a
four-part novel of this

Guest the
lish

enduring type.
One-Eyed, abridged in Eng-

translation,

is

the

story of the family

become

a priest.

when Ormarr,

The
after

throwing away an opportunity to become

world-famous concert violinist and after
achieving a remarkable financial success
as a

shipping magnate, returns to Borg

new challenge.
Gunnarsson quickly creates extremes

in search of a

fate.

regarding
beings as
helpless before forces more powerful than
themselves, he never loses
sight of the al-

or Ketill, will

playing the violin and

decides to

is

Onnarr

become the master of Borg, but Ormarr

reminded
of Thomas
Hardy's dark novels in which
the
brooding moors take on the pessimism
and the courage of
people challenged by
plains.

and

hundreds of cattle and horses and

sheep he owns. 0rlygur hopes that one
the

is

Ormarr and

sensitive, intelligent,

tive,

and honest, while

jealous,

destructive,
dishonest. As the

Ketill.

Ormarr

perceptive, creaKetill

is

devious,

blasphemous,

and

parish priest, secretly

eager to seize control of Lie property at

Borg, Ketill preaches a series of sermons

which slowly
encourage the peasants to
believe that a
great sin has been committed by one of the
community leaders.
Finally Ketill charges his own father with
being the father of a child born to Runa,
the

daughter of a poor farmer, Pall

The charge is
coupled with the

Seyru,

suggestion

1474

that

0rlygur also persuaded

Ormarr

marry Runa in order

to

to

hide

his crime of passionate lust. The depth

of Refill's depravity finally becomes evi-

dent

to

the citizens of the

when

community

0rlygur, with convincing simplicand

wrath, reveals that the priest who
ity
would condemn his own father is himself
the father of Runa's child.

The

elements of melodrama are here,

hut the effect is that of tragedy. To have
been able to portray such extremes of

Ormarr sacrifices his own

concerns to marry Runa, while Ketill sacrifices his own family to win power and
wealth without making the characters
mere devices for the development of plot
for

character

is

evidence of Gunnarsson's

skill as a

nov-

elist.

The
to

author's audacity, so successful as

his eminence as a

become a sign of

him

writer, leads

to create a

complete

versal in the character of Ketill.

re-

Ketill,

the cold, scheming Icelandic Judas, be-

comes someone very much like Christ.

Repenting his sins, Ketill leaves Borg
and, having rejected the idea of suicide,
becomes a wanderer, dependent for his
board and lodging on the Icelandic farmers to whom he brings simple, soul-restor-

ing messages of love and compassion. He

regards himself as a guest on earth, and
"Guest" becomes his name. He has lost

from a burning
"Guest the one-eyed."

his eye in saving a child

farm; hence, he

There

is

is

no more

difficult task in liter-

the portrayal of a saintlike

character. Readers are ready to accept the
fact of evil, and there is no act so base
ature than

that one cannot readily believe man capable of it. But extreme selflessness, Christlike love,

scriptures,

an ideal, hinted at in the

and hardly to be found in the

is

community

of

men. The

create

novelist presum-

character who, having

been in the depths of sin, becomes a lov-

ing

to

living incarnation of virtue, is a

writer confronting himself with the final
challenge of his craft. Gunnarsson took
up that challenge; Guest the One-Eyed is
able,

his victorious response.

The novel has at once the character of
a myth and the character of a modern
saga.

When

Ketill

finally

returns

to

known only as Guest the one-eyed,

he carries with him the memory of the
Borg,

curses that everyone has put on Ketill,

all believe dead. His reconciliation

whom
with

his

family

something almost be-

yond hope, even for a saint, since KetiU's

lying charge from the pulpit had both
killed his father and driven KetuTs wife

mad

is
partly the result of his having destroyed the old Ketill by his life as a
wanderer, but it is also a result of the

readiness of the Icelanders to forgive

for
o
the sake of the family, that union of

strength which

makes

life in

Iceland pos-

sible.

Guest the One-Eyed ends affirmatively

with the prospective marriage of 0rlygur
the younger, KetiU's son, and Bagga, the
beautiful illegitimate daughter of the

woman

of

known

the

Bolli
fire

who, like Ketill, had

and ice of passion and

Gunnarsson's pessimism is
concerned with man's lot on earth, with
his struggle and his ultimate death; but
it is not a
discouraging pessimism that
extends to the spirit of man, Iceland may
be stony, misty, barren and demanding,
but it is also a land of sunshine and

repentance.

changing moods, like the characters

about whom Gunnarsson writes.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
Type

of work: Simulated record of travel

Author: Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Type of plot: Social satire

Time off lot: 1699-1713
Locale: England
First published:

and various
1726-1727

fictional lands

Principal character:

LEMUEL GULLIVER,

and

surgeon, sea captain,

traveler

Critique:
It

has been said that

Man, but
hatred
ical

is

and

loved

Dean Swift hated

men.

individual

ing into which

His

brought out in this caustic polit-

aimed

social satire

at the

people,

general,

in order to
heighten the
narrative,

Swift produced

outstanding
literature.

pieces

Swift

of

one

himself

the

of

in

satire

world

attempted

denclo, the capital city,

conceal his
authorship of the boo under
Travels into Several
original title
Remote Nations of the World,
Lemuel
<.

The

by

services to the

the
Story;

Lemuel

to

Gulliver, a physician, took the

post of ship's doctor on the Antelope,

which set sail from Bristol for the South
Seas in May, 1699.
the
ship was
wrecked in a storm somewhere near Tas-

When

mania, Gulliver had to swim for his

Wind and

tide

to a

helped

to

carry

him

low-lying shore where he

hausted, into a

life.

close

fell,

ex-

deep sleep. Upon awaiting,

he found himself held to the
ground by
kindreds of small
He soon disropes.

covered that he was the

prisoner of humans six inches tall. Still
tied, Gulliver
was fed by his
captors; then he was
placed on a special
wagon built for the
purpose and drawn by fifteen hundred
small horses, Carried in
this

was exibited

manner

Lilliputian build-

emperor of

fleet

carrv their

and found

it

to

Lilliput.

While

awaited favorable winds

ships

the eight hundred

and Lilliput,
some Lilliputian cable'
waded to Blefuscu, and
brought back the
entire fleet
by means of hooks attached
to the cables. He was
greeted with great
acclaim and the
emperor made him a
Blefuscu

nobleman. Soon,
however, the emperor
and Gulliver fell out over

differences concerning the fate of the now

helpless
Blefuscu. The
emperor wanted to reduce
the
to the status of

enemy

hver

slaves;

championed

their

Gul-

The

proGulliver forces
prevailed in the Lilliputian
parliament; the peace settlement was
favorable to Blefuscu. But

now

liberty.

in disfavor at court.

He

visited

ceived

great curiosity to the

people of Lilliput, as the land of the
diminutive
people was called. He was
kept chained to a

huge

enemy

yards between
Gulliver took

to

as a

night to

be similar to
European cities of the time.
Learning that Liilirmt was in danger
of an invasion
by the forces of the neighboring empire, Blefuscu, he offered his

to

its

Gulliver.

at

by
emperor prescribing his deportment in
Lilliput. Now free, Gulliver toured Mil-

of the

effect

crawled

Gulliver soon learned the

Lilliputian
language, and through his personal charm
and natural
curiosity he came into good
graces at the royal court. At length he
was given his freedom,
contingent upon
his
obeying many rules devised
the

Eng-

representing mankind in
and at the Whigs in particular.
By means of a disarming simplicity of
style and of careful attention to detail
lish

lie

sleep.

people.

Blefuscu, where
by the

graciously

One

Gulliver was

he was reemperor and the

day, while exploring

the

he found a
ship's boat washed
ashore from some wreck.
With the help
ernpre
of

1426

thousands of Blefuscu

artisans,

he

repaired the boat for his projected voyage

back

to his

own

Taking some
little cattle and
sheep with him, he sailed
away and was eventually picked up by
an English vessel.
Back in England, Gulliver spent a
civilization.

with his family before he

shipped aboard the Adventure, bound for
time

short

India.

by

The

fierce

ship was blown off course

winds. Somewhere on the coast

of Great Tartary a
landing party went
ashore to forage for supplies. Gulliver,
who had wandered away from the party,

was

behind when a gigantic

pursued the sailors back

left

human

to the
Gulliver was caught- in a field
by
giants threshing grain that grew forty feet
high. Becoming the pet of a farmer and

figure
ship.

his

family,

he amused them with

his

The farmer's ninewho was not yet over

human-like behavior.
year-old daughter,
forty feet high,
Gulliver.

took special
charge of

The farmer displayed Gulliver first at

a local market town. Then he took his
little
pet to the metropolis, where Gulliver was put on show to the
great detriment of his health. The farmer,
seeing
that Gulliver was near death, sold him to
the queen,

who

took a great
fancy to the
The court doctors and
philosophers studied Gulliver as a quaint
trick of nature. He
subsequently had adventures with giant rats the size of lions,
with a dwarf
thirty feet high, with wasps
as large as
partridges, with apples the
little

curiosity.

size of Bristo] barrels, and

the size of tennis balls.

with hailstones

He and

the king discussed the institutions of their

respective: countries, the
king asking Gulliver many questions
about Great Britain that Gulliver found
impossible to answer truthfully without

embarrassment.
After two years in
Brobdingnag, the
land of the giants, Gulliver
escaped
miraculously when a large bird carried
his portable
quarters out over the sea. The
bird dropped the box
containing Gulliver
and he was rescued by a ship which was

on

its

way

to

England.

Back home,

it

took Gulliver some time to accustom

him-

once more to a world of normal size.

Soon afterward Gulliver went to sea
again. Pirates from a Chinese
atself

port
tacked the
ship. Set adrift in a small
sailboat, Gulliver was cast
a

rocky island.

floating

away upon

One day he saw

a large

mass descending from the

Taken aboard

he soon found
tellectuals

sky.
flying island of Laputa,
to be inhabited
in-

the
it

by

who thought

only in the realm

of the abstract and the
exceedingly impractical. The people of the island, including the king, were so absent-minded

they had
to

to have servants
following them
remind them even of their trends of

conversation.

When

the
floating island
arrived above the continent of
Balnibari,
Gulliver received
permission to visit that

realm. There he
inspected the Grand
Academy, where hundreds of highly impractical projects for the

improvement of
and building were under
way.
Next Gulliver
journeyed by boat to
Glubbdubdrib, the island of sorcerers.
means of magic, the governor of the
By
island showed Gulliver such
great hisagriculture

torical
figures as Alexander, Hannibal,
Caesar, Pompey, and Sir Thomas More.
Gulliver talked to the
apparitions and
learned from them that
books

history

were inaccurate*

From Glubbdubdrib, Gulliver went to

Luggnagg. There he was welcomed by

the lung,

who showed him

gian immortals,

who would

never

or

the

Luggnag-

stuldbruggs

beings

die.

Gulliver traveled on to Japan, where

he took a ship back to England. He had
been away for more than three years.
Gulliver became restless after a brief
stay at his home, and he signed as captain
of a ship which sailed from Portsmouth
in August, 1710, destined for the South
Seas. The crew mutinied,
keeping Captain Gulliver prisoner in his cabin for
At length, he was cast adrift

months.

in a long boat off a

'strange coast. Ashore,

he came upon and was nearly

whelmed by disgusting half-human,
ape creatures

1427

who

overhalf-

fled in terror at the

approach

of a horse.

Gulliver soon dis-

covered, to his amazement,

in a land where rational

Houyhnhnms,

human

that

he was
the

horses,^
irrational

much

vessel.

He

stayed

famin the stable-house of a Houyhnhnm

and learned to subsist on oaten cake

ily

and milk. The Houyhnhnms were horhorses

rified to learn from Gulliver that
in England were used by Yahoo-like creato his host,

to the

England
and straightforward Houyhnhnm's mystification. Such things as wars
and courts of law were unknown to this

candid

race of intelligent horses. As he did in

the other lands he visited, Gulliver atto explain the institutions of
native land, but the friendly and

tempted
his

appalled

Gulliver de-

creatures, the Yahoos.

scribed

Houyhnhnms were

by many of the things Gulliver told them.

Gulliver lived in almost perfect contentment among the horses, until one
day his host told him that the I louyhnhnm Grand Assembly had decreed Gulliver either be treated as an
ordinary
Yahoo or be released to swim back to
the land from which he had come. Gulliver built a canoe and sailed
away. At
length he was picked up by a Portuguese

were masters of

tures as beasts of burden.

benevolent

Remembering die Yahoos, he beon the ship and began to

hate all mankind. Landing at Lisbon, he
sailed from there to England.
But on
came

a recluse

own family
repulsed him; he fainted when his wife
kissed him. His horses became his
only
his arrival the sight of his

friends

on earth.

GUY MANNERING
Novel

Type

of -work:

Type
Time

of plot: Historical

Author: Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

romance

Eighteenth century
Locale: Scotland
First published; 1815
of

'plot:

Principal characters:

COLONEL GUY MANNERING,

JULIA MANNERING,

his

a retired

army

officer

daughter

CAPTAIN BROWN, a soldier

LUCY BERTRAM, an orphan girl
CHARLES HAZLEWOOD, Lucy's suitor
SIR ROBERT HAZLEWOOD, his father
GILBERT GLOSSIN, holder of the Bertram property
DIRK HATTER AICK, a smuggler

MEG

MERRILIES,

a gipsy
tutor to the

DOMINIE SAMPSON,

Bertram children

Critique;

Certainly one of the greatest abilities o

Walter Scott was his flair for making

Sir

people seem real, especially those drawn

from the lower social ranks. No doubt his
human touch was based on his own gen-

uine love for people of all walks of life.

In Guy Mannering, this familiarity with

the ways and foibles of human nature is

evident throughout. His peasants, trades-

men, and outcasts are not too ignorant or

coarse to have fine sensibilities. Indeed, it
was the loyalty of the old gipsy, Meg
Merrilies, which was primarily responsible for the happy outcome of this novel.
these people Scott gave his readan appreciation of the real values of

Through
ers
life.

The

Guy Mannering, young English gentleman traveling in Scotland, stopped at

the home of Godfrey Bertram, Laird of
Ellangowan, on the night the first Bertram
was born. Mannering,

a stu-

dent of astrology, cast the horoscope of the

newborn babe and was

distressed to find

and twentywould be hazardous. The young

that the child's fifth, tenth,

first

years

rilies, also predicted danger for the new

baby. Mannering, not wishing to worry
the parents, wrote down his
findings and

presented them to Mr. Bertram, first cautioning him not to open the packet until
the child had passed
by one day his fifth
birthday. Then he departed.

Young Harry Bertram grew

He was

and

well.

by

Dominie

steadily

tutored and supervised

Sampson, a teacher and

preacher retained by his father; and at

times the child was also watched over by

the gipsy Meg, who had great love for the

boy. The child was four years old when
the laird became a justice of the peace and

promised

Story;

child, a boy,

Mannering loved, which was the year

the stars said would bring her death or
o
imprisonment. An old gipsy, Meg Mer-

girl

to rid

the countryside of gipsies

and poachers. After he had ordered all

gipsies to leave the district, old Meg put a
curse on him saying that his own house
was in danger of being as empty as were

homes of the gipsies. On Harry's

birthday the prediction came true,
for the boy disappeared while on a ride

now

the

fifth

with a revenue

The man was

officer hunting;

killed

and

his

smugglers.

body found,

Englishman puzzled over the fact that

the boy's
twenty-first year would corre-

but there was no trace of the child. All

spond with the thirty-ninth year of the

up

search proving futile, he was at last given

for dead. In her grief, his mother, pre-

1429

of

maturely delivered
soon afterward.

died

a daughter,

Old Mr. Ber-

planned

to

without much outlay

erty
the' law said that when an
ing

price,

buy the propof money, for

heir was miss-

not put up the full

purchaser need
in case the heir should return and

claim his inheritance. Before the sale

Mannering returned and

DTOperry, to save

it

for the

tried to

Guy

buy the

Bertram family,

Dut a delay in the mails prevented his

effort and Glossin got possession of the es-

Old Mr. Bertram died before the

transaction was completed, leaving his
daughter Lucy homeless and penniless.
tate.

During these transactions Mannering's

light. Years before
as a soldier to India and there

past history carne

He had gone

to

misunderstanding he
had accused his wife of faithlessness with
one Captain Brown, who was in
reality in
married.

Through

love with

Mannering's daughter,

The two men

fought a duel and

Julia.

Brown

was wounded. Later he was captured

by
bandits, and Mannering assumed that he
was dead. When
Mannering's wife died
eight months later, the unhappy man,
having learned she had not been unfaithful, resigned his commission and returnedl
with his daughter
C7
.
_i

to

England.
O
On learning that he could not
buy the
Bertram estate and allow
Lucy to remain
there with the faithful Dominie
leased

Sampson,

nearby house for

them. He also
brought to the house his
daughter Julia, after he learned from
friends with whom she was
staying that
she had been secretly
meeting an un-

Mannering

known young man. What

Mannering did
know was that the man was
Captain
Brown, who had escaped from his bandit

not

captors
later

were
loved

and

folloived Julia to

to Scotland.

unhappy
Charles

Meg

England and

Both Julia and

Lucy

in their love affairs.

Hazlewood,

but

Lucy
since

Lucy tad no money Charles' father would

not permit their

marriage.
Captain Brown, loitering

near

the

and
come

for his

life,

to

him.
tered

to

who

Mcnrilies,

took

Once she saved his

thanks made him promise

a great interest in

Seventeen years passed.

tram, cheated by his lawyer, Gilbert Glossold to pay his
sin, was to have his estate
debts. Glossin

house, met old

him,

her whenever she sent for

Brown encounLucy, and Charles Hazle-

short time later

Julia,

Brown a bandit,
pulled a firearm from his clothing. In his
attermt to disarm Charles, Brown acciwood. Charles, thinking

denta ly

wounded

discharged the weapon

Charles. Brown fled.

Charles would have

made

incident, but Glossin,

favor with the gentry

little

of the

to

desiring

and

gain

by whom he had
he had bought the

been snubbed since

Bertram property, went

to

Sir

Robert

Hazlewood and offered to apprehend the

man who had shot his son. Glossin, finding some papers marked with the name of
Brown, used them in his search. He was
momentarily deterred, however,

was

when he
named

called to interview a
prisoner
Dirk Hatteraick. Dirk, a Dutch

was the

smuggler,

revenue officer found

dead when the Bertram heir
disappeared.
Dirk told Glossin that the
boy was alive
and in Scotland. Because Glossin had
killer of the

planned that kidnaping, many years before, it was to his

advantage to have the
young man disappear again. I le was even
more anxious to get rid of the Bertram

when he learned from Dirk

man was Captain Brown. Brown

heir forever
that the

would claim his esHarry Bertram

and Glossin would lose the rich
property he had acquired for almost nothing.
Glossin
finally captured Brown and had
him Imprisoned, after
arranging with
Dirk to storm the
and
Brown
or

tate,

prison

off to sea, to

be killed or

carry

lost.

Old Meg, learning of the

plot in some
mysterious way, foiled it when she had
Harry Bertram rescued. She also secured
Mannering's aid in behalf of the young
man, whom she had loved from the day
of his birth. Bertram was taken
by his
rescuers to

Mannering's home. There his

was pieced together from what he
remembered and from the
memory of old
Dominie Sampson. Bertram could
hardly
believe that he was the heir to
Ellangowan
story

1430

and Lucy's brother. His sister was overreunion. But it would take
joyed at the
more than the proof of circumstances to
win back his inheritance from Glossin.
Mannering, Sampson, and Sir Robert
Hazlewood,

who

heard the

story, tried to

needed proof.
sent Bertram
a message reminding him of Brown's
promise to come should she need him. She
led him into a cave where Dirk was hiding
out and there told him her story. She had
kidnaped him for Dirk on the day the
revenue officer was murdered. She had
promised Dirk and Glossin, also one of
trace old papers to secure the

In the meantime old

Meg

the gang, not to reveal her secret until the

she
boy was twenty-one years old.

Now

from her promise, as that

period had passed. She told Bertram to
capture Dirk For the hangman, but before
felt

released

the smuggler could be taken he shot the

old gipsy in the heart.
Dirk, taken to prison, would not verify
the gipsy's story, and his sullenness was

taken as proof of Bertram's

right to his
inheritance. Glossin's
part in the plot was
also revealed, and he too was
put into
prison to await trial. When the two plotters fought in the cell, Dirk killed Glossin.

Then Dirk wrote a full

cheated the hangman by

confession and
killing himself.

His confession, added to other evidence,

proved Bertram's claim, and he was restored to his rightful position. Successful
at last in his suit for Julia
he

Mannering,

settled part of his estate on his sister

Lucy
and so paved the way for her marriage

with Charles Hazlewood.

had corne
done.

true;

The

predictions

Mannering's work was

GUY OF WARWICK
of work:

Type

Poem

Unknown

Author:

romance
Tenth century
Locale: England, Europe, the Middle East
of plot; Chivalric

Type
Time

of plot:

First transcribed:

Thirteenth century
Principal characters'
GUY, a knight of

Warwick

FELICE LA BELLE, Guy's mistress

HERHAUD OF ARDEKN, Guy's mentor and friend

ROHAUD, Earl of Warwick

OTOUS, Duke of Pa via
MORGADOUR, a German knight
REIGNIE^, Emperor of Germany
SEGYN, Duke of Louvain
ERNIS, Emperor of Greece
LORET, Erms' daughter

THE SOUDAN OF THE SARACENS

TIRBI, a knight of Gurmoise

ATHELSTAN, King of England

COLBRAND, a Danish giant
Critique:

Guy

of

Warwick was penned by more

an anthologist than a
poet. Undoubtedly French in origin, this metrical roo

mance

made up

is

of

episodes

from

and sagas. The

was frequently rewritten
throughout the Middle
Ages, later reprinted in

earlier romances,
epics,

story

many

languages, immortalized in a play

in 1620, and even
adapted into a

popu-

lar children's

adventure story in the nineteenth

century. In order to learn of all
of

Guy

of

Warwick's adventures, the

reader would need to consult the earlier
French poems, the
the
Irish

translations,

English epics,
innumerable exempla,

and patches of
many other heroic poems
and related legends. The best edition of
the work is
by the late scholar
Julius

Zupitza (1844-1895), who collated the

very early Auchinleck
manuscript (believed to have been written
1330-1340)
with the most
complete manuscript, now
pressrved in Caius College, Cambridge
(c.

1400),

The

Story:
j

It

Guy

was love
to

for a

woman

that

prompted

inaugurate his long series of re-

markable exploits. Guy, son of the stewto Rohaud, Earl of Warwick, was

ard
a

very

popular

As the

squire.

and

handsome

you no

carl's

principal cupbearer,
he was instructed, on one [akiul occasion, to superintend the service of the
ladies

during dinner. Ga/ing on I'elice

Ronaud's beautiful and talented

la Belle,

daughter, he fell desperately in love with

the fair maiden. When he first declared

himself to her, he
his lowly birth

was rejected because

and lack of attainments. Later, however, when from lovesickness he was close to death,
-'dice,
of

following the advice of an angel, offered

him some
encouragement.

If lie

became

knight and proved his valor, she would

reward him with her hand in marriage,
(""i

After
set

out

receiving knighthood,

Sir

to

Guy

prove his valor. Accompanied

by his mentor, Hcrhaud of Ardcrn, he
spent an entire year attending tournaments throughout
Europe. Pitted against

some of the most renowned

knights of
Christendom, Guy was indomitable; in
every encounter he took the
His

reputation
to

now

Warwick

established,
to claim his

pri/,e.

he returned
reward from

This

Felice.

however, had deher standards. After achis accomplishments, she

to

fair lady,

cided to raise

knowledging

for his efforts the hand of

Princess Loret, the
emperor's daughter.
After repelling one Saracen attack,
Guy
took the offensive and left on the field

him that he must become the

foremost knight in the world before she

notified

would marry him.

True to the laws of chivalric love, Guy
returned to Europe to satisfy the fancy of
his mistress. Again visiting the tournaments, again he was, without exception,
victorious. But misfortune awaited him
in Italy. His high merit having excited
their

envy,

Otous,

knights,
of Pavia, laid an

led

fifteen acres covered

his enemies.

every Christian who should fall

within his power, Morgadour duped Guy
into entering the enemy
camp and challenging the Saracen monarch to single
combat. Ordered to be executed, the resourceful Guy cut off the Soudan's head,

by

Guy

repelled his attackers,

As Guy,
himself grievously wounded, began bis
return journey to England, he was filled
to

Herhaud, appeared

be

slain.

Assembling

bis es-

The emperor, because of his great admiration for the English knight, hastened
arrangements for the wedding of Guy
and Loret. Guy, somehow having forgot-

was agreeable to the plan,

seeing the wedding ring, he was
suddenly reminded of his first love.
ten

Felice,

until,

true knight, he resolved to be faithful to

Felice and to find some excuse for break-

their

to Loret. Another
Morgadour ended with
the treacherous German.

ing his engagement

learned that
journey homeward, they
was
of
Duke
Louvain,
being atSegyn,
tacked by Reign ier, the Emperor of Germany, who wrongfully claimed the duke's
lands.

and made

cape.

with remorse for having allowed the

wishes of a haughty lady to lead him to
this sad result; but in Burgundy, where
he was performing his customary deeds of
valor, his spirits were considerably imof Herhaucl, alive
proved by his discovery

and disguised as a palmer.

As the two friends continued

with the corpses of

his greatest threat

kill

the skirmish, two of his closest comwere dead, and his best friend,

panions

But

came
from one of his own knights, Moraadour,
who had become enamored of Loret.
Knowing that the Soudan had sworn to

ambush

English champion. Before

for the

won

seventeen

Duke

Constantinople. Received with joy, he

was promised

altercation with

Guy's slaying of

Llsing the pretext that his continued presence in the court might lead to trouble
between the Greeks and Germans, Guy

small army, Guy dewere sent against

feated two armies (bat

took his leave.

Segyn. With a larger force, the emperor

then encircled the city in which Guy,

planned an immediate return to

England, but he was destined to perform
further deeds of knight errantry before
being reunited with his beloved Felice.
While traveling through Lorraine, he
met an old friend, Sir Tirri, who was betheir mutual enemy,
ing persecuted by
Duke Otous. The duke had abducted
Tirri's fiancee. Guy wasted no time in
not give
rescuing the girl, but Otous did
up easily. After attempting and failing
to defeat Guy on the battlefield, he resorted to foul means and succeeded in
Tirri and his fiancee,
capturing both
Guy, combining trickery with valor,
killed the felon duke and freed the lovers.
Just one more incident delayed Guy's

Guy

Segyn, and their followers were quartered. During tbis blockade Reignier, cm

a hunting trip, was surprised by Guy,

who led the unarmed emperor into the

There, in the true spirit of chivalry,

a rapprochement was brought about between the ruler, Reignier, and bis vassal,
city.

Segyn.

Soon

rendering these good servSegyn, Guy found another occasion for the exercise of bis talents. Learnafter

ices to

was
ing that Ernis, Emperor of Greece,
besieged by the mighty forces of the Saracen Soudan, Guy levied an army of a
thousand

German

knights and marched

1

">*>

return

to

England. Unintentionally en-

preserve of the King of

Flanders, he was confronted by the king's
son and found himself compelled to kill
tering the

game

the dissentious prince. In an ensuing encounter with the wrathful father, Guy
was forced to slaughter fourteen knights

make

before he could

his escape. Arriv-

ing in his native country, Guy, in ac-

cordance with chivalric practice,

repaired
to the court of

King Athelstan.

He was

honorably received, and almost immediately the king enlisted his services to kill
a troublesome
dragon. After a long and
fierce battle,

Guy

in

monster's head to the

triumph carried the

immediate marriage to Felice.

They were married only forty days,
his

barely

time

conceive

to

son,

when

Guy's conscience, troubled over the mischief he had done for the love of a
forced

him on

lady,

penitential pilgrimage.
His bereaved wife
placed on his finger a

gold remembrance ring and sorrowfully

watched him depart for the
Holy Land.
So great a warrior,
however, could
not

When

this

the pious warrior returned

to

England he found King Athelstan besieged by King Anlaf of Denmark. It

had been agreed that the outcome of
the
war should be determined
by single combat between Colbrand, a Danish
giant,
and an English
champion. In a dream'
King Athelstan was advised to ask the
help of the first pilgrim he met at the
entrance of the
palace, and the agino
Guy of Warwick was that pilgrim? In
this last and most famous of
his fiohts
Guy, shorn of his weapons, appeared

certain

king.

Guy's homecoming was the less joyous

upon his learning of the death of his parents, but this sorrow was
compensated for

by

opian giant and to assist TirrI again,

time by slaying a false accuser.

escape his reputation or his duty. He

interrupted his devotions to kill an Ethi-

of defeat. In his
extremity he
snatched up a convenient ax,
fiercely assailed the
giant, cut him to pieces, and
thereby saved the English

Guy

paid one

kingdom.

last

visit

to

his

own

where he discovered Felice engaged in acts of devotion and

charity.
Without having revealed his
identity to
her, he went off to the forests of Arcastle,

dennes.

When

death was near,

lie

dis-

the

gold remembrance to his

wife and
begged her to supervise his burial.
Arriving in time to receive his last

patched

breath, the faithful Felice survived him

by only fifteen days. She was buried in
the same
grave as her warrior husband.

GUZMAN DE ALFARACHE
Type of work: Novel
Author: Mareo Alcmdn (1 547-1 6 1 3?)
romance
Type of plot: Picaresque
Time of ylot: Sixteenth century
Locale: Spain and Italy
First

1604
fublithed: 1599,
Principal characters;

GUZMAN

DE ALFARACHE, a rogne

A MULETEER
A COOK
A CAPTAIN OF

SOLDIERS

DON

A
A

BELTRAN, Guzman's uncle

CARDINAL

FRENCH AMBASSADOR

SAYAVEDRA, another rogue and GuzmaVs friend

GUZMAN'S FIRST WIFE

GUZMAN'S SECOND WIFE
SOTO, a galley prisoner
Critique:

To

readers of Alemdn's

own day The

Guzmdn de AtLife and Adventures of

more popular
farache was a book much
than Cervantes'

Don

its

Quixote,

con-

editions of the novel

temporary. Thirty
within six years of its publica-

pessimism, broad humor, wit, humility

of faith, and practical common sense. It

is unfortunate that many modern readers

have found
tracting.

his

Viewed

discourses dull or
as their author

appeared

them, they provide a reading of

tion

self,

and its vogue quickly spread to

France and England, where in 1622

James Mabbe translated it into English

under the appropriate title of The Rogue.
AlemaVs novel, published in two parts

and 1604,

in 1599

is

typically Spanish:
comic, often coarse. As in other

realistic,

Guzmdn

de Alfapicaresque narratives,
rache travels extensively and moves from
the highest ranks of society to the lowand
est, all the while living by his wits

on the

follies

and

commenting freely
vices of mankind, Yet Guzmdn is not
wholly bad; his career is forced upon him
by the realization that in his own world
he must either trick or be tricked. Being
young and high-spirited, he chooses the

What

Guzmdn

mances*

The Story:
The ancestors

his family,

to

his

carried

and in
his

his discursive passages

own

he reveals

outstanding qualities: frankness,

Guzmdn

de Alfarache

Guzman's father was a dealer

on the exchange, resorting even to usury

in order to add to his wealth, although he
and
piously heard mass every morning
owned a rosary with beads as large as
hazelnuts. His love of money led him inpartner

course.

of

lived in Genoa, upstart noblemen who

had grown rich in trade. Like others of

rache apart from other examples of the

the writer's
picaresque novel, however, is
use of philosophical and moralizing dino opportunity to
gression. Alem&n loses
comment on human character or behavior,

first

life it-

an obbligato accompaniment to a
In narrative outline and in
story which is,
character drawing, one of the best and
most diverting of the picaresque ro-

de Alfa-

sets

dis-

Intended

to

for when a
greatest adventure,
in Seville became bankrupt and

away some

GuzmaVs

of the

money belongthe

Genoese

father,
ing
took ship for Spain in an attempt to recover some of his lost property. On the
way the ship he sailed in was ca ptured by
Moorish pirates and the merchant was

sold into slavery in Algiers.

1435

Seeing no

other

way out

of his difficulty, he

em-

braced the faith of Allah, and so was able

to

many

widow. Secretly,

a rich Moorish

he took possession of her money and

jewels and fled with them to Seville.
There, after some time, he found his former partner, recovered most of his debt,

made

with the Church, and

his peace

settled

down

to live the life of a

gentle-

man, trading in money for his profit

gambling for his pleasure.
Being prosperous at the time,
bought two estates, one in town,
other at San Juan de Alfarache. One
he saw the mistress of an old knight

and

in love with her.

later life that at the

had possessed two

he
the

day
and

The

time of his birth he

woman

knight died, the

When

fathers.

carried

the old

away

all

his property and a short time later married Guzman's true father. The merchant did not
survive, but died a

long

bankrupt, impoverished by his gambling

and love of rich
living. Left penniless,
Guzman decided to seek his fortune else-

where.

Calling himself

Guzman

farache, after his father's

he

started out

de Al^

country estate,
to see the

at fourteen

world.

Unused

to

walking, he soon tired and

slept supperless that night on the

steps of
a church not far from Seville.
The next

morning his way led him to a wretched

inn, where the hostess cooked him
a
breakfast omelet of
eggs filled with halfhatched chicks. He ate the mess
ravenously, but before he had traveled a leaoue
&
from the inn he became
ill
A
violently

passing muleteer laughed

heartily

Guzman

told his

boy

story
to ride

lively

young

invited the

and

when

in his
glee

he

with him. As they

rode
along the muleteer told how the hostess of the inn had
tried the same trick
on two
fellows

who had

rubbed her face in the omelet

and daubed
her with soot.

Meanwhile Guzman and the

muleteer
had found two fri ars
by the roadside.
bmce they were on their
to

way

lord fed

them

freshly-killed

instead of veal

young Inu le

The next morning, after

deception, Cu/mon and

discovering the
the muleteer threw the

whole inn

uproar. During the confusion

caldes appeared and took the

into an

two

al-

rascally land-

Gimndn and the muletown in great haste.

Some distance beyond the
village they
were overtaken
by several constables
looking for a page who Lad stolen from
lord into

custody.

teer left the

lady was not

unwilling to share her favors between her
two lovers, so that Guzman could
say in

fell

they were willing to hire two of the carmules. That night the
travelers
stopped at a village inn where the landrier's

Cagalla

his master.

Mistaking

Guzman

for the

they seized him, and when the

muleteer tried to interfere
they bound
him as well. After the prisoners had been
severely beaten, the constables, convinced
of Guzman's innocence, allowed the travelers to continue on their
way. To help
Guzma'n and the carrier to
their
page,

forget

aching bones, one of the priests told the

romantic story of Ozmin and Daraxa, a
tale of the Moorish wars.
By the time the story ended they were

in

Cacalla, where they parted

sight
company. For Guzmdn's transportation
and lodging the muleteer demanded more
of

than the
boy could pay.

decided at

last

upon

The two

a fair price,

friars

but the

Guzman without enough

money to buy his dinner that day.
Hungry but ashamed to beg, Guzma'n
reckoning

left

took the road to Madrid. For a time he

followed two travelers in the
hope that
they would offer him some of their dinner when
they stopped to eat, but they
ignored him.
poor Franciscan friar

came

by, however, and shared with the

boy his loaf o bread and piece of bacon.

That night an
innkeeper gave Guzma'n
a bed in a stable and the
next morning
hired him to feed the horses of the

Guzman

guests.

soon learned to cheat in meas-

uring oats and straw.

that the life

was

too

Deciding at

last

lazy for him, he left

the inn and started once more
for Ma-

drid.
to

His coppers soon

spent, he was forced
beg, but with such poor luck that it

was necessary for him to sell the clothes

off his back in order to live. By the time
he reached Madrid he looked like a scarecrow. Unable to find work because of his
in with some
begappearance, he fell
poor

taught him knavery of all kinds.

For a time he became a porter, hiring
himself to carry provisions which purchasers had bought at market. In this way
gars

who

he met a cook who persuaded him to turn

scullion. Like the other servants, Guzmdn learned to steal from his master. One
day he took a silver goblet. His mistress,
discovering the loss, gave

him money

to

buy another like it, Guzman returned

the goblet and kept the money, which
he soon

He

lost at cards.

continued his

caught him
and cuffed him out of
the house. Then he went back to carry-

petty

thefts until his master

selling provisions

ing baskets in the market. Among his

customers was a trusting grocer who one
day put into his basket more than twentyfive

hundred gold

side streets,

reals.

Guzman

Escaping through

fled into the

coun-

where he lay hidden until the hue

and cry had died down. With his riches
he planned to visit his father's kinsmen
try,

in Genoa.

When

he thought the coast clear, Guzman headed for Toledo. On the way he
fell in with a
young man from whom he
bought an outfit of clothing. Freshly attired, he lived like a young gentleman of
fortune.

He had

little

luck in his gallan-

however, and his love intrigues

always ended with his being fleeced or
tries,

made

ridiculous

by

ladies

he courted.

He

Toledo with few regrets when he

heard that a constable was looking for a
young man recently arrived from Madrid.
At Almagro, Guzman found a company of soldiers on their way to Italy.
left

Hoping

to

leave

his

past

troubles

be-

hind him, he enlisted. Before long he

became the captain's crony, and the two

spent their nights in gamin g and wenching.

Finding himself without funds,
Guzmdn resorted to his old habits of roguery; at the same time he
to
serving the captain who

was reduced
had formerly

treated him as an
equal. The captain was
perfectly willing to profit by Guzman's
wits. In Barcelona
they gulled a miserly
old jeweler. Guzman took to him a

reliquary of the captain's

for sale. After

much

gold

and offered

it

haggling they agreed

a price of one hundred and

twenty
crowns and the jeweler promised to bring

upon
the

money

to the dock.

When Guzman

had the coins in his hand, he cut the

strings which held the reliquary around
his neck and handed the jewel to the old
man. Then, after passing the money to
a confederate, he shouted that the jeweler was a thief. Because the
strings of
the reliquary had been cut, and no
money
was found on Guzmdn's person, his story
was believed. Guzman and the captain
kept both the money and the jewel.
Having no further use for Guzmdn's
services, the captain decided to abandon
the rogue after the soldiers arrived in
Genoa. Turned loose with a single coin,

Guzman

aid.

gave

applied to his rich relatives for

But they refused

him only

him and
and blows. Don

to receive

curses

Beltran, his uncle, did take the boy into

his house, but only for the purpose of setting the servants on him and having them
him in a blanket until he was shaken

toss

and bruised. The next morning, swearing revenge on his deceitful relative, Guzman started for Rome.
There he turned professional beggar
and lived by his wits, having learned how
to make bones appear disjointed and to
raise false sores that

ulcers.

resembled leprosy or

Only once was he beaten

for his

mendacity. One day a kind-hearted cardinal noticed an evil-looking ulcer on

Guzman's leg. Out of pity he had the

beggar taken to his own house and given

medical attention. The doctor summoned
to attend him soon discovered Guzmin's
trick, but he kept silent in order to mulct

some of the

The sore cured,

prelate's gold.
a page in the cardinal's

Guzmdn became

There he lived daintily

enough, but he was unable to refrain
from stealing conserves and sweetmeats
chamber.
kept in a chest in the cardinal's

household.

1437

Caught when the

lid of

the chest

fell

on

who
The

gentleman,

his

go-between. Learning that

the page had seduced her maid, the matron determined to teach him and his
master a lesson. One
while he
night,

waited for her answer to the

ambassador,
she allowed Guzman to stand for hours
in a

drenching rain. Blundering about in

the darkness of a
backyard, he fell into a

pigsty.

The

he went

next

day, dressed in his best,

to

complain to his sweetheart

about his treatment. While he was strutting before her, a boar escaped from its
pen, ran between his legs, and carried

him through

the
muddy streets of Rome.
Guzman became the
laughingstock of
the town. One
day, as some urchins were

taunting him, another young

to his assistance.

He and

man came

his rescuer, a

waggish young Spaniard named

vedra,

became

close friends.

Saya-

Anxious

to

escape ridicule, Guzman decided to

go to
Siena to visit a friend

While he

tarried in

named Pompeyo.
to make his

Rome

he sent his trunks on

ahead.
Great was his
dismay when he arrived in
fcena and learned that
farewells,

with

been

his trunks, filled

clothing,
stolen.

money, and jewels, had

Sayavedra had preceded him

to
Siena, passed himself off as
Signor
Guzman, and with his confederates

v ~ UUUA

made

vcuuauies.

Sayavedra was arrested,

.1*
but the
stolen
property could not be re-

covered; it had
passed into the
a rich
duef-master named

hands of

Alexandra
Bennvoglio. Making the best of a
bad

brino

the thief

Sayavedra

begged

for par-

don, Gimiv'm was filled witli

pity for the
rascal and
readily forgave him. together
they planned to have Gu/.im'm pass as the
nephew of the Spanish ambassador,
Sayavedra as his page.
Being without shame
on
the
they played
credulity of all whom
they met in Horenee. Cu/Win was about

ambassador, planning an intrigue with

the wife of a Roman
made

Guzman

When

again.

to clear

the ambassador's table of

parasites
abused the Frenchman's
hospitality.

to

pcyo proved only an indifferent host, and

at last Guzman decided to
go to Florence
Not far fiom Siena lie overtook

no

His next employment was in the household of the French ambassador, to whom
he was page, jester, and pimp, a rascal

whose boisterous pranks helped

refused

charges against the wretched

Sayavedra*
Since his guest was low in
funds, P 0m -

arm,

could stand his thieving and

gambling
longer and Guzmdn was dismissed.

Guzmdn

situation,

trapping him, he received a

beating. Even then the cardinal did not
discharge him, hut at last the churchman

his

to
marry a rich young widow when a beggar whom he had 'formerly known revealed the
impostor's true "identity, and
he and his
page were forced to flee the
city.

They went next

Guzman began a suit

to

where

Bologna,

to recover his

prop

from Kentivoglio. For his

pains he
was thrown into
jail, from which he was
released, penniless again,
only after he
had withdrawn his
charges. Aided by
Sayavedra, Guzrmln cheated two men at
cards, and with the
money lie won they
traveled to Milan. In that
enerty

tered

into

conspiracy

city they
to defraud

wealthy merchant. Although he himself

was arrested as a
swindler, Cuxnuln con-

vinced the

city officials of the

dishonesty,

gamed by

and
their

a large

sum

merchant's
of money

scheme lined the

rogues'

pockets once more.

About that time Cuzmdn

devised a
plan to revenge himself on his Genoese
relatives.

be

known

Arriving in that city, he

that

he was

man, a gentleman of
come from Rome. Not

young beggar

whom

insulted several

let

it

Don f uan de GuzSeville,

recently

recognizing the
they had cuffed and

years before, his relatives

outdid themselves to
honor their

kinsman.

On

the

wealthy

pretext that a Castilian

gentlewoman of his
acquaintance was to
be
married, he borrowed
jewels from Don
Beltran to dress the
bride, giving in secunty two trunks which the old man be-

lieved filled with

silver plate.

1438

Pretending

to be temporarily out of funds, he also

secured a .arge loan from a cousin in re-

turn for a spurious gold chain. Then, having taken passage with a trusted sea cap-

tain, he and Sayavedra sailed for Spain.

During the voyage Guzman was greatly
grieved when his friend became delirious
with fever and jumped overboard.

Not wishing

tarry in Barcelona,
Saragossa. There he
courted an heiress until the
jealousy of
her other admirers and his unwise dalli-

Guzman went

to

to

ance with her kitchenmaid caused him

to leave that city and go to Madrid. Eventually he married, only to learn too late
that his wife's father was without a for-

tune. Before long Guzman himself

declared a bankrupt and imprisoned.
wife died of shame. Disgusted with
world, he decided to study for

was
His

was

Because

of

his

smooth

tongue

and

pleasant ways, he was able to make himself a favorite with the

officers, thereby
arousing the jealousy and hate of his fel-

low prisoners. When several of them

robbed him, the theft was discovered and
the culprits were
flogged. A short time
later the
captain's kinsman was robbed,

have his revenge.

Discovering Soto's plot

many wealthy men

that for a

Guzman's mother they found still

but stricken in years. There he lived
by his wits in a household of quarrelsome
women until his wife did him a great
alive

galleys

for life.

to take orders

time their affairs prospered, but in the

end they were publicly disgraced and
banished. From Madrid they went to Seville.

became steward to a gentlewoman whose

husband was in the Indies. Old habits
were too strong for him, and he
began to
rob his mistress. His thefts
being discovered, he was sentenced to the

and Guzman, accused by another

prisoner named Soto, was beaten until he
was almost dead. Guzmin was soon to

the

he met a handsome woman who became

his second wife.
They returned to Madrid, where the wife attracted the attentions of so

away with an Italian sea

short time later he and his
mother parted in
friendly fashion. Later,
with the help of a
gullible friar, Guzman

the

Church.
Shortly before he

favor and ran

captain.

ship and escape to the African coast, he revealed the

plan to the captain. Soto and the chief
conspirators were
executed. The grateful
struck off
to seize the

captain
chains and gave him full liberty aboard the galley while awaiting the
pardon which had been petitioned of
the king. Guzman,
repenting the rogue's
life he had led, resolved to mend his

GuzmaVs

ways in the

future.

HAJJI
Type

of work:

BABA

ISPAHAN

"OF

Novel

Author: James Morier (1780-1849)

Type of plot: Picaresque romance

Time of plot: Early nineteenth century
Locale: Persia
first published:

1824
Principal characters:
HAJJI BABA, a rogue

OSMAN AGHA,
ZEENAB,

a Turkish

merchant

a slave
girl

Critique:

The Adventures
han

is

rogue

of Hajji Baba of Ispaa combination of travel book and

story,

and

does for Persia

very

it

much what Le

Thc robbers spared lajji Baba's life

when they learned he was a skilled
1

barber,

and he became

wife of the chief.

travel,

Osman Agha's

has never been

widely viewed by
Americans. Moreover, the Persia of the
tone of Napoleon
Bonaparte was a Persia
that has now
disappeared, Customs and

manners

are as

much

a part of Morier's
entertaining narrative as the picaresque
humor of Hajji Baba's adventures and
the satire of the
rogue's shrewd comments on human nature.

The

the foolish

a favorite of the

One clay he persuaded

woman to let him borrow

Sage's Gil Bias did for

Spain. Persia, even in this day of broad

cap.

Ic

ripped the gold

from thc lining and hid them

against the time when he might escape
from his captors. Osman Ayha had been
sold to some camel herders"
Hajji Baba traveled with the robbers

pieces

on

their raids

of

these

throughout thc region. One

was on Ispahan itself,

raids

from which the robbers carried

away a
But at the division of the

rich booty,

Story:

Hajji Baba was the son of a successful

barber of
Ispahan, Bv the time he was
sixteen he had learned the barber's
trade,
of bazaar tales

and

trom the Persian

poets.
>

I'
K

With
customers who
'

S"

to

S
Hajjl

mpany him on the journey. With

new

his

patron,

spoils,

and

llajji

Baba

got

only

promises

praise.

One day

the robbers encountered the

escort of a Persian prince. When
the others fled, I
lajji Baba gladly allowed

armed

be taken prisoner
by the
men. They mistook him for a
Turcoman, however, and cruelly mis-

himself

to

prince's

treated him,
stripping him of his clothes
and his hidden gold.
he complained to the prince, the nobleman sent
the
guilty ones, took the money from
and then kept the
gold himself.
nti,^

When

Hajji

Baba went with the

prince and

water vendor,
carrying a leather bag filled
with dirty water which he sold to
pilgrims with assurances that it was holy
water blessed
by die prophet. With
money so earned, he bought some tobacco
which he blended with dung and then
_
O
1 11
i

applauded Hajji Baba's shrewdness and

invited him to become one
enterprise and
of their number. But one day a comwas lodged against him on account
plaint
of the bad tobacco he sold, and the au-

of the
high

bare feet until he lost

consciousness. Having in the meantime
saved a small amount of money, he de-

had died and that his fortune had disappeared. Hajji Baba sold his father's
shop and used the money to set himself
up as a learned scribe. Before long he
found service with Mollah Nadan, a celebrated priest, who planned to
organize
an illegal but profita ble
marriage market.
Hajji Baba was supposed to find husbands for women the mollah would provide. When
Hajji Baba visited the three
women for whom he was supposed to
find husbands, he discovered them all
to be
ugly old hags, one the wife of his
former master, the physician, who had
Later, Hajji Baba disrecently died.

thorities beat his

cided to leave Meshed, which seemed

to him an ill-omened city.

He set out on his way to Teheran.

On the road a courier overtook him and

asked him to read some letters the messenger was carrying.

One was

a letter

from a famous court poet, commending

the bearer to officials high at court. Hajji
Baba waited until the courier was fast
took the messenger's horse, and
rode away to deliver the courier's letters.

asleep,

Through

these stolen credentials

he was

able to obtain a position of confidence

with the court physician.

Hajji Baba remained with the physi-

even though his post brought him

He soon found favor with
pay.

cian,

no

Zeenab, the physician's slave, and sought

her company whenever he could do so
without danger of being caught. Then
the shah himself visited the physician's
establishment and received Zeenab as a
Hajji Baba was disconsolate, but he
was soon made happy by a new appoint-

Zeenab.

honor

The shah

Hajji Baba and

to

to

be conferred upon

reluctantly pardoned
allowed him to return

Ispahan.

He

arrived to discover that his father

covered his

who had
mans

first

master,

Osman Agha,

escaped from the Turcoand regained some of his fortune.

finally

Hajji Baba tricked Agha into marrying

one of the three women.
Mollah Nadan undertook to gain
favor by punishing some Armenians during a drought, but he incurred the shah's
wrath and he and Hajji Baba were
driven from the city. Mollah Nadan's

was

confiscated.

Baba

gift.

property

this time to the post of sub-lieutenant to the chief executioner of the shah.

back into the city to see if any of

the mollah's property could be saved, but
the house had been stripped. He went

ment,

Again he received no pay,

supposed

to get his

money

for

he was

as other

mem-

bers of the shah's entourage did, by exIt

tortion.
was soon discovered that

Zeenab was in a condition which could

only be regarded as an insult to tha
shah's personal honor, and Hajji Baba
was summoned to execute the girl. Soon
afterward suspicion fell on him for his
own part in the affair, and he fled to the
holy city of Koom.
In Koom he pretended to be a priest

The shah made

and during

a pilgrimage to the city,

his visit the chief priest presented Hajji Baba's petition to the ruler.

Hajji Baba explained that he had acted

he had no idea

in all innocence because

Hajji

stole

to visit the baths, and there he discovered

Mollah Bashi, who had been taken with
a cramp and had drowned. Hajji Baba
was afraid that he would be accused of
murder, as Mollah Bashi had helped
to bring about Mollah Nadan's ruin.
But the slave attendant failed to recognize Hajji Baba in the darkness and Hajji
Baba escaped, dressed in the mollah's
robes.

On

the horse of the chief execu-

he set out to collect money

owed to MollaK Bashi. In the clothes
of the mollah and riding a fine horse,
he cut a dashing figure until he met
Mollah Nadan and was persuaded to
change robes with him. Mollah Nadan
was arrested and charged with the death
tioner

1441

of

Mollah

kept the
to

Bashi.

Hajji Baba,

money he had

who had

collected,

decided

become

He

a merchant.
encountered the caravan of the

of Mollah Bashi. She was taking

her husband's body to Kerbelai for holy
burial When the leader of the caravan

widow

revealed that Hajji Baba was suspected

of the murder, he began to fear for his

But about that time a band of

life,
marauders attacked the caravan, and In
the confusion Hajji Baba escaped. In
Bagdad he reencountered his old master,
Osman Agha, and with him proceeded
to invest the money he had available. He
bought pipe sticks and planned to sell
them at a profit in Constantinople.
There a wealthy widow sought him
out and he decided to
marry her, first,
however, intimating that he was as
wealthy as she. He married her and
began to live on her income, But his
old bazaar friends, jealous of his
good

luck, betrayed

him

to his wife's
relatives

Thrown

out as an
impostor, he was
obliged to seek the kelp of the Persian
ambassador. The ambassador
advised hirn
not to seek
his
revenue

upon

wife's

as

former

would Sllre y
murder him in his hod. Instead, he
found
dse for lajji Baba in an
intrigue
relatives,

they

among

ing

and France.

representatives
I

lajji

of

Baba was

as a

develop-

England

employed

spy to find out what the foreign

emissaries sought in (he shah's court.

Here

He

at last

Baba Found

lajji

discovered that his

throats

him

for

life

favor.

among

and rogues had

admirably

cut-

fitted

dealing diplomatically with the

representatives of foreign countries, and

he was finally made Vhe shah's
representative in his own
city of Ispahan. He
returned there with considerable

and

vast dignity,

to

lord

who had once thought

far

below their own.

it

wealth
over those

his station in

life

HAKLUYT'S VOYAGES
iype of work: Travel narratives
Author: Richard Hakluyt (c. 1553-1616)

Type
Time

Adventure and exploration

of plot:

of plot: c. 517 to 1600

Locale: The known world

1589

First published;

Critique:

This work

is

an anthology of the

explorations and

travels

venturers

to

down

of British

the

The other voyages described are those

taken after the Norman
Conquest. The
first of these is an account of a marvelous journey made
a
of

ad-

own

author's

The

accounts are bold and viousually giving only the main

time.

orous,

by

events of the journeys,

many of them
written by the men who made the

of

King Harold

to Russia, to

Duke

of Russia in

voyages. Published by Hakluyt in refutation of a French accusation that the

English were insular and spiritless, the

count

is

book

half of the thirteenth

is

of value

in

several

gives faithful accounts of

many

lights.

century exploratory journeys; it is an

index to the temper of Elizabethan Eno-

and

land;

it

reflects the

enthusiasm

which was

travel literature

so

The Stories:
The first group

go

medieval ages, for the nar-

which begins the work

probably

mythical

Arthur of Britain

voyage

is

that of

by

King

to Iceland and the most

northern parts of Europe in 517.
The first ten narratives deal with voyages made before 1066, the year of the
Norman Concuest. They include such

journeys as

tie

Man

conquest

of

the

the voyage

thousand

of

ships,

King Edgar, with four

about

the

island

1017.

century.

The

twenty-second voyage

Anthony Jenkinson who

to
Russia from England in
return Osep Napea, the first
from

Muscovia

of England, to his

to Queen
own country in

1557.
Surprisingly, almost half of the journeys described in this first collection are
those made to Russia by
way of the

Arctic Ocean, around northern Scandinavia. It is not

ordinarily realized that
there was any traffic at all between

Eng-

land and Russia at that time, because

of the difficulty of both water and land
transportation

between the two coun-

tries.

The

final narrative of

the

first

group

of the greatest event of Elizabethan

England, the meeting of the British fleet
tells

with the great Armada which Philip II

of Spain had sent to subdue England
and win for Spain the supremacy of the
seas.

The

of

and the journey of Edmund

Ironside from England to Hungary in

Britain,

to

Mary

isles

and Anglesey by Edwin, King

of Northumberland, in 624, the
trips of
Octher into Norway and Denmark in
890 and 891, the voyage of Wolstan into
Danish waters in the tenth century,
of

next ac-

of

ambassador

eight accounts of travel and exploration

Britons up to the end of the
sixteenth century. The first stories
to the

that

traveled

made by
back

notable

Scandinavia.

was
order

of voyages give
thirty-

marry the

The

voyage describes the adventures of Nicolaus de Linna, a Franciscan friar, to the northern
parts of

time of the original pub ication.

at the

rative

One

for

prevalent

1067.

of the
surprising journey of an
unknown Englishman who traveled as
far into Asia as Tartaria in the first

It

sixteenth-

company

English noblemen to escort the daughter

trips

second group of voyages describe

taken to the region of the Straits

of Gibraltar

and the countries surround-

ing the Mediterranean Sea*

1443

Eleven of

these accounts describe trips made before

Norman Conquest in 1066 and fifty-

the

two describe

The

earliest

made

trips

story

after that date.

that of Helena, the

is

Roman emperor and

wife of a

a daughone of the early kings of

Britain. Helena, famous as the mother
of Constantine the Great, who made

voyage supposedly made to the West

1170 by Madoc, the son
of
Owen Guined, a prince of North Wales,
Indies in

the official religion of Rome,

Christianity
traveled to Jerusalem in 337 because
of her interest in the
early Christian
church. She built several churches there
of holy

to

One

relics.

Europe

It

was

Crown

the so-called Iron

Another

of

which

voyage

place

Greece.

Alfred was one of the most

cultured of British
kings in pre-medieval
times and
very much interested in the
classic civilizations.

went

na,

as

far

His emissary,
Erigeas Athens In
885, a

long voyage for those ancient times.

Several of the

were

to

help

recovery of Jerusalem from the

Saracens
during the Crusades. Among
the best known are those
of

Richard

the

often called the

Lion-Hearted,
p rince Edward, son of

First,

and O f

who went

111,

to

or the thirteenth

Henry

Syria in the last half

century.
Another
story is a narrative of
voyage of the

English ship, Susan,

took William Hareborne
to

Hareborne was the

1^2.

sador sent
ruler of

by

first

the

which

Turkey

in

ambas-

a British

monarch to the
Turkey, who was at that time

Murad Khan.

Another interesting voyage was that

p

Fitchj

,
the
to

Syria,

London

years

mercw

1583 and 1591 he

to

Ormuz,

to

Goa

in

East Indies, to
Gambia, to the River
S>

Benak

Sam, and*\
thence back
It

was

rare fox

'

to

Chonderi,

to his

people to

to

homeland

travel,

new

king.
o
Several

made

I'cbruary of

route to the Last Indies.

re-

voyages

described

arc

those

America for the purpose of discovering a Northwest Passage to the

Orient. The
early voyage of Cabot is
to

among them,
Martin

as well as the

made

bishcr

voyages of

and John Davis.

1'Yobislxer

Tro-

three voyages in search of

the Northwest
the three sucPassage,

cessive

post-Conquest voyages

made by Englishmen

trips

in the

in

peated the request a year later, but 'was

refused a second time
by the English

Norman Conquest was that

of a man named
Erigena, who was sent
by Alfred, King of the West Saxons, to

before the

Lccordcd that

Bartholomew, brother of Columbus,

Lombarcly.
took

also

covering

reputed to be from the True Cross.

was incorporated some time later into

nail
It

is

1488 Columbus offered his

services to
Henry VII of Inland and petitioned
that monarch to
sponsor a voyage to the
westward seas for the
purpose of dis-

a collection

of the relics

oE a

ter of Coelus,

and brought back

the spice trade, as far as did

merchant
1'itch
during the sixteenth century.
third group of
voyages aie accounts
connected with the
exploration and discovery of America, The first account is

years

John Davis
forts

to

between

also

made

the

find

1776 and

1578.
three fruitless ef-

passage,

in

the years

from 1585 to 1587, All of these were an

important part of the colonial effort in
Hakluyt's

own

time.

Several

exploratory trips to Newfoundland and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence

River are also related, the earliest the

voyage of Sir I lurnfrey Gilbert to

foundland. The
Grace of
ship
England, also made a trip
St.

New-

Bristol,

up the Gulf

of

Lawrence, as far as Assumption Island.

There are also accounts of
trips made

by explorers of other European nations

in the New
World, such as the journeys
made in Canada as far as Hudson's
Bay
by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and 1535.
There are full accounts of all the
ages

made

to

voyVirginia in the sixteenth

the two unsuccessful at-

century and
tempts by Sir Walter Raleigh to found
a
colony there in 1585 and in 1587.

Another group of stories tell of both

English and Spanish explorations of the
1444

Gulf of California. The voyage of Francis Drake is given, particularly that part
of his around-the-world trip during which
he sailed up the western coast of Amer-

ious parts of Spanish America. Among

these were trips to Mexico City as early

point forty-three degrees north

of the equator and landed to take pos-

as well as to the Antilles Islands in the

ica

to

session of

what he

Nova

called

Albion,

the name of his monarch, Queen

Elizabeth, thus giving the British a claim
World.
to that part of the
Also described is a voyage taken under

in

New

New

orders of the viceroy of

Gualle
Gualle.

Spain by

as

1555, barely a quarter of a century

after it

had been conquered by Cortez,

West

Indies, to Guiana, to the coast of

Portuguese Brazil, to the delta of the
Rio Plata, and to the Straits of Magel-

lan.

Every schoolboy knows the stories of

first two
voyages made to the Straits
of Magellan ana thence around the

the

to the Philippine Islands,

visited Manila. From there he

first
by Magellan himself and
then by Sir Francis Drake. The third
man to sail through the Straits and then
to proceed around the world is one of

Acapulco, Mexico, in the 1580's.

Another group of stories contain short
accounts of trips by Englishmen to var-

gave the credit for this trip to Thomas

Cavendish, an Englishman who circled
the globe in the years 1586 to 1588.

Francis
Pacific

crossed

the

Ocean

where he
went to Macao in the East Indies and
to Japan, and returned from the Orient
to

world,

the forgotten

men

of history.

Halduyt

THE HAMLET
Type

of work:

Novel

Author: William Faulkner (1897- 1962)

realism
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of plot: Late nineteenth century
Locale: Mississippi
First pt* Wished:

1940
Principal characters:
WILL VARNER, chief property
JODY, his son

owner

in

Frenchman's Bend

his daughter
V. K. RATLJFF, a sewing machine salesman
As SNOPES, a newcomer to Frenchman's Bend
FLEM SNOPES, his son
ISAAC SNOPES, an idiot relative

EULA,

MINK SNOPES,

another relative

LABOVE, schoolteacher at Frenchman's Bend

HENRY ARMSTID, a farmer
Critique:

Although
o
o more like a collection of long
snort stories than an integrated novel, this
book displays Faulkner's genius in presenting
O

the

ironic

humor

in

Yet

of

the

folk

Faulkner

Mississippi.
makes these tall tales, in spite of their
definite locde, seem characteristic of al-

legends

most any section of rural America.

in the store.

Some

of the incidents are strung out over too

o

many

where he had been a tenant. Jody and his

father concluded that Ab's unsavory
reputation would do them no harm.
Jocly became afraid, however, that Ab might
burn some of the Varner property; as a sort
of bribe, he hired Ab's son, Flem, to clerk

pages, but the author s skillful style

From

Ratliff carne the explanation of

why Ab was

soured on the world. Ab's

carries

principal grievance grew out of a horsetrading deal he once made with Pat

episode, until the tale is fully exploited.

Stamper, an almost legendary trader. Ab

drove a mule and an old horse to Jeffer-

them along successfully. He withholds the climax, the final

irony of each
In Flem Snopes, Faulkner has created one
of his
major characters

man who

is

stubborn, arrogant, and ruthless in his

drive for
property and powei.

son and, before showing them to Stamper,

skillfully doctored up the old nag.

he

Stamper swapped Ab a team of mules that

fine, but when Ab tried to drive
them out of Jefferson the mules collapsed.
To get back his own mule Ab spent the

looked

The Story:
In his later
years Will Varner, owner o
Old Frenchman place and almost
everything else in Frenchman's Bend,

his wife had

given him to buy a
milk separator. Stamper also forced him
to
purchase a dark, fat horse that looked
healthy but rather peculiar. On the way

the

began
his

to turn

of his affairs over to

son Jody. One
day,
in the Varner store, he met

many

thirty-year-old

while Jody

Ab

money

sat

home Ab

Snopes, a newcomer to town, and Ab

arranged to rent one of the farms owned
by the Vamers. Jody then found out from
Ratliff, a salesman, that Ab had been suspected of burning barns on other farms
Permissi

ran into a thunderstorm

and

the

horse changed from dark to

light and from
fat to lean. It was Ab's old horse, which

Stamper had painted and then fattened

up with a bicycle pump.
Will Varner's
daughter, Eula, was a
n

1446

the P ublishers

'

Ran dom House,

Inc. Copyright,

plump, sensuous

girl

The new

who matured

early.

schoolteacher, Labove, fell in

love with her the first day she came to the

schoolhouse.

An

ambitious young

man

Labove rode back and forth between

Frenchman's Bend and the University,
where he studied law and played on the
football team. One day he attempted to
seduce Eula after school had been dismissed; he failed and later was horrified to
discover that Eula did not even mention
the attempt to Jody. Labove left Frenchman's Bend forever.
As she grew older Eula had many suitors, the principal one being Hoacke Mc-

who

Carron,

literally

fought

off

the

competition. When the Varners found out

that Eula was pregnant, McCarron and

two other

suitors

left

Flem
married Eula, and

Snopes then stepped in,

off on a long honeymoon.

The Snopes clan which had gathered in

wake of Ab and Flem began to have
troubles within the family. The idiot boy,
Isaac, was neglected and mistreated; when
the

he fell in love with a cow, his behavior

became a town scandal. Mink Snopes, another relative, was charged with murdering Jack Houston, who had impounded
Mink's wandering cattle. Flem stayed
away from town throughout this trouble.
When Mink was brought to trial, Flem,
who might have helped him, ignored the
whole case. Mink was sent to jail for life.
Flem came back from his honeymoon
accompanied by Buck
and a string of wild, spotted horses.

Hipps, a Texan,

to

to

The

auction off these horses

who had gathered from miles

To start things off, the Texan

farmers

around.

gave one horse to Eck Snopes, provided

that Eck would make the first bid on the
next one. At this point

Henry Armstid and

his wife drove up. Henry, in spite of his

wife's protests, bought a horse for five
dollars.

By

nad been

daim

his

dark

all

When the other purchasers tried to rope

their horses, the

spotted devils ran through
an open gate and escaped into the
countryside. Henry Armstid broke his
leg and

almost died. Eck Snopes chased the horse

that had been given him and ran it into
a boarding-house. The horse
escaped from
the house and ran down the road. At a
it
piled into a wagon driven by
Vernon Tull and occupied by Tull's wife
and family. The mules pulling the wagon
became excited and Tull was jerked out

bridge

of the

but three of the horses

and Henry was anxious to

purchase. He and his wife were
sold,

almost killed in trying to rope their pony.

Hipps wanted to return the Armstids'

wagon onto

The

for Texas.

went

Texan arranged
o

He gave the five dollars to Henry's

but Henry took the bill from her
and gave it to Flem Snopes. Hipps told
Mrs. Armstid that Flem would return it
to her the next
day.
money.

wife,

his face.

Tulls sued Eck Snopes for the

damages done to Vernon and to their

wagon; the Armstids sued Flern for
damages to Henry and for the recovery of
their five dollars.

The

justice of the peace

was forced to rule in favor of the defendants. Flem could not be established as the
owner of the horses, and Eck was not the
legal owner of a horse that had been given
to

him.

One day Henry Armstid

told Ratliff

Flem was digging every night in the

garden of the Old Frenchman place,
which Flem had acquired from Will

that

Varner. Ever since the Civil War there

had been rumors that the builder of the

house had buried money and jewels in

the garden. Henry and Ratliff took a man

named Bookwright

into their confidence

and, with the aid of another man who

could use a divining rod, they slipped into
the garden after Flem had quit digging.
After locating the position of buried metal,
a
they began digging, and each unearthed
bag of silver coins. They decided to pool
their resources and buy the land in a
hurry. Ratliff agreed to pay Flem an
exorbitant price. At night they kept on

shoveling, but they unearthed no more

treasure. Ratliff finally realized that no bag

could remain intact in the ground for

thirty years.

examined the

1447

When

he and Bookwright
they found the

silver coins,

money had been minted

War.

after the Civil

But Armstid, now totally out of his

mind, refused to believe there was no
treasure. He kept on digging, day and
night. People from

all

over the county

came

to

watch

his Iran tic shovclinc*.

ing by on his

way

to

Snopes paused only a moment

Henry; then with a flip of the

drove his horses on.

P as

<;

Jefferson?' Flera
to

watch

reins he

HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK

Drama
of work:
Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Type

Type
Time

of plot:

Romantic tragedy
c. 1200

of plot:
Locale: Elsmore,
First presented:

Denmark

1602
Principal characters:

Prince of Denmark
Hamlet's father, former King of
CLAUDIUS, the present king
GERTRUDE, Hamlet's mother

HAMLET,

THE GHOST,

Denmark

POLONIUS, a courtier
OPHELIA, his daughter
LAERTES, his son
Critique:

Whether Hamlet
erature,

as

considered as

is

philosophy,

ghost and listened in horror to what it

had to say. He learned that his father
had not died from the sting of a ser-

lit-

or simply as

great merit is generally admitted;

but to explain in a few words the reasons

play,

its

for its excellence

The

task.

as had been supposed, but that

he had been murdered by his own

pent,

would be an impossible

poetry of the play

is

superb;

although not altogether

with
original
Shakespeare, is expressed
with matchless artistry. The universal-

its

ity

philosophy,

of

on

its

the

appeal rests in large measure

Hamlet

of

character

of duty, morality,

and
of

ethics,

which have

men

throughout the
In
Hamlet
himself
are
mirrored the
ages.
hopes and fears, the feelings of frustration

and

The

Story:

despair, of all

mankind.

Horatio,

Hamlet's

On

the fourth night

brought the

friend,

young prince to see the specter of his

Since his
father, two months dead.
father's untimely death, Hamlet had been
grief-stricken and in an exceedingly mel-

ancholy frame of mind. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death

of his father had perplexed him; then
too, his mother had married Claudius, the
dead king's brother, much too hurriedly
to suit Hamlet's sense of decency.

That night Hamlet saw

let to spare

The

his father's

Queen

Gertrude, his mother,

heaven could punish her.

ghost's

disclosures

should have

no doubt in Hamlet's mind that

Claudius must be killed. But the introspective prince was not quite sure that
the ghost was his father's spirit, for he

left

might have been a devil sent

Debating with himself
the problem of whether or not to carry
out the spirit's commands, Hamlet swore
feared

to

Three times the ghost of Denmark's

dead king had stalked the battlements
of Elsinore Castle,

only of murder but also of incest and

adultery. But the spirit cautioned Hamso that

himself.

Called upon to avenge his father's murder, he was compelled to face problems

been the concern

brother, Claudius, the present king. The

ghost added that Claudius was guilty not

it

torment him.

his friends, including Horatio, to secrecy

concerning the appearance of the ghost,
and in addition told them not to consider

him mad

if

from then on he were to

act queerly.

Meanwhile Claudius was facing not

only the possibility of war with Norway,
but also, and much worse, his own conscience, which had been much troubled
since his hasty marriage to Gertrude. In
addition, he did not like the melancholia
of the prince, who, he knew, resented
Claudius
the king's hasty marriage.
feared that Hamlet would take his throne
away from him. The prince's strange

1449

behavior and wild talk

that

think

perhaps
but he was not sure.
of Hamlet's actions

made

her so violently that she screamed

the king

Hamlet was nmd,

help.

To

her

learn the cause

and Hamlet, suspectina that

was eavesdropping, plunged

cries,

C Hand ius

madness or ambiClaudius commissioned two or

tion
Hanuet's friends, Rosencrant'/. and Guildenstem, to spy on the prince. But Mamefforts and
let saw through their clumsy
to their
answers
his
contused them with

for

noise behind a curtain followed

sword through the curtain, killino old

1
raring an attack on his own
life, the kin^ hastily ordered Hamlet to
England in company with Rosencrant?
and CJuiklensttTn, who carried a warrant
lamlet's cleat h. Cut the prince disfor
covered the orders and altered them so
that the hearers should be killed on their

his

Polonius.

questions.
chamberPolonius, the garrulous old
rebehavior
Hamlet's
that
believed
lain,

Hamlet then reI ,m>laod.

o
Denmark.
Much had happened in that unhappy

turned

Ophelia,

melancholy. Rosenas well as Poon him.

lonius, were constantly spying
had turned
he
Even

come

increasingly

crantz

and Guildenstern,

him.

The thought

lander's absence.

Because

Ophelia had been rejected by her former

lover, she went mad and later drowned.
Polonius' hot-tempered son, returned from I 'ranee and collected a hand
of malcontents to avenge the death of
I Ic thought that Claudius had
his
__.._. father.

of deliberate

Laertes,

murder was revolting to him, and he

was constandy plagued by uncertainty as
to whether the ghost were good or bad.

When

to

land during

thought,

Ophelia,

against

in

arrival

sulted from lovesickness for his daughter,

Hamlet, meanwhile, had be-

a troupe of actors visited Elsinore,

in them a chance to discover

killed Polonius,

but the king

told

that

whether

He
Claudius were guilty.
enact before
planned to have the players
the king and the court a scene like that
which, according to the ghost, took place

take part in a
persuaded Laertes to

the day the old king died, By watching

Claudius during the performance, Hamlet hoped to discover for himself signs of

of foul

to

him

Hamlet was the murderer and even

Hamlet saw

plot

murder the prince,

Claudius arranged for a duel between

Hamlet and

Laertes.

play,

To

allay suspicion

the king placed bets on

who was an expert swordsman,

At the same time, he had poison placed
on the tip of Laertes' weapon and put
Hamlet,

Claudius' guilt
His plan worked. Claudius

became so a
I lamlet's reach
cup of poison within
unnerved during the performance that i n the event that the prince became
he walked out before the end of the
the duel, Unfortunately,
thirsty during
scene. Convinced by the
king's actions Gertrude, who knew nothing of the king's
that the ghost was right, Hamlet had
drank from the poisoned cup
treachery,
no reason to delay in carrying out the an d died.
Hamlet
During the contest,
wishes of his dead father. Even so, Ham- wa s
wounded with the poisoned
take advantage of his first
chance after the play to kill Clau-

let failed to

real

He came upon the king in an attitude of prayer,

and could
jk*. v ukuwv^u
have
stabbed
r J
him in the hack. Hamlet did not strike
because he believed that the
king would
dins.

H111rTrn-.i
*

die in grace at his devotions.

The queen summoned Hamlet to her

chamber to reprimand him for his insolence to Claudius. Hamlet, rememberto
ing what the ghost had told him,

mortally
but the two contestants exchanged
oi] s i n a scuffle, and Laertes himself re-

ra pi e r,

ceived a fatal

wound.

Before he died,

_ WlLAA remorse
LUAvAJ. with
WaS filled
Laertes
JLiclClLCo was
-

and

told
.11

Claudius was responsible

for the poisoned sword.
Hesitating no
his op portunity to
longer, Hamlet seized
act an d fatally stabbed the dng. Then

Hamlet

that

the prince himself died.

was av enged.

spoke

1450

But die

ghost

A HANDFUL OF DUST
Type of work: Novel
Author: Evelyn Waugh (1903-

Type of 'plot: Social satire

Time of 'plot: Twentieth century
Locale:

England
p ub lisned: 1934
Principal characters:

TONY

LAST, owner of Hetton Abbey

his wife
JOHN, their son

BRENDA LAST,

MRS. BEAVER, an interior

JOHN BEAVER, her son

decorator

JOCK GRANT-MENZIES, Tony's friend

DR. ME s SINGER, an explorer
TODD, a half-caste trader who loved Dickens
Critique.

This novel, which portrays the decline

of the English landed aristocracy, is full
of foolish people who find their lives to

be no more than "a handful of dust."

The contrasts between the Gothic mag-

nificence of Hetton Abbey, the lives of

Brenda and Tony, and the aspirations of
the successors to Tony's property, are effective instruments for bringing out the
meaning of the story. The author writes

finished dialogue; the narrative moves

smoothly from beginning to end.

The

Story;

John Beaver lived in London with his

mother, an interior decorator. Beaver was
worthless young man of twenty-five
in the social circles of his
mother's wealthy customers. He was not
a

who moved

well liked, but he was often invited to

and weekends to fill a space made

last moment.
One weekend Beaver was Invited to
Hetton Abbey by its young owner, Tony
parties

Beaver's stay at Hetton Abbey was

rather dull, hut Brenda liked him and did
her best to entertain him. On her next

London she saw him again and

asked him to take her to a party. At first
Beaver seemed reluctant; then he agreed
trip to

to escort her.

Beaver and Brenda

Tony lived in the old Gothic abbey

with his wife, Brenda, and his young son,
John. It was Tony's dream that some day
he would restore his mansion to its former
feudal glory. Brenda was bored with her
husband's attachment to the past, however; she found relief in her weekly trips
to

London.

One

day,

when Tony went

to

London

on impulse, he found that his wife already had engagements. He was forced
to spend the evening
getting drunk with
his bachelor friend, Jock Grant-Menzdes.
Tony's escapade bothered his conscience so much that when Brenda returned for the weekend she was able to
him to let Mrs. Beaver re-

persuade

decorate in

modern

style

one of the rooms

of the old house.

A HANDFUL OF DUST
lishers, Little,

party early,

Tony, feeling sorry for her, allowed her to

rent a one-room flat in a building
o owned
by Mrs, Beaver. Brenda moved to London and returned to Hetton Abbey only
on weekends.

vacant at the

Last.

left the

some idle gossip. In a way, the

gossipers were correct, for Brenda had
definitely decided to have an affair with
Beaver. She returned home to the unsuspecting Tony and told him that she
was bored with life in the country. She
said that she wanted to take some courses
in economics at the university in London.
creating

by Evelyn Waugh. By permission of the

Brown & Co. Copyright, 1934, by Evelyn Waugh.

1451

author, of Brandt

& Brandt, and

the pub-

and Dr, Messinger

also.
Brenda's conscience bothered, her
in a girl she
tried to interest

weekend, but it was

no use. He only wanted to have his wife
back home. However, he still trusted her

down

brought

for a

territory.

married Brenda;
neither the

Brenda thought that Jock was speaking

of
John Beaver's death, for he was out

money when he

now Brenda

money nor

could get

a divorce.

not look well for her to employ Brenda.

A short time later Beaver decided to ac-

she learned the truth, she

time

relieved, realizing for the first

she cared for Beaver.

of

Brenda began to grow desperate for

money. She asked Mrs. Beaver for a job,
but Mrs. Beaver thought that it would

of

was

getting

amount

considerable

to London
hunting, Tony sent Jock up
At first
to break the news to Brenda.

When

the Demarara

up

Meanwhile, back in London, Brenda

no longer found Beaver an ardent lover.
He had counted strongly on
a

and suspected nothing of her intrigue in

London.
on that way
Things might have gone
Last had not
if
John
young
indefinitely
been killed by a horse while he was fox

town.

far

River, they left the explorers in the hands

of Indian guides. Then the
expedition
struck out into unmapped

Tony

She

his

company

how much

mother on a

to Cali-

trip

fornia.

At

With young John dead, she felt that

nothing held her to Tony any longer.

last

Tony and

Dr. Messinger came

they believed must flow into

the Amazon, and they ordered the Indians
to build canoes. The Indians obeyed, but
to a river

and
telling him everything,
asked for a divorce. Stunned, Tony could
not believe that Brenda had been false
She wrote,

they refused to venture

down

the

river.

and attempted to prevent it. Then, when

they saw that the divorce would go

There was nothing for the white men to

do but to continue the journey without
after they set out
guides. Soon
Tony
came down with fever. Dr. Messinger
left him on shore and went on alone to
find help, but the explorer drowned when

through, they tried to force

his boat capsized.

to

him. At

weekend
to

at

he consented to spend a
Brighton with another woman
last

give her grounds for divorce.

Brenda's family was against the divorce

more

Brenda
planned.

more

He

refused, for

money only by

Abbey.

The

divorce.

He

much

Tony

than

alimony

to give

he

he could raise
Hetton

would not

familiar faces,

Brenda

free.

captor.

away

from

search of

accompanied an explorer,

lieve his

Dr. Messinger, on an
expedition to find
a lost
in the South American
city

jungles.
across the Atlantic

During the voyage

.
Tony had a short affair with a young
French girl from Trinidad. But when

he was married she

would have nothing more to do with him.
Once the explorers had left civilization
behind them,
Tony found himself thinking of what was going on in London. He

she

learned

that

did not

enjoy jungle life at all; insect

vermin, and vampire bats made
sleep almost impossible.
T Tl
T
\\ hen
boatmen had taken

bites,
~

When

set

to

TV

Negro

to health

but kept him a prisoner. Tony was forced

to read the novels of Dickens aloud to his

get

wishing

in his delirium

Todd, who nursed him back

selling

proposal angered him so

that he changed his mind about the

Tony,

Tony

struggled through the jungle and came

by chance to the hut of a trader named

had

Tony

some Englishmen came in

Tony, the trader made them becaptive had died of fever. Tony

faced lifelong captivity to be spent reading over and over Dickens' novels to the
illiterate

half-caste,

no white man

for

could
travel in the jungle without native
"
"
help.

Beaver

knew

left

that

for

their

California.

was

affair

Brenda

over.

No

news came from Tony in South America.

Without his permission, Brenda could not
draw upon the family funds.
Then Tony was officially declared
dead, and Hetton Abbey became the
U A
of the Last
property of another branch
family. The new owner of Hetton Abbey
IT

1452

*-'*

*p*A A\*F-.*JL\^A,

L.S A,

A.

V* *-*

V/A,

t.A.AV*'

JP^-J***^**-

bred silver fox. Although he had even

fewer servants than his predecessor and
had shut off most of the house, he still

dreamed that some day Hetton Abbey

would again be as glorious as it was in the
days of Cousin Tony.

He erected a memorial to Tony at

Hetton Abbey, but Brenda was unable to
attend its dedication. She was
engaged
elsewhere with her new husband, Jock
Grant-Menzies.

HANDLEY CROSS
Type

of work:

Type
Time

Novel

Robert Smith Surtees (1803-1864)

Author:
of

-plot:

Humorous

satire

of plot: Nineteenth century

Locale: England
First published:

1843; enlarged 1854

Principal characters:

JOHN JORROCKS,
MRS. JORROCKS,
BELINDA,

wealthy grocer

his wife

his niece

huntsman
CAPTAIN DOLEFUL,
PIGG, his

a roaster of

ceremonies

Critique:

Handley Cross

is

fairly typical ex-

of

imple

nineteenth-century English
sporting tales. The novel contains little
plot and little attempt at dramatic motivation, but to an enthusiastic fox hunter
Hundley Cross is fascinating because of

gusty hunting tales and the singleminded devotion of its characters to the

its

Jorrocks, appearing in a number

of Surtees' works, is dear to devotees of

quarts of port wine at dinner.

came a familiar sight in the

he buttonholed his patients on the

and inspected
gouty

hard-riding,

hard-drinking sporting

set.

The

For years Michael

Hardy
the leader of the hunt in
Vale.

had been

Sheepwash
While he did not pay quite all

the expenses of the

sport, his personality
and vigor kept fox hunting popular in the
district.

Michael was one of the old

hounds were unkenneled and

school; his

boarded here and there, and the horses

were mostly pickups. At his death it

seemed that fox

hunting could no longer
be accounted an attraction in the coun-

There were some other

The

joints.

sprang

up

street

and souvenir

stands

to bring life to the

sleepy

difficulties.

Handley Cross was rapidly

growing, Having discovered by chance
village of

the curative values of the local

spring,
a reprobate
physician named Swizzle had
set
up as a spa doctor, and in a few
years Handley Cross became a fashionable
watering place. Swizzle was a perfect doctor for
many people. He invariably prescribed game pie and rare
beef for his
patients, and advised two

vil-

lage.

But there

is

no good proposition with-

out competition. Another shady practitioner, a sanctimonious doctor named

Mello, moved in. lie bought land with
a small spring on it, poured epsom
in the water every night, and set

Story:

be-

their coated
tongues and
With this new fame as

a health resort hotels

sport.

the

He

village, as

salts

up a
rival establishment. In no time the town
was divided into Melloitcs and Swizzleites.

was

The important change,

in the social life of

however,

Handley

Cross.

Captain Doleful, a lean, hypocritical

half-pay captain, appointed himself master of ceremonies for the town.
With
the help of august Mrs. Barnington, the
social arbiter of the fashionable set, balls

and teas soon became popular and social

eminence became the goal of the visiting
gentry.
In a resort so fashionable

it was unhunt club. Captain Doleful and some other worthies

attempted to carry on after Michael
Hardy died, but their efforts were unsuccessful. For one
of
thing, the leaders
the hunt rode in
ungigs, conveyances

thinkable not to have a

thinkable in Hardy's day. In addition,

the
townspeople were too poor or too

parsimonious to hire a whipper-in and

a huntsman.

1454

Worst

of

all,

subscribers

hunt were often slow in paying;

soon there were not enough funds to
pay for damage done to crops and fences.
The fashionables decided that the
only solution was a real master of the
hunt, one not too elegant for a small
to the

spa but rich enough to pay the difference

between subscriptions and expenses. A
committee headed by Captain Doleful
and the secretary Fleeceall decided to
invite John Jorrocks, whose fame had

spread far, to become master of the hunt.

Accordingly a letter was sent, and the
negotiations were soon brought to a
conclusion,

for

was an easy

Jorrocks

victim.

After a

devoted to selling tea and

life

other groceries, Jorrocks

man.

was

a wealthy
to
hunting as a

He had

turned
hobby, and in spite of his Cockney accent and ample girth, he was soon accepted in the

field.

bad habit of

Although he had the

selling cases of groceries to

his fellow huntsmen, in
Jorrocks

soon became a fixture

ing
his

Now, he was

set.

own

Surrey

the sportto be master in

among

right. Captain Doleful secured

for him, and the date xvas set

a lodge
for his arrival in

On
band

Handley Cross.
the appointed day, the
four-piece
turned out and the whole town

assembled

at the station.
Several of
the villagers carried banners
bearing the
legend "Jorrocks Forever." When the
train pulled in,
Captain Doleful looked
through the first-class section but found

no

Jorrocks.

The

second-class carriages

produced no Jorrocks. Finally, on a flat

car at the end of the train, he found
Jorrocks
in their

and

own

ready hitched.
the

new hunt

the pack and the stud, he had to have a

huntsman. He finally hired
Pigg,
shanks and
chiefly because his
real

skinny
outweighed his
speech of such broad Scots that few
could understand what he said.
Jor-

avowed

rocks

Loud were

the cheers as

master drove through the

streets of

Handley Cross.
was soon installed in his new
lodging with Mrs. Jorrocks and Belinda,
his pretty niece. Belinda added
greatly
Jorrocks

to Jorrock's
popularity.

The new hunt

master looked over his

kennels and the few broken-down hacks
in the stable. Besides building
up both

was quickly

disillusioned about his

new huntsman. When

Pigg ate his

meal in the kitchen, there was

uproar.

Flurrying

in,

first

a great

found

Jorrocks

Pigg greedily eating the whole supper

joint and holding the other servants at
bay. And Pigg could drink more ale
and brandy than Jorrocks himself.
Many were the fine hunts that winter.
Because Pigg was skillful and Jorrocks
persistent, the collection of brushes

One

fast.

grew

night Jorrocks was far from

home, separated from his trusty Pigg and

the pack, and
caught in a downpour of
rain. He turned into the first
gate he
saw and knocked. An efficient groom took
his horse and two flunkies
politely con-

ducted
room.

the

dripping Jorrocks to his

the bed were
dry clothes, in
the small tub was hot water, and on the

On

table

was

third

glass

a bottle

of
brandy. Jorrocks
peeled off his clothes and settled into
the tub. He had just started on his

of brandy

when some one

knocked. Jorrocks ignored the noise for

a while but the knocker was insistent.

At

last

determined voice from the

demanded

hall

his clothes,
Jorrocks
quickly got out of the tub, put on the
clothes which did not fit, and took a
firm, possessive grip
tle.

on the brandy botforcefully that he

Then he shouted

would keep the

When

his

family snugly sitting

coach with the horses al-

delicate appetite

clothes.

Jorrocks

he was surprised

came down

to dinner,

be told that he was

in Ongar Castle, His
unwilling host was
the Earl of Bramber, whose servants
had mistaken Jorrocks for an invited
guest and by mistake had put him in the
room of a captain. Jorrocks looked at the
angry captain, who was wearing an outto

fit of his host.

Only Jorrocks' Cockney
impudence could have brazened out such

a situation,

1455

At

last

the

company

sat

down

to din-

As usual, Jorrocks drank too much,

and while giving a rousing toast to fox
on the floor
hunting he fell fast asleep
He awoke immersed in water. Calling
for help, he struck out for the

ner.

lustily

When

Doleful sued Jorrocks for the

purchase
The court decided in favor of

price.

Jor-

no one can warrant

sound in wind and limb,

rocks, holding that

horse to stay
Jorrocks' business associates looked on

a candle,
a
flunky brought
he had teen put to bed in
the "bathhouse and that while walking
in his sleep he had fallen into the small

his

But Jorrocks was irrepressible; in

the morning he parted from the earl OD

hunting time. But at last Jorrocks was

committed by a lunacy commission for
ox hunting madfalling victim to the
In vain Jorrocks
ness.
sputtered and

shore,

he saw

that

pool.

good terms,
After

stayed in

Handley Cross

dogs and

horses.

to dispose of the

Captain Doleful bought

own mount

When

That

exclaim

in

tinge of madJorrocks was heard to

delight at the sight of a
fall

frostbitten dahlia;

it

would soon be

fox

hard-riding winter, spring

the hunting and the Jorfinally spoiled
rocks family left for London.
Pigg

Jorrocks'

as

hunting capers

ness,

for

the horse

twenty-five

became

sick

pounds.
and died soon afterward, parsimonious

protested; his vehemence only added to

the charge against him. Poor, fat Jorrocks

spent sonic time in an asylum before an

understanding chancellor freed him.

Luckily he regained his freedom before

the hunting season

was

too far gone.

HANDY ANDY
Type of work: Novel
Author. Samuel Lover (1797-1868)
Type of plot: Comic romance
Time of plot: Nineteenth century
Locale: Ireland
First published:

1842
Principal characters:

ANDY ROONEY, a young Irish boy

SQUIRE EDWARD EGAN, his employer
MURTOUGH MURPHY, an attorney
SQUIRE GUSTAVUS O'GRADY, a

EDWARD O'CONNOR,

rival landlord

gentleman and poet

Critique:
as a series of anecdotes pubtwelve monthly installments,
Andy is not a cohesive novel inso-

Written

another candidate. It hapone of the purloined letters was

addressed to Gustavus O'Grady. Peering
Scatterbrain,

in

lished

Handy

pened

is concerned. It is, on the other

hand, excellent in character portrayal and
to hold the
atmosphere. The quality likely
modern reader is its droll wit. Rich in Irish
clever Irish tales,
folkways, peppered with

far as plot

Story:

Andy Ropney

was, from the day he was

a mischievous troublemaker.

bom,

he was old enough

took

him

Hall,
literal

who

to

When

work, his mother

i

to

Scuire Egan of Merryvale

hirec

mind and

him

as a stableboy.

na'ive

His

ways frequently

caused his superiors much agitation.

One day Squire Egan sent Andy to the
the
post-office to get a letter. Thinking
two
other
stole
uostage unduly high, Andy
etters in order to get his money's worth.

The

was from Murtough

Murphy, an attorney, and it concerned a
forthcoming election for a county seat
held by Sir Timothy Trimmer, who was
squire's letter

expected

to

die

before

long.

Murphy

that although he could be

certain of most of the votes in the election,

warned Egan

Squire O'Grady of Neck-or-Nothing Hall

likely to support the Hon. Sackville

was

through the envelope, Egan made out

some unflattering words about himself. In
he threw the letter into the fire. To
anger
o
cover up his error he burned the other
letter also and then told Andy that he
destroyed them to protect such a foolish
gossoon from detection.
Andy could never get anything straight.
When Squire Egan sent him on an errand
to
get a document from Murtough
Murphy and Mrs. Egan sent him to the
.

enhanced by Irish songs, Handy Andy is

more than a series of tales revolving
around a political issue, a stupid lout of a
flatterboy, and a lovable hero. Accused of
that
as
Lover
his
replied
countrymen,
ing
an Irishman he was compelled to present
his land as he saw It.

The

that

apothecary

shop,

Andy

left

Murphy's

paper on the counter of the store and took

up, instead, O'Grady's packet of medicine.
The apothecary then unknowingly gave

Murphy.

O'Grady the document from

On

cine, Squire

receiving O'Grady's mediinsulted and chal-

Egan was

Murphy

to

duel.

O'Grady,
Murphy's legal
document, challenged M'Garry, the apothwas soon straightened
ecary. The matter

lenged

insulted at the contents of

out;

Handy Andy

fared the worst.

Edward O'Connor was

lier.

a gallant cava-

Well-educated and gifted as a poet,

he was a favorite among the men of the

community. He was in love with Fanny
Dawson but had not declared himself as
A misunderstanding between Fanny's
yet.

father

and Edward had resulted in the

young man's banishment from the

Daw-

son house. After the quarrel Major Dawson maintained an intense dislike for the
brooded over the abpoet. Although she

1457

sence of her lover,

Fanny
obey her father's wishes.

was forced

letter, which Squire Eoan

O'Grad/s
b
'
"
had burned, and he hoped to put his
to
use
by intimidating the
knowledge
squire. One night Andy happened to overhear Larry, who was very drunk,

of

to

'

While walking one

night, Andy,

after

stumbling over a man stretched out in the

middle of the road, hailed a
passing jaunting car. The driver, learning that the

talking

It so

drive his carriage, The

Mr.
passenger,
Furlong, said he was on his way to visit
the squire.
that he meant

Assuming

to deceive
the visitor, sent for

Murphy, and the two men contrived to

pump as much infoi mat i on from Furlong

When

was revealed, Furlong

Neck-or-Nothing Hall There
he met with more mischief.
O'Grady was
in a terrible mood, for
he had discovered

ceremony. Andy, protesting, was dragged

out for

when

had gone

outside

announcing Furlong's arastray. The climax came

A moment

later

at the

O'Grady's knock

stumbling upon the scene of the clandestine burial, was struck with remorse at
Gustavus
his own deed, but young

discovery, O'Grady caught her,

however, and insisted that
Furlong marry
her,

The Hon

Seville

'

Scatterbrain

notation

ar-

O'Grady forgave

gte at deal of shouting

of temper.

sending

Ae

the

Thinking
O Grady
aroused the

Doisterous,

for the

disperse

militia.

J^

people
F
by

angry mob,

crowd to
from

into

tt

and prevent
the

someone was plotting to carry off"her

niece Oonah, Andy disguised himself as
the young girl. Kidnaped, he was taken
to Shan More's cave, where Andy's wild

militia

entreaties so

More's

sister

aroused the pity of Shan

Bridget that she took the dis-

tressed captive to bed with her, Discovering her error in the morning, Bridget

lamented her
to fire -

to a

'

Giady then
duel. O'Connor

Egan began
Larry
ployees
-

stnf-

HoJTo

j-

Tes

lost

honor, which

Andy

righted by marrying her. Too late Andy

discovered that he really loved Oonah and
that he

'

who

return

that

crowd too

hm to fire into theWlien h e

his father's slayer,

pledged Himself to lifelong

friendship with Gustavus.
When a beggar warned Mrs. Rooney

in

speeches,

and much merriment.

On election day
-~ rr ~
Egan
succeeded in irritating
-er^ supporters
O Grady who had no sense of humor and
plenty

tied to a tree.

unpopular in the community, his body

was in danger of being confiscated. To
prevent such an action, the family made
two coffins; one, the true coffin, was to
be buried secretly at night. O'Connor,

door sent her

hiding under the bed
to avoid

rived in time for the

a lively afiair with a

and

O'Grady died From the ill effects of the

wound O'Connor had given him. Because
the dead man had been deep in debt and

O'Grady's daughter Augusta happened into Furlong's room white he was

dressing.

attend-

cottage James Casey arrived, accompanied

by a hedge-priest who performed a second

as they could.
the truth

that the letter

was

marry
Matty. Andy boldly offered himself and
the marriage was performed. After the
couple had been loft alone in their new

O'Grady on election business. Egan,

rival

that the priest

the nuptials of Matty Dwyer and

ing
James Casey. At the wedding feast Casey
failed to appear. Fearing that his
daughter would be disgraced, Jack Dwycr asked
if
any of the guests present would

Egan, Andy took Furlong to

Merryvale Hall. But Furlong had wanted

set

happened
to

Squire

continuing

'

"

about his scheme. Confused,

Andy went
to Father Phil, his confessor, for advice.

drunken man was his brother,

stayed behind to care for him and asked Andy to

to see

'

'

had married a

woman

of

bad repu-

tation.

k
,*

**$"*** ? emGrady's
had lea'med
<?\
about the

purloining

It

was learned that Lord Scatterbrain,

named Rooney, had

disguised as a servant

married Andy's mother, only to desert her

1458

before Andy's birth. After the death of the

old nobleman the Hon. Sackville Scatterbrain, his nephew, did not dispute the
succession
seat in the

he went
his

new

Andy became

House

his heir, with a

of Lords. Off to London

manners and to enjoy

Shan More and Bridget

gone, all obstacles between Fanny

Dawson and Edward O'Connor were re-

jor

moved, and O'Connor was finally able to

enter the Dawson house and to
marry his
Fanny.

Shan More made an attempt upon

to learn fine
estate.

followed to demand a settlement for the

deserted wife. To escape the vulgar and
persistent pair,

Andy

gladly gave Bridget

some money.
Major Dawson met with an accident
which resulted in his death. With the ma-

Andy's

life.

When

the

attempt failed

Andy went to Shan's den, where he found

a wounded man, an
escaped convict, who

proved
of

to

be Bridget's true husband. Rid

his wife,

Oonah.

Andy was

free

to

marry

HANGMAN'S HOUSE
Oswald Donn-Byrne, 1889-1928)
romance

Dot B^e (Brian

Type of ylot: Regional

Time of fkt: Early twentieth century
Locale: Ireland

tWisW: 1925

First

characters-.

ncipal

the
JAMES O'BRIEN, Lord Glenrnalure, Jimmy

CONNAUGHT,

Hangman

his

daughter
DERMOT McDERMOT, a neighbor
THE CITIZEN, Dinny Hogan the Irreconcilablc's son
husband
JOHN D'ARCY, Dermot's cousin, Connaught's

Critique:

rather forbidding-looking house that the

insisted on calling Jimmy
country

In Hangmaris House, Donn Byrne intended to write an Irish novel for Irish-

men, people for

.was a passion,

people

whom their own country

An intense love for Irish

had been a violent rebel in his youth,

but he had found it to his advantage to
make his peace with the English. Becomino Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, he was

Gaelic
landscape, horse-racing, coursing,
the writer s freeand
hunting,
halladry,
evident
is
countrymen
dom-loving
the novel
throughout the book. When
have preferred his
appeared, critics may
Messer Marco Polo or The Wind Blowetk,

but revised judgment

is

likely

to

Hangman's House. James O'Brien

the

responsible
Fenians.

for

the

hanging of many

When Glenrnalure was stricken on the

bench, he was forced to retire. His condition becoming worse, he called in doctors from Dublin and then England. One

put

Hangman's House above the latter. The

hook was ivritten in Dublin in 1922 and
1923, while the country was still being
harried by the armed resistance of Re-

told

him

certainly

that lie would live a month,

no more than nve weeks. Then

John D'Arof an old friend

son
Dermot's
cousin,
cy,
called Tricky Mick. Dermot thought

publican irreconcilables, The

land at that time is presented in Byrne's
characterization of the Citizen, a splendid

he

man who had direct

who wanted to fight

D'Arcy a twister; Connaught's father said

he had merely made a youngster's mistake. Glenrnalure knew John D'Arcy was
devious but ambitious, and that he might
make his way in politics with Con-

state of Ire-

control over those

for freedom,

The

novel has been dramatized for the stage

and

for

motion

pictures.

Tlie Story:

naught's

Dermot McDeirnot

lived in the

twenty-five,

after

taking

mother more than his

his

Irish

and then married him to Connaught.

Glenmalure knew Dermot wanted to
leave
marry Connaught but would not

Quaker

soldier fa-

ther except in his intense love of Ire-

his homestead; lie thought Connaught,

strong-willed as she was, could guide

land and everything Irish.

Dermot's nearest neighbors were James

Loid

Glenrnalure,

daughter Connaught

HANGMAN'S HOUSE

They

and

his

lived in

money and Hangman Jimmy's

to him,
backing. In the weeks remaining
Glenrnalure made contacts for D'Arcy

most

pleasant homestead in the County of

Dublin. He was a serious, slight man of

O'Brien,

off a letter to
secretly sent

D'Arcy to a place in the world where she

might even get a title.
Glenmalure had been a rebel of the

byJponn Byrne. By permission of the publishers, Applcton-Century-Croits, Inc.

The Pictorial Review Co. Copyright, 1926, by The Century Co.

Copyright, 1925, 1926, by

1460

old days, but there were still plenty of

young men ready for a war for freedom
[f the word were given. Those who directed the movement decided there must
be no war. They sent back to Ireland

the Citizen, a

commander

the French army,

but

Dinny Hogan the

of cavalry in

also the son of old

who

Irreconcilable,

had fled from Ireland and gone to

France after the last uprising.

in

Citizen
to

make

was

to

live

The

spend a year In Ireland,

young men would keep

sure the

in line.

He had

another reason for going to

John D'Arcy had married and

then deserted his sister Maeve. Her shame
caused her death and her son's, and their
deaths brought on Dinny Hogan's. Dinny's son was out for revenge.
Glenmalure died the night of Connaught's wedding. She and D'Arcy returned from their honeymoon immeIreland.

Dermot saw them

at the

Tara Hunt,

one of the best in the country. The Citizen also turned up at the hunt and ap-

proached D'Arcy to ask if he had been

in Paris in '95.
D'Arcy, after swearing
that he had never been in Paris, went to
the police to expose the Citizen.

Con-

naught could not understand why D'Arcy had lied about being in Paris; she was
furious when she heard that he had in
formed on a hunted man.

Dermot knew D'Arcy feared the

Citi-

zen but could not understand

why. He
also heard that
things were not going
well at Glenmalure, that
Connaught kept
a woman relative with her
constantly,
while D'Arcy spent his time
gambling
with people who would never have dared
enter the house
during Glenmalure's lifetime.
D'Arcy 's backers in politics had
after

D'Arcy was

On

Glenmalure

died,

and

at loose ends.

St.

Stephen's Day the first steeplechase of the

year was held at the Han-

nastown

him

One

of the

D'Arcy had
placed a large bet against the Bard, but
that there were many small bets on him
that would spell disaster to the
poor people if the Bard did not ran. On the day
told

that

of the race
Connaught's jockey did not
show up. Dermot rode the Bard and won.

He and Connaught

found D'Arcy sob-

bing afterward because he had lost heavThen Dermot knew his cousin was a
ily.
weakling. That night D'Arcy killed the
Bard.

Connaught left home and even the

gamblers refused to play with a man

who had

killed a horse.
Connaught,
meanwhile, was miserable in England.

Dermot looked for D'Arcy to straighten

him out, to offer him money to go away
if that seemed best.
D'Arcy told him that
he had married Maeve. Thinking D'Arcy
had been married to Maeve when he marConnaught, Dermot thrashed him
and would probably have killed him if
an innkeeper had not interfered. Dermot
gave D'Arcy money and told him to leave
ried

diately.

reneged

sidered the best in the field.

bookmakers

Bard of
Armagh was entered. Dermot heard that
long odds were being placed on him,
though the horse should have been conraces.

Connaught's

the country.

Connaught came home

a short time
house of bitterness and gloom.
After she and Derrnot
finally admitted
they loved each other, Dermot sought out
the Citizen to see if they
might not work
later to a

out some way to keep the shame of

D'Arcy 's conduct from staining Connaught and yet dissolve that marriage so
that he and Connaught could be married.

The

Citizen told

Dermot

that

Maeve had

D'Arcy married Connaught, though D'Arcy could not have

known it at that time. Dermot's hands
were tied.
D'Arcy, hearing that Maeve was dead,
came back to Glenmalure, and Connaught sought refuge with Dermot and
actually died before

his mother. D'Arcy,

finding her there, accused Connaught and Dermot of being

When

they admitted their feelto hale them into

court, but Dermot's mother prevented
him. Connaught went again to England.
lovers.

ings,

he threatened

Knowing

that

Connaught would do

nothing to him, D'Arcy began to sell off

all the possessions in the house, Dcrmot

made arrangements

in Dublin to be in-

formed whenever those things came on

the market and he Lought up all of them,

One

some
and send them
went toward the house
Glenmalure looked empty and forbidding.
At the gate he met the Citizen, bent on
night Dermot decided to pick

of Connaught's
to her. As he

own

roses

not wishing the

killing D'Arcy. Dermot,
Citizen to be soiled with the murder of
a twister like D'Arcy, tried to persuade
him to go away. But the Citizen was de-

termined.

Dermot was

afraid to let

him

go in alone.
Inside they found

D'Arcy dressed for

travel. The house had been
stripped and
there was a smell of oil in it. Instead of

killing D'Arcy outright, the Citizen

lowed himself to be persuaded to a

al

duel

with

pistols. D'Arcy shot before the

sighad been given and wounded
the
Citizen. Then lie smashed a
lump on the
floor and dashed
upstairs. The lamp started a sheet of fire that
swept throuah the
house as Dcrmot and the Citizen

nal

their

way

fought

outside,

D'Arcy caught his foot

while jumping from a window and was
dead when he hit the ground.
Derrnot's mother went to Connauoht
for a while. Dcrmot had the walls^of
Glenmalure torn clown and a neat cottage built in

covered from
his

regiment,

home.

its
liis

place.

The

Citizen,

wound, went back

re-

to

Then Connaught came

HARD TIMES
Type of work: Novel
Author. Charles Dickens (18 12-1870)
Type of plot: Social criticism
Time of plot: Mid-nineteenth century
Locale:

England

First published:

1854
Principal characters:

THOMAS GHADGRIND, a schoolmaster and a believer in "facts"

LOUISA GRADGRIND, his oldest daughter
TOM GHADGRIND, Louisa's brother
MR. BOUNDERBY, Louisa's husband, a manufacturer and banker
SISSY JUPE, a waif befriended by the
Gradgrinds

MRS. SPARSIT, Bounderby's housekeeper

STEPHEN BLACKPOOL, Bounderby's employee
JAMES HAJLTHOUSB, a political aspirant
Critique:

this was the first motivated

entirely
by the writer's feelings about contempo-

been excluded from their education.

One day, as he walked from the school
to his home,
Gradgrind was immensely
displeased and hurt to find his two oldest
children, Louisa and Tom, trying to peek

was based upon personal ob-

through the canvas walls of a circus tent.

Nor did it ease his mind to discover that
the two youngsters were not at all sorry
for acting against the principles under

This novel was Dickens*

first

story of

outright social protest. Earlier works had

contained sections of social criticism, but

rary British culture. The novel, appropridedicated to

Thomas Carlyle,
ately
another critic of nineteenth-century British society,

servations of life in Manchester, one of

England's great manufacturing towns and

the original for Dickens' Coketown. The
story is loaded with the bitter sincerity of
Dickens' dislike for the industrial conditions

he found in his homeland. Unfor-

tunately for the value of the novel as a

social

document, Dickens overdrew his

portraits of the industrialists responsible

for conditions he abhorred; his industrialists

became sheer grotesques and monsters.

The Story:
Thomas

Gradgrind, proprietor of an experimental private school in Coketown,

insisted that the children under him learn
facts and
only facts. He felt that the world

had no place

for fancy or
imagination. His
children were models of a factual
education. Never having been permitted

own five
to learn

anything of the humanities, they

were ignorant of
ception of

Even

literature

human

fairy tales

and any con-

beings as individuals.

and nursery rhymes had

which they had been reared and educated.

Later Gradgrind and his industrialist
friend, Mr. Josiah Bounderby, discussed
possible means by which the children
might have been misled from the study of
facts.

They concluded

Sissy Jupe,

the

circus,

that another pupil,

whose father was a clown in

had influenced the young

Gradgrinds.
Having decided to remove Sissy Jupe
from the school, they set out immediately
to tell the girl's father. When they arrived
at the inn where the Jupes were staying,
they found that the clown-father had deserted his daughter. Gradgrind,

moved by

sentiment, decided to keep the

girl

in his

home and let her be educated at his school,

all
against the advice of Bounderby, who

thought Sissy Jupe would be only a bad

influence on the Gradgrind children.
Years passed, and Louisa and young
grew up. Gradgrind knew that
Bounderby had long wished to marry
Louisa. She, educated away from senti-

Tom

1463

who

robbed. Chief suspect

was thirty years her elder, Tom, an emin Bounderby's bank, was very glad
ployee

employee
pool,
J
~~i
'
mistreated. Blackpool,

to

ment, agreed

have his

to

marry Bounderby,

sister

wanted a friend

to

by

and

pool's

for that reason,

Bounderby himself was very happy

to

proved

the

tent to wait;

house reached a climax when Louisa

with the young man. Her
agreed to elope
better judgment, however, caused her to

bank,
seemed peaceful at the
M
-I

Gradgrind

and

home,

at

return to her father instead of running

away with her lover. Gradgrind, horrified

the

Bounderby residence.
In the meantime Gradgrind had been
elected to Parliament from his district. He
sent out from London an aspiring young
James Harthouse, who was to
politician,
gather facts

Coketown,

to see

which were

to

Bounderby,

indaughter had never loved Bounderby,

sisted that she be allowed to make her own

who

choice. Harthouse, giving

Harthouse met Tom Gradgrind,,

1
f
1
V*
11
T
who lived with the Bounderbys. Harthouse took advantage of Tom's love for
Tf

drink to learn more about Louisa.

Hearing
that she had been
to a dehu..*
subjected
J

mam 7i TVg
__?..

education,

would be easy prey

I*

1m

and feeling that she

for se'duction because

of her loveless

marriage to the pompous

Harthouse decided to test

Bounderby,
/YtflC'S e xmMhnn
nusa s virtue.
Louisa's

of

Bounderby's confidence by tracing down

Mrs. Pegler.
To her chagrin, Mrs. Peglei
4^
turned out to be Bounderby's mother.
Bounderby was furious, for his mother

Before long Haithouse

gained favor in
her eyes. Neither realized, however, that
Mrs. bparsit, jealous and
her re-

moval from the comfortable

Bounderby
house, spied on them constantly.
Everyone was amazed to learn one day
that the
Bounderby bank had been

"

Vj/

"toaT

disproved his boasts about being a

made man. Meanwhile Louisa and

self-

Sissy

"^
JkW^Afc B'^' Vf *J who
fc*W*A*-^V^AA
kUAA V found
*V
Blackpool,
Jupe
accidentally
_
_ __
__
had fallen into a mine shaft while returning to Coketown to prove his innocence of
the robbery. After his rescue he told that

j ^ r' "*

ft-*.AA^t

JUnf

..

Tom Gradgrind was the real culprit.

When the young man disappeared, his
ITTTI

resenting

hope

sence and tried to reinstate herself in

with Bound-

all

Mrs, Sparsit returned to act as BoundLouisa's aberby's housekeeper during

and banker. Harthouse thought

Bounderby a fool, but he was greatly in-

Tt

up

winning Louisa, disappeared.

trialist

eiby,
,,

Bounderby.

that Louisa return to

angrily insisted
his home. Gradgrind, realizing that his

immediately told Harthouse the story of

his career from street ragamuffin to indus-

terested in pretty Louisa.

Through his friendship

tolcl

He

be used

*-*

labors,

to

Sparsit,

Gradgrind had given him a

letter of introduction to

had done

his education

posed elopement and had

in a survey of economic and social life in

Britain, In order to facilitate the young
*

man's

what

Louisa's character, tried to make amends

for her. The situation was complicated by
She had learned of the proMrs.

about the industrial city of

facts

and Mrs. Pegle*

Bounderby seemed conhe said that the culprits

fruitless.

would turn up sooner or later.

The affair between Louisa and Hart-

employer's

at

company.

A search for Blackpool

have Louisa as his wife. After his marriage

he placed his elderly housekeeper in
rooms at the bank. Mrs. Sparsit, disliking
Louisa, was determined to keep an eye on
sake. After the marher for her
all
riage
(J

Black-

him

him if he got into

he advised his sister

to help
she, loving her brother, agreed
banker.
the
wealthy
marrying

*"

-*

many Bounderby; he

marry Bounderby

was Stephen

whom

had
Bounderby
J
...1-111-.
who had been seen
loitering in front of the bank, had disapof the robbery.
peared on the night
Suspicion also fell on a Mrs. Pcgler, an old
woman known to have been in Black-

help

trouble there. In fact,

to

an

41*

sister

J upe ,

anu ather, with the help of Sissy

found him and placed him, dis-

guised,

could be

in

a circus until

made

country.
Before

for spiriting

arrangements

him out of

the

he could escape, however,

arBounderby's agents found Tom and

1464

rested him.

With

the aid of the circus

was rescued and put on a

steamer which carried him away from the
and Bounderby's vengeance
police
Mrs. Sparsit, who had caused Boundroustabouts he

kinds of embarrassment by producing Mrs. Pegler, was discharged from

erby

all.

his

patronage,

much

to

her

chaorin
&

Boundcrby himself died unhappily in a fit

a few
years later. The Gradarinds
all of
&
them victims of an education of facts, con-

tinucd

human

to live

unhappily, unable to see the

side of life

HARMONIUM
Type of work: Poetry
Author: Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
First published: 1923
In the case of Wallace Stevens

the

proper understanding of his early poems

as a new dimension of
poetic reality was
for the

most part an exercise

in hindsight.
not the same thing as saying that
at any time in his career he lacked the

This

is

attention of serious criticism or a

body of

appreciative, well-wishing readers, only

that he was sometimes admired for the

wrong
/

at

reasons,

Mallarm6, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Laforgue were being assimilated

as influences and models, and the Imagist
movement had not vet run its course. Because Stevens exhibited the tangential
Baudelaire,

imagery, elisions, and regard for symbolic

order of the first
group and the concentrated exactness of the second, mos*- read-

found little
with the native
seized
ties

upon

in his
poetry to link it
tradition. Instead, they

and ornate qualithese were its final

means to an end.

the exotic

of his verse as

effect rather

if

than a

Stevens appeared to be, at first

reading,
a poet whose
purity of vision and absolute
integrity insulated him from the material concerns of his
Eliot in

England and Joyce

society.
in Paris

occupied just
such positions of isolation and
authority.
Closer home, the author of "Le
Monocle
de Mon Oncle," "The
Letter

Comedian as the
and "Peter Quince at the
seemed to provide a similar im-

C,"

Clavier*

age of the dedicated

But Stevens,

artist,

as it later

developed was

neither a master of dfcor for

decoration's

sake-the

literary

dandy and Whistler

in

words, as some called him-nor the

alienated poet such as the
period demanded
An aesthetic-moral writer of the
highest
order,

he had

liant
to

imagery, the relation of imagination

nature and function of

reality, the

art,

the poet's
place in modern society, problems of structure and
style. Stevens

was

not a poet of growl h but of

clarification,
and his later books merely ordered
and
refined his vision

Harmonium was published in 1923,

a time when the French Symbolism-

ers

which were to
comprise the
whole body of his work: the
re-creation
of the physical world in bold
and bril-

precept

already in
areas of

Harmonium

experience

and

and techniques. Unmost poets, who achieve

only a temporary balance between temperament and
environment, he created a total world for
his imagination and bis belief in
the
like

nourishing power
greatest service

of

art.

Perhaps the
he provided was to show

by example the possible

in poetry if man
source of imaginative faith in
an age of d sbelicf or to establish once
is

to find a

more

sustaining relationship with the

world about him, Harmonium "makes a
constant sacrament of
praise" to
poetry
the imaginative
ordering of experienceas the
supreme fiction.

The unmistakable

poems

is

signature of these
the richness of their diction, the

use of words not

etry,

at

least

common

in

to

English po-

these

plain-speaking
times, a parade of brightly colored
images
and startling turns of
phrase. Such words

as

fubbed, coquclicot, barque, phosphor,

fiscs,
clavier, pannicles, girandoles, rapey, carked,
diaphanes, unburgh-

gobbet,
erly,

minuscule,

rtictive,

shebang, canti-

pipping, curlicues, and funest reveal the

poet's delight in the unusual and
the rare, But as R. P. Blackmur
pointed
out long
ago, Stevens' poetic vocabulary
was not chosen for affected elegance,
coyness, or calculated
obscurity. These words
lene,

give an air of Tightness and inevitability

within the contexts that frame them; it
is not the word itself
but its relationship
to other words in the
poem that gives
in ted

by permission of
Stevens.

1466

to Stevens' poetry its striking qualities

of style. It is the same with his images,
the strategic effectiveness of "barbaric

glass,"

"poems of plums," "venereal

soil,"

"golden quirks and Paphian caricatures,"

"rosy chocolate and gilt umbrellas," "ooz"women of priming cantankerous gum,"

and purl," "the emperor of ice

cream," in conveying a luxuriance of
sense impressions. This diction of odd
angles of vision and strange surfaces gives
rose

the impression of language revitalized as

if it were the invention of the
poet himself. It becomes a part of what Stevens

once called "the essential gaudiness of

and

poetry,"

capable of a variety of
following examples show.

it is

effects, as the

The mules that angels ride come slowly

down
The blazing passes from beyond the

re-created in

the act of

from the world of his verse one

emerges
with altered perspective. There is in it a

different way of
seeing, a rearrangement
of the familiar
pattern of experience by
which poetry is no longer a way of look-

ing at

but

life

form of

life.

Thus

his

images point to a passionate drive toward

material comfort and rich
living, as op-

posed to spiritual sterility in a world of

waste and excess. In Harmonium the
poles of his world become "our bawdiness

unpurged by epitaph" and "the strict ausfinal

terity of one vast, subjugating,
tone." He is aware of tradition
corrupted
and a world fallen into disorder, a realization

of

man

of unity

dispossessed

be-

tween himself and his universe, of nature

sun.

violated, of old faiths gone. Out of his

knowledge he writes these lines on a Pru-

Mon Oncle")

("Le Monocle de

the image of man in

perceiving the world. In his
best poems this is the effect toward which
Stevens' floating
images tend, so that

are

frock theme:

or:

In the high west there burns

Chieftain Iffucan of Azcan in caftan

Of tan with henna hackles, halt!

a furious

star.

It is for
fiery

("Bantams in Pine- Woods")

And

for

them.

or:

boys that

star

was

set

sweet-smelling virgins close to

The measure

of the intensity of love

measure, also, of the verve of earth.
For me, the firefly's quick, electric

and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
.

Is

In the sound of the leaves,

Which

stroke

Ticks tediously the time of one more

sound of the land

same wind
blowing in the same bare place

is

the

year.

Full of the

And

That

came
Out of

is

For the

listener,

who

listens

in

the

their

mother

the crickets

grass,

like little

kin,

In the pale nights, when your first

imagery
Found inklings of your bond to all that

snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that

Remember how

you"?

dust.

is.

("The Snow Man")

of

For a secular poet like Stevens, poetry

to become the "supreme fiction" and
the imagination "the one reality in this

thought but in themselves a way of thinking. His poetry belongs to the order of
solipsism, that philosophical theory which
holds that the self is the only object of

imagined world," a way of imposing order on the chaos of experience. This is

the theme of "Anecdote of the Jar," one
of the simplest but most meaningful of

Stevens' diction
so

much

verifiable

and imagery

the verbalization of a

knowledge and

are not

mode

that all things

was

the

1467

poems

in

Harmonium:

I placed a jar in

And round it

It

made the

upon

slovenly

Surround that

new

Tennessee,

was,

wilderness

hill.

to

The

The

Of

is

<f

The same

worked out in
"The Comedian

Supreme

is

insoluble lump.

separate and complete, in its own

substance and shape.
There are times when Stevens' search
for

also recognize in his

romantic im-

share.

the senses. His love

fictive

ly he
ate a

third

century.

woman

"Approaching Carolina," follows Crispin

through a realm of the im-

Turning from the moon

r>

may

Here

in

a
spectacle of
breakfast on a

the

eating her late

woman

as a

sits in external
sunlight but also
moral darkness of an age that has
lost faith
..
.-- of man:
in the
-..,.
spiritual nature
"Why should she give her bounty to the

in the

nere reflection of
reality, Crispin in Part
l-r-n
"t
T T1
<CTTf
_
*-~ i
*.+
I he Idea of a
Colony," enters a
-

of seeing that his readers

Sunday morning we have a picture of

modern boredom and uncertainty. The

agination, symbolized by moonlight that

:.
.he antithesis of the
sun, which lights
:-..iity.

way

and the actual; consequentuncover causes, to cre-

try to

"Sunday Morning," his best

poem and one of the great poems of the

division,

~*i

must

standing in

is
brought
overwhelming and

The

of a

upon

Stevens himself achieves the supreme,

mood of contemplation and under-

when he

destructive powers of nature.

insists

the need of discipline in life as in art.

a modern, he sees the gap between

second section, "Concerning the Thunderstorms of Yucatan," decides that the

ends

who

As

the potential

to a realization of the

work the power

writer

contemplative

things and therefore

lacking in imagination. Romanticism being equated with egotism, Crispin in the

for the exotic

and

may

he appears at times more concerned with

meaning than with being, the reader may

preoccupied with

lies in

it

into the realm of abstract speculation. If

agination which has given him eminence

within his own limited milieu is a world

only reality

reality

take in poetry leads

from concrete particularities

him away

"The World without Imagination," Crispin the subjectivist sets sail upon the sea
to discover that the

some standard of ultimate

the forms that

characteristic of his self-satire

he should picture the poet as a

picaresque mountebank trying to reconcile
imagination to actuality. In Part I,

life,

family

exists,

Fiction"

that

of

realist,

Art, Stevens implies, cannot he made this

or that, or be pursued like a chimera; it

on the relation of imagination to reality

and the poet's place and function in society. It

main,

is

fable in six parts, the

Stevens' most ambitious work hea

ancient purple, pruned to the

font,

Noies Toward

its

And sown again by the slifTcst

Came reproduced in purple,

lation.

fore

the

turnip once so readily

world,

fertile

Stevens puts Keats' Grecian urn to other

uses than those of contemplation or reve-

poem

from

out

not give of "bird or bush,

else in Tennessee.
Lilce nothing
o

detail in

doctrine

Sacked up and carried overseas, daubed

It did

as the Letter C."

dios

plucked,

dominion everywhere.
was gray and bare.

more elaborate

Candide he

rout.

jar

This "rage for order"

like

concocted

Crispin

the landscape, so

that
It took

and

own

pin found in his return to earth:

but
of first importance in the poem,
the act of placing the jar on such an emi-

commands

based on the commu-

art

garden; he will become a philosopher. Part VI, "A Daughter with

Curls," deals with the final wisdom Cris-

is

it

domesticity,

in his

the
Here is the desire to impose order on
the
wildness of nature and, indirectly, of
that
world. It is not the image of the jar

nence that

phase of

nity and regional tics. Disillusioned, he

turns in Part V, "A Nice Shady Home,"

a hill

1468

dead?"
ness

The

lies

which

in

in
its

poet's

answer

Is

Sweet berries ripen in the wilderness;

And, in the isolation of the sky,
At evening, casual flocks of pigeons

that happi-

perception of nature,
recurrent changes and seathe

sons creates an immortality in

may share.

make
Ambiguous undulations

which man

Downward

We live in an old chaos of the sun,

Or old dependency of day and night,
Or island solitude, unsponsored, free,
Of that wide water, inescapable.
Deer walk upon our mountains, and
the quail

Whistle
cries;

ahout

us

their

spontaneous

to

as

darkness,

they sink,

on extended

wings.

Harmonium

reveals a poet of moral

and humane temper. Stevens' poems, disciplined and perfectly articulated, reflect
a

limited but significant picture of the

modern

sensibility.

HARP OF A THOUSAND STRINGS

Novel
of work:
Author. H. L. Davis (1896-

Type

Type
Time

of plot: Historical-philosophical

romance

Late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

of 'plot:
and Paris
American
The
Locale;
prairie country, Tripoli,
First published:

1947
Principal characters:

MELANCTHON CRAWFORD,
COMMODORE ROBINETTE, and

APEYAHOLA, called Indian Jory founders of a prairie town

JEAN-LAMBERT TALLIEN, a French revolutionist
THEBESE DE FONTENAY, whom he loved
RENE DE BERCY, her fiance
ANNE-JOSEPH THERQIGNE, in love with de Bercy
MONSIEUR DE CHIMAY, a wealthy aristocrat and, merchant
7

The

Critique:

Thousand Strings is a novel

Harp
and events of
linking the personalities
of a

the French Revolution to the development of the American West. Behind this
of the naming of a prairie town lies
story
the author's theory that the incidents of

that although they

history are never final,
may change form or significance they
continue to move like a slow groundswell

from country to country among

who have been affected by hiserosions and accretions. History it-

people

tory's
self is the

thousand-stringed harp of the

an instrument capable of endless
vibrations and echoes. In order to present
his theme of the reverberations of history,

title,

the writer

made

in design.

The American

his novel contrapuntal

frontier,

the

Barbary wars, and the French Revolution

are introduced briefly for thematic effect,
later to be alternated and recombined.

The

pattern

is

one

of triads.

The

three

America, Tripoli, and France;

the three Americans, each
corresponding

settings,

to

one of the drives in Tallien' s career;

the three choices Tallien must

their

consequences

the

all

make and

are essential

to

craftsmanship and design of this unusual and

historical novel.

rewarding

Story:

Old Melancthon Crawford had been one

of the founders of a prairie town in the
Osage country. In his last years his eccentricities became so marked that relatives
had him sent back to his birthplace, a
Pennsylvania villnge he had always hated,
where they could keep an eye on him and
the disposal

of his

property.

After his

departure on the eastbouncl stage Commodore Robinette and Apeyahola, a Creek

Indian whom the settlers cnllcd Jory,

climbed to the prairie swell where Crawtrading post hacl stood. Talking
about the past, they thought back to a
decisive night the three had in common,

ford's

when Tripoli was being bombarded by American naval guns during

the war with Barbary pirates.

a night

Under cover

of the

bombardment

the

three Americans, prisoners escaped from

the pasha's dungeons, had taken refuge
in a warehouse belonging to Thurlow

and Sons, Boston merchants. Young

Crawford was all for carrying away some
loot he found in a storeroom, but Apeyahola and Robinette, the wounded sailor,
were against the idea. During the argument Monsieur Tallien entered the warehouse. One-time Citizen President of the
French National Convention, now an obscure consular official under
Napoleon,
of the publishers,

1470

William

he was there to keep an appointment

with a Paris associate of Thurlow and
Sons. To pass the time while waiting, he
told the tale of his rise and eventual

aided his escape to England. Through

Tallien she hoped eventually to locate

ruin because of his love for the notorious

Therese de Fontenay. Crawford, Robinette, and the Indian made a strange audience. Tallien told his story, however,

young American
marked by one phase of his own career:

because he saw each

love.
vengeance, ambition,
Tallien,
protege* of the
Jean-Lambert
old Marquis de Bercy, was intended for

During a visit to the de

he watched Anne-Joseph

a career in law.

Bercy estate
Theroigne being carried forcibly away
because she had attracted the interest of
Rene, the young marquis, soon to marry
the lovely Countess Therese de Fontenay.

While Tallien

stood watching the

disappearing cart that carried Anne-Jocountess

seph, Rene rode up with the

and haughtily ordered the student to

open a gate. At Tallien's refusal the
young nobleman raised his whip. Tallien

struck the marquis' horse. The animal

threw his rider and dragged him, uncon-

and bleeding, by one stirrup.

Tallien hid in the woods while angry

scious

villagers hunted him with guns and pitchforks. Father Jarnatt, the parish priest,

saved the fugitive and sent him off to

Paris to seek his fortune in journalism.
These things happened in the year the
Bastille fell

In Paris, Tallien again met Anne-Joseph Theroigne, by that time a roughthe friend
tongued,
rabble-rousing
O virago,
O
O
'

'

of Robespierre and members of the Jacobin Club. It was she who helped Tallien
to establish L'Ami des Citoyens, the rev-

olutionary newspaper with which he placarded Paris. Because of her he led the

on the Tuileries during the AuLater he became a deputy to

gust
the National Convention and a commisassault

riots.

sioner to the provinces. Anne-Joseph

helped his rise in public favor because
she expected to find him useful. Still
loving Rene" de Bercy, she had secretly

Therese de Fontenay, whom she hated.

A man and a woman muffled in native
costume entered the warehouse. The man
was Monsieur de Chimay, who had come
ashore from a French ship to arrange
some trade business with Tallien. The

woman was

not introduced. Since they

could not leave the warehouse before
the bombardment ended, Tallien continued his story.

One day he heard his name called

from a cartload of prisoners. In the wagon was Therese de Fontenay, whom he
had never
her

from

forgotten.

Hoping

Anne-Joseph's

to

fury,

protect
de-

he

nounced the virago for her help to de

Bercy and thrust her into an angry mob
that stripped and beat her. The woman,
never recovering from that brutal treat-

ment, lived mad for many years.

Therese was imprisoned in the Cannes.
Through spies Tallien tried to take measures for her safety. At last, to save her
life, he overthrew Robespierre and ended
the Reign of Terror. Telling his story, he
made it all sound simple; the others had
to guess at the bribes, the
prisals,

all

promised

re-

the scheming of those three

while he held prisoners the

anxious days

influential citizens of Paris

and executed

the coup d'etat of Thermidor. Although

he knew that Therese was involved in a
plot for

an

e"migre* invasion,

he married

her later that year.

But choices made

for her sake led to

other choices that he neither expected

nor wanted. Jealous of Captain Belleval,
an officer attentive to Therese while she
was in prison, he arranged to have the
to the rebels of the
captain betrayed
Vendee. When the Emigre's finally land-

ed at Quiberon, all were captured. At

the same time the peasant who had beIn

was taken prisoner.

trayed Belleval
his effort to save the peasant's life Tallien quarreled

with General Hoche over

the disposition of the other prisoners, and

1471

end he was forced to declare them

state and order their exthose who perished was
ecution,

in the

enemies of the

Among

de Bercy, who chose death with

honor rather than accept Tallien's offer

Ren

of escape to England.

When

Tallien returned to Paris and

what had haphaltingly,

pened, she said only that she knew at
.ast what a life was worth. Months later
told

Threse,

Monsieur de Chimay arrived from London with some of de Bercy's keepsakes,

De Chimay was in trade, an associate
of the powerful Thurlow firm and a
friend of Ouvrard, the influential banken
who had become There's lover. Threse saw in the two men a power she
could use to undermine that of her husband.

The
came

shelling

silent.

withdrew

had ended; Tallien behe and de Chimay

When

to transact their business,

the

woman

gave the three Americans a case

containing two pistols and a knife, each

hand holdmoment she drew

decorated with the crest of a

ing a flower. For a

aside her veil

and they saw the face of

Th6rese de Fontenay. The Americans

went out toward the harbor, each marked
a symbol of Tallien's defeat, but
carrying with them also a memory of The"-

by

rise's

beauty.
Years later Robinettc and Apeyahola,
ragged and gaunt, were traveling overland from the Mississippi, Wanted by
the authorities, the commodore because
of an affair of gallantry in Spanish territory and for taking part in the Gutierrez
insurrection,

Apeyahola

for a

murder

in

Georgia, they found carved on a tree the

design of a hand holding a flower, That

marked their trail to Crawford's

trading post in the Indian country. There

crest

they stayed, philanderer, murderer, and

thief. When the time came for them to

name

the village growing

old trading post, each

woman

up around

the

remembered

the

they had seen briefly by candledingy warehouse. So, out of

light in a

and blood of the French

Th^rese de Fontenay gave
her name to a new town on the Amer-

the

turmoil

Revolution,

ican prairie.

THE HARP-WEAVER AND OTHER POEMS

Type

of work: Poetry

Author:

Edna

Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

1922

St.

first published:

Ten years before she was awarded a

Pulitzer prize for The Harp-Weaver and

Other Poems, Edna St. Vincent Millay's

first and best-known poem, "Pienasccnce,"
appeared in The Lyric Year, an anthology
of one hundred poems by as many poets.
The Vassar undergraduate, Vincent Milher family and friends then called
lay, as
her, scored a signal victory in her contribution to the anthology, the freer form
and the liberal spirit of her work standing
out against the stilted Victorian verse and
sentimentality found in most of the selections.

"All
the

first

could see from where I stood,"

line of "Renascence," begins a

poem as regular in meter, rhythm, and

rhyme as those by her romantic predecessors.

But the new hedonism and the

sharp, almost brittle metaphors based on

both land- and seascapes create a quite

The

pain of omniscience,
the poet's burden, is the theme. The
imagery is dazzling in its exalted movement to a sensuous climax in which life
is celebrated through all the senses.
o
"Renascence" was a promise of things
to come, for the
personal lyric was Miss
Millay's forte. Her sonnets and her ballads, held in such beautiful balance in
different effect.

The Harp-Weaver,

are always exact in

craftsmanship, capturing at times the innocence of childhood and the sadness of

lost

ecstasy.

The title poem, "The Ballad of The

Harp-Weaver," appearing at the end of
the second section, brings into an almost
medieval form saddened innocence and
lyric tragedy. Written mostly in the traditional four-line ballad stanza with alternating rhymes, the

varies subtly in
meter and end-stopping to include occasional stanzas with a fifth line and shift-

poem

THE HARP-WEAVER AND OTHER POEMS

feeling.
in the first
person the story of a young
boy of the slums living with his widowed

mother who can do nothing to make a

living and has nothing to sell except "a
harp with a woman's head nobody will
buy." In a

fifth line, "she

begins to cry"
starving boy. This was in the late
by the winter all the furniture had

for the
fall;

been burned and the boy can do no more

than watch his school companions
go by,
for he has no clothes to wear. He is disturbed by his mother's attempts to comhim, to dandle him on her knee
while "a-rock-rock-rockino
O /' and to sing
O
to him "in such a daft
way." The counterpoint of the harp with a woman's head
and "a wind with a wolf's head" suggests
fort

the lingering pain after the

The

first

panic.

however, is remarkmystical event occurs: the mother

final exaltation,

able.

weaves clothes

for the Christ child, just

own boy, and perishes at

the harp, "her hands in the harp strings
frozen dead." This odd juxtaposition of
the size of her

Madonna and

the Magi
o themes with
dance of death demonstrates Miss
Millay's versatility and expertness with
the
the

language.
Part V of the volume, "Sonnets from

an Ungrafted Tree," creates its effect by

quite opposite methods. This sequence

a
woman who 'prosaically
concerns
watches her unloved husbanc die and
then tries to pick up the empty pieces
of her own unloving life. He had befriended her in school, when she would

have accepted anyone, by flashing a mirror in her eyes; after his death she has a
flash of awareness that he had loved her
deeply, though he was in no way remark-

by Edna

mission of Norma Millay Ellis. Published by Harper

St. Vincent Millay. Renewed. All rights reserved.

Edna

ing rhyme schemes.These last lines create

the panic, the
pain, and finally the exaltation of
The narrative tells
deep

&

1473

St. Vincent MHlay. Excerpts reprinted by perBrothers. Copyright, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, by

And where

able in living or in loving. Whatever heat

which _slept and
in this strange
body
*
CJ
^
ate beside her is now gone, the whole

The impact

of

this

death

is

is

and

first

my

heart

and

off

somewhere.

of

friendly query, "Is something the matter,

dear?" An old legend retold in "The

suicide who picked a

before she drowned, a
grasp even in
death after the beautiful.

Pond" presents

part,

lily

Heart, Being Hungry" convolume with the earlier "Renascence." The lean heart feeds on
"beauty where beauty never stood," and
"sweet where no sweet lies," symbolized
by the smell of rain on tansy. She continues the theme of the bitter-sweet, lightdark, the opposites of nature which make

"My

humb .est

care:

lest

in the pleasant emotion of

her dead body found in a
ditch somewhere, an adolescent drama
which is interrupted by her mother's

The extremely

nects this

of the

it's little I

house,

She indulges

emotionally height-

the keynote to the

go,

self pity,

ened by the very real, familiar objects

which express the widow's desolation.
These macabre themes do not go unrelieved in Miss Millay's book. The opening lyric

must

fact

makes of these 238 lines a taut though

in which the unexpressions tic drama
reality of the

this

break,

it

unclassified.

leads

it

But out of

was

experience something like

new

short third section con-

these motifs

tains all

ones,

"Never

and some

May

"He

where
ble

to

Being Hungry"

that

would

hangs," and
can be taken away

Fruit

suggest that

cat of love

it

strange

Be
imagery of "My

Plucked" extends the

Heart,

the

must

eat

it

that nothing
tangiforever. "The Con-

pain, a pain of sensitive awareness of the

tears of
things. Always, however, there is
pure aesthetic pleasure gained from

cert" extends the internal

felt realizations, of

"Hyacinth," however, is something new

and wonderfully strange
I am in love with him to whom a hya-

deep-

monologue

the sewing girl, this time a

from rather than toward

of

new

departure

life

and

love.

rock-maple showing red,

Burrs beneath a tree

dearer
ever be dear.
nights when the field-mice

cinth

Then

she says in "The

spite of the world's negations, the positive things endure. "The
Goose-Girl" summarizes this belief:

even in deepest
Wood Road." In

grief,

Spring rides no horses

But comes on foot,

down

the

so, it

seems

to

And

neighbors cold,

awakening season.

whore
and friends un-

And

Spring on horseback, like a lady!

In

the

between the

poems
goose-girl
lady, the first poern, "Departure/'
both.
The adolescent girl,
reflecting

and the

busy

with her
sewing,

is
pensive, even in despair over half-felt longings
:

It's little I

care

what path

my

the

heart he does

modem

The

refrains suggest

has driven out spring

with its ''Come, move on!" and "No parking here!" The poem ends:
that

Miss Milky

section

at

at

This gnawing at the heart is at least a

real emotion, while in "Spring Song" a
modern nothingness has replaced the re-

me.

steady,

second

narrow teeth

their

are

not hear.

things,

love in laces, like a

hears

bulbs of his hyacinths.

But the gnawing

cursed forevermore

With

divides her

He

hill,

If ever I said, in
grief or pride,
I tired of honest
I lied;

And should be

abroad he cannot sleep

goose-girl still.
all the loveliest
things there be

And
Come simply,

On

is

I shall

life

it's
nothing to me.
can remember, and so can you.

Anyhow,
I

(Though we'd

better

watch out

WeSpring)
shall

or
hardly notice in a year

two.
I take,

You can
1474

for

you-know-who,
When we sit around remembering

get accustomed to anything.

Part IV, the most conventional,

is

made

up of twenty-two unrelated sonnets.

These are rather academic In theme and
tone,

containing as they do echoes of

Elizabeth
Keats.

Barrett

The

first

Browning and John

and last illustrate this

Doint, though there are many sonnets in

Between which ^oint to Miss Millay's

individuality. In trie first she prophetically

reveals the sadness of life after the loss
of a beloved. In the last she celebrates

the glimpse of sheer beauty that was

clid's in the "blinding hour" when he
his vision

Euhad

Of light anatomized. Euclid alone

Has looked on beauty bare. Fortunate
they

Who, though

once only and then but

far away,

Have heard

her massive sandal set on

stone.

The Harp-Weaver
vision unclouded

presents a poet with

by the didacticism which

mars some of her later xvork, for these

poems vibrate with an inner fervor that
needs no relationship to the political or
social scene.

HAVELOK THE DANE

Type

Poem
Unknown

of work:

Author:

Type of plot: Adventure romance

Time of plot: Tenth century
Locale:

England and Denmark

1350

First transcribed: c.

Principal characters:

HAVELOK, a prince
GODARD, his guardian
GOLDEBORU, a princess
GODRICH, her guardian
GRIM, a fisherman
Critique:

Medieval romances in o
general follow a

The

pattern, and Havelok is no exception.

.iero is noble, brave, and
the heroine

pure;

and pure. There is a

convenient supernatural element which
hebs along the plot. Virtue is rewarded

is

noble, beautiful,

anc villainy is punished. Havelok, in

spite
of its adherence to the formula, is one of
the

more

interesting of the

romances

to

reasonably concise and

coherent. Its
spirit of adventure hardly
ever flags, and the
plot is complicated
for

read,

enough

to

it

is

produce some feeling of sus-

to see the
princess.

In Denmark,
King Birkabeyn lay near
He had reigned long and wisely,
but he was
leaving his son^Havclok and
death.

two

Story:

Athelwold was a good

Icing.

No

one

hundred pounds of
gold in a sack. Athelwold's
only heir was a young daughter,
a

baby.

Athelwold knew that his death

was upon him, he
prayed for guidance and
men summoned his earls and barons to

Ms

side. There was loud

lamenting at the
approaching end of their honored king.
But Athelwold's chief concern was
for his

daughter's care. It was decided that

Godrich, Earl of Cornwall, would be the

most

trustworthy to bring up the princess.

a great oath to
safeguard
the infant Goldeboni and
to hold

Godnch swore

lands in trust until she could

her

reign.

protecfriend,

Godard, a rich man who was the most

respected noble in the kingdom. Godard
swore a great oath to
guard the children
well and to see that Havelok

when he became

inheritance

came into his

a man. After

being shriven, Birkabeyn died content.

Godard was

On

also a false-hearted traitor.

the seashore

of the

two tiny

The

lok.

When

daughters without
thought of his faithful

little

He

tion.

dared offer him a bribe, and

throughout
all
England people were at peace. He was
a particular
guardian to widows, children,
and innocent maidens. A
messenger might
go peacefully from town to town with a

still

Dover and placed her in a remote castle.

To guard the entrance he set his most
trusted thanes with orders to let no one in

his

pense.

The

But Godrich watched

the
growing girl
with envious eyes. She was fair to look
upon, and Godrich could not bear to think
of the day when she would be his sovereign. Acting then the part of a traitor, he
took her
secretly from Winchester to

boy,

he cruelly

girls and
terrified

slit

the throats

then seized Haveat what he had

been forced

to witness,
begged for mercy.
Instead of
killing Havelok straightway,
Godard called for Grim, a fisherman, and

commanded him to bind the prince and

cast him into the sea with an anchor
around his neck. Anxious to
please his
lord,

Grim

tightly.

for

seized the

Then he

boy and bound him

took

him home

to wait

night.

As Havelok dozed on the rude bed in

the fisherman's hut, a
great light shone

from his mouth. Grim's wife was

1476

fright-

ened and called her husband. Grim, awed,

freed Havelok from his bonds. Bundling

and Havelok

his wife, his five children,

aboard his fishing boat, he set sail for

went up the Humber
England. The group
to land in a likely cove. Since then the

been called Grimsby.

For twelve years Havelok grew rapidly.
He was an active boy and a prodigious

place has

Luckily, Grim was a good fisherman, and he could trade his catches at
the market in Lincoln. Corn and meat
could be bought there, and ropes for the
eater.

nets.

Havelok,

labors

was

who helped Grim

in

all his

at

peddling fish.
the north of
England. The crops withered and the fish
fled English shores. Day after day Grim's
family became poorer. Havelok, touched
especially

good

A great famine came upon

by the suffering of his

foster family, re-

solved to seek his fortune

in Lincoln.

Although he could ill spare it, Grim cut a

cloak from new sailcloth for Havelok and
wished him well. The prince set out for
town with his new cloak, but he had
neither shoes nor hose.
In the town Havelok starved for three
days. No one would hire him and he could
find no food. At length he heard a cry for
porters. Looking quickly around, he saw
the earl's cook with a catch of fish to carry.
In his eagerness Havelok knocked down
eight or nine other porters to get to the
first.
Strong as a bull, the youth car-

cook

ried the fish to the castle.

The

next day

the cook cried again for a

porter, and this
time Havelok carried a huge load of meat.
In the castleyard the cook greatly ad-

mired the strong fellow. He gave Havelok

bread and meat, as much as he could hold,

and engaged him as a steady helper. Eating regularly and working hard, Havelok
became widely known for his strength.

On

a certain feast day the retainers held

contest.
group of men

a stone-putting

huge one man could

Havelok easily heaved it

brought in a stone so
barely

lift

many

yards.

it.

Godrich, hearing of HaveloFs fame,

decided to use the youth in his scheme to
gain control of the kingdom. Thinking

him only

a churl,

Godrich had Goldeboru

brought from Dover and ordered Havelok

to
marry her. Both young people objected,
but Godrich had his way.

Havelok took

his
sorrowing bride back
Grim's cottage. That night the
groom
slept soundly but the bride stayed wakeful
to

from shame at being mated to a churL All

once a light issued from Havelok's
mouth and a voice told Goldeboru of her
husband's birth and destiny.
Awaking
Havelok, she advised him to go at once to
at

Denmark

to claim his throne.

In the
morning Havelok persuaded the
three Grim brothers to
go with him on the

Denmark. Arriving in that land,

impoverished group met Ubbe, a
noble who bought a ring from Havelok.
Ubbe, greatly taken with Havelok and his
trip to

the

beautiful bride, offered them a

cottage for
the night. The couple accepted

and soon were asleep

after

gratefully,
their long

voyage.
In the night a band of robbers tried to
break in after overpowering the guard set

When Havelok awoke, he set

about him valiantly. He seized the door
bar and slew robbers right and left. This
by Ubbe.

won him more admiration. Ubbe assigned the young couple to a rich bower
for the rest of the
night. When Ubbe stole
in for a look at his
guests, he was astonished to see a light streaming from Havefeat

mouth and a
By these

marked on his
he knew that
Havelok was Birkabeyn's son and heir to
the Danish throne.
lok's

shoulder.

cross

signs

all the barons of Denmark toUbbe dubbed Havelok a knight

and proclaimed him king. The assembled

Calling

gether,

nobles passed judgment on Godard, the

traitor, who was brought before Havelok,
flayed, and hanged on a gallows with a
great nail through his feet.
master of Denmark,

Now

Havelok

with a strong force to England to

seize that kingdom from Godrich. The
battle was joined near Lincoln. Although
Godrich fought valiantly and wounded
sailed

Ubbe, he was

wrathful Danes.

1477

finally captured by the

The false Earl of Corn-

wall,

bound hand and

foot, \vas

before Havelok for judgment.

brought
Godrich

was put upon an ass and taken Into Lincoln, where his crime was proclaimed.
Then he was taken to a nearby green and
burned to death.
Havelok married one of Giim's daugh-

ters to the cook who had befriended him

and made the man Earl of Cornwall.
Grirn's other daughter was married to the
Earl of Chester. As for Havelok and

Goldcboru, they lived together long and

ruled wisely. Their union was blessed

with fifteen children.

A HAZARD OF NEW FORTUNES

Type of work: Novel
Author: William Dean Howells (1837-1920)
of manners
Type of plot: Novel
Time of plot: The 1880's
Locale: New York City
1 890
First
published:

Principal characters:

BASIL MARCH, editor of a

literary

magazine

MR. FULKERSON, sponsor for the magazine

CONRAD DRYFOOS, publisher of the magazine
MR. DRYFOOS, Conrad's father, a newly rich millionaire

HENRY LINDAU,

a socialist

Critique:

Although the structure of this novel is

lovers of
unwieldy and complex, many
Howells' fiction consider it their favorite,
of the author's deft charperhaps because
acterization of a number of varied per-

that March take

years before, proposed
over the editorship of a new literary magazine that he was promoting. March at
first

demurred

at

Fulkerson's proposal,

sonalities,

but the promoter, certain that March had

the necessary taste and tact to be suc-

in a

cessful,

more than one usually finds

Howells novel. Howells, like Basil
March in the novel, moved to New York
of
City after a residence

New

many

England, and this novel

is

years in
the result

move and the new experiences

brought to Howells, both as a person
and as a novelist. In A Hazard of New
Fortunes, perhaps more than anywhere
of that
it

else in

Howells' fiction, the author's

dissatisfaction
terest

own

with America and his inimprovement are to be

in social

found. In the preface to a later edition

of the book, Flowells expressed the belief that he had written it when he was
the apex of his powers as a novelist.

at

The

literary career.

firm,

place

his

employers decided to

him and put him

into a

re-

somewhat

meaningless position. Rather than be so

embarrassed, March resigned. Fortunate-

his family's future, Mr.

Fulkerson, a promoter of syndicated newspaper material, who had met the Marches
ly for

Mrs. March and their children had

lived in Boston, and so

prospect of moving to

ways

when

al-

the

New York City

it meant a career
appeared, even though
for the husband and father, they needed
considerable

persuasion. At
that the removal
last

Mrs.

March was convinced

was imperative. She

and her husband went to New York to
find a flat in which they could make

to the larger city

themselves comfortable. After many days

of searching, Mrs. March returned to
Boston, leaving her husband to make a
decision about the editorship. He did

March had wished

Family responsibilities turned him, however, to the insurance business, a field in which he proved
to himself and his employers that he was
but mediocre. After eighteen years with
his

persuaded him to take

so a short time later.

Story:

In his youth Basil

for a

finally

the position.

him and

March's problems in connection with

did not prove as difficult as he had

staff

the promoter, had

imagined. Fulkerson,
artist, Angus Beaton, to serve

engaged an

as art director, procured a cover sketch

for the first issue, and made all the finan-

cial arrangements with the magazine's

backer, Mr. Dryfoos, who had recently
made a fortune for himself through the

control of natural gas holdings. Mr, Dry-

who was trying to win his son away

from a career as a minister, had undertaken to finance the magazine in order

foos,

1479

to give his son Conrad a chance to enter

business as the ostensible publisher of

refusing to do any more work for the

capitalistic owner of the

Foreign articles and reviews were to be handled by an old Ger-

later

man

who

Another

the periodical.
socialist,

Henry Lindau, who had

been March's tutor and whom the younger man had met accidentally in New
York.

Despite March's fear and lack of confidence, the new magazine, Every Other

from the very first

both the illustrations and the ma-

Week, was
issue;
terial

a success

caught the public fancy.

On

the

periphery of the activities concerning the

however, there were many

magazine,

complications.

The Dryfoos

had been simple farm

folk,

family,

wanted

who

to

be

taken into society; at least the two

daughters

wanted

to enter

In addition,

society.

Christine, the older daughter, fell in

love with the ait editor, who was not in
love with her. Fulkerson, the

had

promoter,

He was busy paysouthern girl who boarded

also fallen in love,

ing court to a
at the same house he did, and the
girl's
father, a Virginia colonel, was after Fulkerson to have the
at least

magazine print
a portion of his
great work extolling the
merits of

slavery.

Because the magazine had been a success, Fulkerson suggested that for
publicity purposes they should give a dinner

crisis

when

magazine.
occurred a short time

Mr. Dryfoos and his

son,
hated being a businessman
rather

than a minister, had an

open clash

The

wills.

became

situation

of

so acute that

the father,
calling one day when his son
Ac office, struck the
youno
man in the face. Outside the

was alone in

office, the

had trouble with his dauohChristine, for he had forbidden his

father also
ter,

house to the art editor of the

magazine,
with whom she was in love.

At

was a streetcar strike

York City. Young Conrad
Drywas very much in
sympathy with
that time there

New

in

foos

the strikers,

of whom he knew as
church work
among the

many

a result of his

poor and sick of the city. At the instigation of a young woman whom he
loved, he went out upon the streets to
try to
strikers

bring peace among the rioting

and the police. He saw Mr. Lin^

dau, the aged, one-armed socialist,

being
beaten by a policeman; when he ran to

he was struck
by a stray
and was killed.
Mr. Dryfoos was heartbroken at

interfere,
let

bul-

the
of his son,
particularly because he
felt that he had mistreated the
young

loss

Mr. Dryfoos, who was asked to

pay the bill for the proposed affair, vetoed
the idea, but he
agreed to have a small

When he learned that his son had

died trying to save Mr. Lindau from the
policeman's club, he decided to accept
the old man as a friend and to take care
of him for the rest of his life. The deci-

Henry Lindau,

late, however, for the old

died as a result of the
beating he
had received. In a last effort to show his

members

party for

of the staff

and the

press.

dinner party at his home for several of

the men connected with the
magazine.
Among the guests was

who had

struck the millionaire's

fancy
lost a hand
fighting in the
Civil War.
Dryfoos did not realize that

because he had

Mr. Lindau, who was

doing the foreian
language work for the magazine, was^a
socialist. At the dinner
party the personalities and the
of the men
clashed

lionaire

the old

principles

openly. The next day the miltold Basil March

bluntly that

man was

to

be

fired.

wished to stick
by the old German
ist, but Mr. Lindau forced
the

March
social-

issue

by

man.

sion

came too

man

change of heart, Mr. Dryfoos had Mr.

Lindau's funeral conducted in his own
home.
^

wishing to try to make his family

happy, Mr. Dryfoos then swallowed his
to see
pride and went
Beaton, the
_
Angus
(U
Still

artist.

Confessing that he was sorry to

have caused the
young people unhappi-

ness,
calls

he invited Beaton
on Christine. The

tually pocketed his

in spite of her love for

1480

to

resume

his

young man evenpride and called, but

him

Christine

re-

jected

his suit forcibly

and scratched his

face.

Mr. Dryfoos resolved

and daughters to EuBefore he left, he went to tlw
rope.
where everyone
offices of the magazine,
the fate of the
what
been
had
wondering
would be and whether Conpublication
his
rad Dryfoos' death had destroyed
Mr.
father's interest in the periodical.

to

few days

later,

take his wife

consented to sell
Dryfoos magnanimously
to Fulkcrson and March at
the
periodical

low figure and with very low interest

on the money they needed in order to
it. Both March and Fulkerson

purchase

were extremely happy about the turn of

events. March saw his future secure at
last, and he also saw that he would have
a free hand in shaping the editorial policy.
Fulkerson was happy because he too foresaw a prosperous future. As the result of

he was able to marry

down.
Some months afterward they learned
that the Dryfoos family had been taken

his expectations,

and

settle

at least a portion of
Christine Dryfoos had
engaged to a penniless but

up promptly by
Parisian society.

even become
proud French nobleman.

HEADLONG HALL
Type

of work:

Novel

Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866)

Type of 'plot: Comedy of manners
Time of plot: Early nineteenth century

Author:

Locale:

Wales

First published:

1816
Principal characters:

SQUIRE HEADLONG, the host

MR. FOSTER, the optimist
MR. ESCOT, the pessimist
MR. JENKISON, champion of the

status

quo

Critique:

Headlong Hall

is

a novel of talk,

nineteenth century. There

plot
fact,

on the pseudo-philosophers of the

satire

is

virtually

no

and no character development. In

the characters seem to be merely

Foster

saw

as

improvement, Escot saw

and evil which
would soon reduce the whole human race
to wretchedness and
slavery. The third
man of the trio was Mr, Jcnkison, who
as evidences of
corruption

assigned to them by the author. But beneath the surface there is always keen

took a position
exactly in the middle. He
believed that the amount of
improvement
and deterioration balanced each other

awareness of the ridiculous in

perfectly

abstract personages uttering pat phrases

human

be-

by a writer
who was intellectual' y wise enough to be
havior, dramatically -presented

tolerant of society's weaknesses.

The

Story:

Squire Harry Headlong differed from

the usual Welsh squire in that he,
by

some means

or other, had become interested in books, in addition to the common interests of hunting, racing, and

drinking.

He had

and then

to

journeyed to Oxford
London in order to find the
philosophers and men of refined tastes
introduced to him in the world of literature.

Having rounded up a group of inhe invited them to

Headlong

tellectuals,

Hall for the Christmas

holidays.
Three of the men formed the nucleus
of his house
party. The first was Mr.
Foster,

an

optimist.

To him

was working toward a state

and each advancement in

everything

of perfection,

technology, in

government, or in sociology was

the good.

He

all

for

believed that man would

ultimately achieve perfection as a result
of his
progress. Mr. Escot, on the other

hand, saw nothing but deterioration in

the world. The advances which
Mr.

and that good and evil would

remain forever in status quo.
These philosophers, with a large company of other dilettantes, descended upon

Headlong Hall. Among the lesser guests

was a landscape gardener who made it
his sole

duty to persuade the squire to

have his estate changed from a wild
tangle of trees and shrubs into a shaved
and polished bed of green grass. Mr.
Foster thought the
grounds could be improved; Mr. Escot thought any change
would be for the worse, and Mr. Jenkison
thought the scenery perfect as it was.
There were ladies present, both young
and old, but they did not join in the
philosophical

discussions.

Many

of the

occurred after the ladies had left

the dinner table and as the wine was
talks

being liberally poured, for Squire Headlong was aware that the mellowness pro-

duced by good burgundy was an incentive

to conversation.

ous turns,

all

The

of

discussions took vari-

them dominated by

the

diametrically opposed views of Foster and

Escot and soothed by the healing words
of Jenkison, Escot

harped constantly upon

happiness and moral virtue possessed
by the savages of the past, virtue which
the

1482

lessened with each encroachment of civAs the savage began to build

ilization.

villages

and

cities

he began also
oppression,

and

to

develop luxuries,

to suffer disease,

and

loss

of

poverty,

morality.

With

Foster could not agree. He

the achievements of civilization in fields other than those of a materialistic nature. Shakespeare and Milton,
thesis

this

pointed

to

have achieved their

example, could not
in the primitive life Escot apgenius
to concede an
plauded. Escot, refusing
inch, pointed to Milton's suffering, statalso that even if one man did profit

for

ing

from the so-called advancements,

men regressed because of them.

fifty

Mr.

the subject left someJenkison agreed that

either side.
thing to be said on
Between these learned discussions the
spent their time In attempts

gentlemen

Escot had once

been the suitor of one of the guests, but
he had offended her father during an
intellectual discussion and had fallen out
to

fascinate the ladies.

attempted now to regain his

former place in her affection by humoring

of favor.

He

the father.

the

pite,

During these periods of

guests

also

entertained

squire,

invited the

some of their differences. Escot,

although he disapproved of any but abodanced often with the
riginal dances,
forgot

Foster,

of

course,

would be no one to carry on the name

that had been honored for many centuries. As his name
implied, the squire was
not one to toy with an idea once it had
entered his mind. Fixing on the lady
of his choice in a matter of minutes, he
proposed and was accepted. Then he ar-

ranged three other matches in an equally

short time. Foster and Escot were aided
in choosing brides and in getting permisfrom the father of Escot's beloved.

sion

Foster's bride, related to the squire, presented no obstacle. Seizing on another

man, the squire told him of the plan and

promptly chose a bride for that hapless
individual.

Within

a matter of days the

took place.

Then

weddings

the guests dispersed,

promising to gather again in August.

and Escot tried to the last to convince each other and the rest that only
one philosophy was the true one, but
Mr. Jenkison was not to fall into either
of their traps. He would join them again
in August, still convinced that there was
merit in both their arguments. Neither
was right or wrong, but each balanced
the other, leaving the world in its usual
Foster

be his guests. At the ball the wine flowed

even Foster and Escot
freely, so that

choice.

long was reminded by a maiden relative

that should he not marry soon there

after

planning a magnificent
whole neighborhood to

his

proved morality of man. Jenkison could

see points both for and against the custom. During the evening Squire Head-

res-

had composed.

The

of

thought the modem dance the utmost in

refinement and an expression of the im-

one

another with singing and recitations, the

selections being those they themselves

ball,

lady

status quo.

THE HEART
Type of work: Novel

Author. Carson McCulJers (1917-

Type
Time

of

'plot:

Psychological
The 1950's

of plot;
Locale: A Georgia mill
First published:

IS

A LONELY HUNTER

realism

town

1940
Principal characters
MR. SINGER, a mute
1

MICK KELLY, an

adolescent girl

BIFF BRANNON, a cafe proprietor

JAKE BLOUNT, a frustrated, idealistic workingman
DR. COPELAND, a Negro physician
Critique:

To

read

The Heart

Is

a Lonely

He took all his meals at the New York

Cafe owned by Biff Brannon. Biff was a
stolid man with a weakness for
cripples

Hunter

as a novel of social criticism is to misin-

terpret

the subtle yet precise art of CarHer true theme in this

and

son McCullers.

remarkable

first

novel

is

that

sense of

isolation,

loneliness

ences of

Mick

Kelly, Biff

give.

Mr. Singer was

however, that the
mute could understand him.
Mr. Singer had taken a room at the

had slept
a mute.

sense of separation from the social comis

one

lives

most

were two mutes, one a grossly fat Greek,

the other a tall, immaculate man named
Mr. Singer. They had no friends, and
they lived together for ten years. After
a
lingering sickness the Greek became a

changed man.

asydesolate.

friends. Planning a dance, she invited

was
only high school students. The Kouse
decorated with tinsel. Mick borrowed an

S A L OT
L HTJNTER by Carson McCullers. By permission
io7iVV
c >T
by Carson Smith McCullers.

u, 1940,

where the daugh-

and would go anywhere to hear it. Some

in town
nights she went to a big house
where she could hear symphonic music
through the open windows while she
crouched in the shrubbery. At home no
one realized what she wanted, until Mr.
talk to
Singer moved there and let her
him when she was lonely.
Mick decided, after entering Vocational School, that she had to have some

Tlie Story:
In a small town in the South there

lum. After that Mr.

Singer was

felt,

ter

significance.

When he began to be obscene in public, the cousin for whom he

worked sent him to the state insane

still

Mick, just entering her teens, was a

a
gangly girl, always dressed in shorts,
shirt, and tennis shoes. She loved music

dis-

tinguished among our younger novelists,

a writer whose fiction has both substance

and

that Jake realized

He

Kellys* boarding-house,

incomplete.

of the

Jake Blount, a
powerful arms,

One night Mr. Singer took Jake

home with him. It was not until after he

Brnnnon, Jake

cause his physical infirmity seems to set

him apart in the same way that their own
their

long,

Singer eating at the cafe", Jake decided

that he was the only person who could
understand the message he was trying to

Blount, and Dr. Copeland. These people

are drawn to Mr. Singer, the mute, be-

munity makes
Mrs. McCullers

When

came to town, he went on a week-long

drunk at Biff's expense. Biff had to find
out what bothered Jake. Finding Mr.

expressed in terms of
and longing, which is both the
social evil of the modern world and the
inescapable condition of man. Four different but related stories illuminate Mrs.
McCullers' theme through the experi-

moral

sick people.
man with,

squat

1484

of the author.

Copy

evening dress and high-heeled shoes from

one of her sisters.

On

by a looped rope. Willie lost both

from gangrene. Dr. Copeland,

the night of the party a throng of

and separated into noisy

see the
judge about the case,

groups.

When Mick handed

boys went

to

out the

one

prom

side of the

room, the girls to the other. Silence descended. No one knew how to start
A boy finally asked Mick to prom
things.

with him. Outside the house all the

children had ^*
gathered.
neighborhood
O

the doctor too sick.

While Mick and Harry walked around

There

neighborhood children
the
party. By the time Mick got
joined
back, the decorations were torn, the rethe

block,

the

Singer's

the party was bedlam. Everyone congreto run races and jump
gated on the street
ditches, the party goers forgetful of their
state.

off the party after

breathless
easily in

Portia

on

Mick

she had been knocked

she could have made

Singer

After

wife

his

considered

Mick

pitiful,

Mr.

Jake

Dr. Copeland noble, and Biff

thoughtful; but they were always wel-

was Dr. Copeland, the only colored

He was an idealistic man
who had always worked hard to raise the

crazy,

come

to his

On

Negro people. One dark

night Mr. Singer had stepped up and
helped him light a cigarette in the rain.
It was the first time a white man had ever
offered him help or smiled at him. When
standards of the

room.

his vacation

see his

Greek

Mr. Singer went

friend.

He

unintentionally insulted

Dr. Copeland twice, but he was one of

the first to talk about doing something
for Willie, Dr.
Copeland's son.

Willie had been sentenced to hard

man. At the prison

camp he and two others tried to run

away. They were put in a cold shack for
three days with their bare feet hoisted up

to

took beautiful

presents along with him, but the

was petulant over anything but

he told Portia about a deaf-mute boy patient of his, she assured him that Mr.
Singer would help him.
Jake, who had found a job with a flying-jenny show, tried to rouse the workers. He
spent each Sunday with Mr. Singer, explaining that he had first wanted
to be an
evangelist until he had been
made aware of the inequality in the

labor for knifing a

Biff.

visited at the Kelly boarding-house.

fa-

doctor in town.

He had

Mr.

in

Mick. She

attracted

he watched Mick begin to grow up,

but he seldom spoke to her. He was
equally quiet with Mr. Singer when he

ther

world.

peacefulness

died,

jump

Her

that

She fascinated

finally called

her tennis shoes.

worked for the Kelly s.

was
face

followed him whenever she could. He

bought a radio which he kept in his room
for her to listen to. Those were hours
of deep
enjoyment for her. She felt that
she had music in her that she would
have to learn to write down.

freshments gone, and the invited and the

uninvited guests mixed up so bndlv that

nearly-grown-up

was severely

beaten up by a white crowd around the

court house and put in
jail. Mr. Singer
and Portia obtained his release on bail,
and Jake went with Mr.
Singer to Dr.
Copeland's house. There he argued the
ethics of the case with the doctor all
night, Jake too hysterical to be logical,

children arrived
cards, the

feet

trying to

Greek
food.

Mr. Singer take his hands

out of his pockets; then he wore himself
out trying to tell the Greek with his
hands everything he had seen and
thought since the Greek went away. Although the Greek showed no interest,
Mr. Singer tried even harder to entertain
him. When he left, the Greek was still

Only

there did

impassive.

was the only steady

on.
Kelly s could depend
When one sister got sick, the loss of her
whole family in a quansalary threw the
that a job was opening
heard
Mick
dary.

Mr.

money

Singer's board

the

at the five-and-ten-cent store.

The

family

in conclave decided she was too young

to work. The fact that for the first time

were talking about her welfare

prompted her to apply for the job. She

they

1485

got
for

it,

tired
but each night she was too

hut sleep.
anything
to go
was again time for Mr. Singer

It

Laden down with

to see his Greek friend.
he made the long trip, When
presents,

the clerk
he reached the asylum office,
dead. Stricken,
told him the Greek was
left
he found his way back to the town,

went

to his

his luggage at the station,

a bullet through his chest.
room, and

put

Mr.

Singer's

death left his four friends

confused. Dr. Copeland,

ed over it.

still

sick,

brood-

in a free-for-all at
Jake Blount joined

the flying-jenny grounds and, after hearing that the police were looking for him,
left

town.

Mick did not

after the funeral.

sleep well for weeks

All that she had left

was Mr. Singer's radio. She felt cheated

because there was no time, no money, no
feeling

anymore

for music, but she could

who had cheated her.

who had watched Mr. Singer

never decide

And

Biff,

with Jake and Mick, was

over the relationships

wondered whether,

lie

still

had

puzzling

studied.

He

in the struggle of hu-

be the answer.
manity, love might

HEART OF DARKNESS
Type of work: Short story
Author: Joseph Conrad (Teodor Jozef Konrad Korzeniowsld, 1857-1924)
Type
Time

Symbolic romance

of plot:

of plot: Late nineteenth century

Locale: The Belgian Congo
First published:

1902

Principal characters:
MARLOW, the narrator

MR. KURTZ, manager

of the

THE

DISTRICT MANAGER
A RUSSIAN TRAVELER
KURTZ'S FIANCEE

Inner Station,
Belgian Congo

Critique:

In one sense, Heart of Darkness is a

compelling adventure tale of a journey
the blackest heart of the

into

The

Belgian
o

story presents attacks by the

natives, descriptions of the jungle and the

Congo.

river,

and characterizations of white

men

who, sometimes with ideals and sometimes simply for profit, invade the jungles
to bring out ivory. But the journey into
the heart of the

also a symbolic
into
the
blackness
central to the
journey
heart and soul of man, a journey deep into

Congo

is

and

lust.

primeval passion, superstition,

Those who, like the district manager, undertake this journey simply to rob the
natives of ivory, without any awareness
of the importance of the central darkness,

can survive. Similarly, Marlow, who is

only an observer, never centrally involved, can survive to tell the tale. But
those who, like Mr. Kurtz, are aware of
the darkness, who
hope with conscious

and a humane concern

intelligence

mankind

for

bring light into the darkness, are doomed, are themselves swallowed up by the darkness and evil they
all

had hoped
to

make

to

to penetrate.

his point,

evil at the

Conrad manages

a realization of the

center of

human

experience,

without ever breaking the closely knit

pattern of his narrative or losing the compelling atmospheric and psychological
force of the tale. The wealth of natural

symbols, the clear development of char-

HEART OF DARKNESS
rad; of J.

day

&

M. Dent & Sons,

Co., Inc.

acter,

and the sheer

make

story

this

fascination of the

short story that has

been frequently praised and frequently

read ever since its publication in 1902.

Heart of Darkness

is,

in both style

and

insight, a masterful short story.

The

Story:

group of men were sitting on the

deck of the cruising yawl, The Nellie,
anchored one calm evening in the

Thames

estuary.

Marlow,

began

Thames

area

had

One

of

the

seamen,

that
the
reflecting
been, at the time of the

invading Romans, one of the dark and

barbarous areas of the earth. Dwelling on
this

theme, he then began

to tell a story

the blackest, most barbarous area of

the earth that he had experienced.
Through his aunt's connections, Marlow had once secured a billet as commander of a river steamer for one of the

trading companies with interests in the

Belgian Congo.

gium

to

learn

When he went
more about the

found that few of the

company expected him

officials

to

to

job,

Bel-

he

of the

return alive.

he also heard of the distinguished Mr. Kurtz, the powerful and

who was educating the
intelligent man
natives and at the same time sending

In

Brussels

back record shipments of

ivory.

The

mysterious figure of Mr. Kurtz

fascinated Marlow. In spite of the omi-

By permission of the Trustees of the Estate of Joseph ConLtd.; and of the publishers, Doubleday & Co., Inc. Copyright, 1903, by Doublerights reserved.

by Joseph Conrad.

Renewed. All

1487

nous hints that he gathered from various

more and
company officials, he became 11more curious ahout what awaited him in

they

'

"

as

his

the

low;

Kurtz's station, natives attacked the vessel

with spears and arrows. Marlow's helms-

he

journey,
Congo, During
African coast, he repassed along the
flected that the wilderness and the unknown seemed to seep right out to the

Many

sea.

the

tions

of the trading posts

and

man, a

dow

when he

killed

leaned from

to fire at the
savages.

finally

district

manager was sure that Kurtz had

over

control

at the

the

blacks.

the sound

The

frightened the natives away,

by

his win-

Marlow

blew the steamboat whistle and

sta-

were dilapidated
ship passed
barbaric, Finally, Marlow ar-

government

was

faithful native,

long spear

and looked

rived at the seat of the

there were
frequent fogs. Just as
arrived within a few miles of

When

lost

they

mouth

of the river. Again, he heard of

the great distinction and power of Mr.

docked, they met an enthusiastic Russian

traveler who told them that Kurtz was

Kurtz

who had, because of his plans to

the natives and his success in
enlighten
o
enormous
gaining their confidence, an
Marlow also saw natives

gravely

reputation.
working in the hot

sun until they

Kurtz attended native

district

killed

that

man

steamer, thinking that, if they did so,

the white men would run away and leave

the natives, was interested only in

getting
out of the country; he felt that Mr.

to die among his fellow savages in

the wilderness. Talking to Marlow, Kurtz
showed his awareness of how uncivilized

Kurtz

new methods were ruining the

whole district. The district manager re-

Kurtz's

had not heard from

Kurtz for quite some time, but had received
disquieting rumors about his be-

ported also that he

he had become,

how

cate the natives

had been

gave

Marlow

his plans to edureversed. He

a packet of letters for his

Belgium and the manuscript of

an article, written sometime earlier, in
which he urged efforts to educate the

fiancee in

ill.

Although he was handicapped by a

Marlow spent months supervising repairs to the antiquated river

steamer. He also overheard a conversa-

lack of rivets,

which revealed that the

ager was Kurtz's implacable

tion

district

natives,

The

man-

Kurtz,

enemy, who
hoped that the climate would do away
rival.

The

steamer was finally ready for use,

and Marlow, along with the district rnanager, sailed to visit Kurtz at the inner
station far up the river. The
was
difficult

had

had, indeed, been corrupted by

the evil at the center of experience. Marlow learned, from the Russian, that Kurtz
had ordered the natives to attack the

the

manager, unconcerned with the fate of

with his

rituals,

Marlow met Kurtz and found

Later

had sunk a
few days earlier, He met the district manager, a man whose only ability seemed to

ing

visited

that the

frequently in order to get ivory, and had

hung heads as decorations outside his hut.

find that the river steamer

The

Marlow

instead of his changing them, they had

debased him into an atavistic savage.

the expedition left for the district station.

Marlow arrived at the district station to

survive.

manager

man had become corrupted by the

very natives he had hoped to enlighten.
He still had power over the natives, but

he reached the district manager's station,

two hundred miles up the river. At last

to

district

sick

col-

wait for

ability

the

Kurtz, the Russian told

lapsed and died, Marlow had to

ten impatient days at the government site
because his work would not begin until

be the

ill.

While

and

journey

perilous; the water

was

shal-

district

now

a stretcher,

to

took

the river

him back home. The disthat the area was

contended
manager

steamer
trict

manager and Marlow

now on
to take

ruined for collecting ivory. Kurtz,

that
despair and the realization
devouring evil was at the heart of everyternthing, died while the steamer was

full of

por arily stopped for repairs,

Marlow returned to civilization and,

1488

went to Belgium to see

She still thought of
the splendid and powerful man

about a year later,

fiancee.

Kurtz's

Kurtz as

who had
and she
power.

*one to Africa with a mission,

believed in his goodness and

still

When

Kurtz's last

Marlow what
words had been, Marlow lied
she asked

and

told her that

Kurtz had asked for her

the end. In reality, Kurtz, who had

seen all experience, had in his final words

at

testified to the horror of

it all.

was not something, Marlow

This horror

felt,

ilized ladies could, or should,

that civ-

understand.

T\ p*

''*f

Sn

/tuf!;*Fi;

W.iltrt

Tvfv

nj j'!t{;

tur

<| ffof;

"1
!

IIL ART

OF MIDLOTHIAN

Smtt

!HU)

17*:!

Iisfuju'.d tutu.uu'e

I'.nlv

S nll.uid

th'ktlt",

Ul<,

Xovrl,

u*t 'fie;

eighteenth mitury

18 IK

-J:

)AVII>

)r

ANS a tl,iirym;m

ANU HfANS, 1m

Hri'u,

>I'ANS,

d.lH^ht*

another d.m
i

Kruiu'N HUTUUI, Jeanie's betrothed

(iiouwr, HOIU;HTSON,
MM; MuniMX'K'soN, an

Tim DUKE OF

Kilie'.s

evil

betrayer, in reality

AHCYU-I, Jennie's benefactor

The

story of Jeanie Deans and her

effort to save her sister's life is

great

George Stauntos*

xvomnn

save her

one

sister's life.

whom

to

Since there was no

told her terrible

had

Effie

supposedly basal on fact I 'act or (iction,

it
is an
exciting story, told as only Sir
Walter Scott coukl tell it. The Heart of
Midlothian is filled with suspense,

secret, there

mystery,

Captain John Porteous,

and romance, and there is a

happy ending. Many consider this Scott's

was in trouble came

few moments before officers of

company

justice arrived at the cottage to arrest

Effie for child murder. They told Jeanie
and her father, David Deans, that Effie

had recovered

who

killing

to

to the

crowd without provocation,

was to be
people, he

several

But when his execution was

few weeks, a rnob headed by
Robertson, disguised as a woman, broke
stayed for a

name

into

to find

attended her had

murder and sentenced

had been sent

hanged.

disposed of the child in some fashion

unknown to Effie. In the face of the
evidence, however, she was convicted of
child

of soldiers

fired into the

her seducer. She denied that she had

killed her baby, saying that she had fallen
into a stupor and
that the midwife

awaiting

scene of the execution to guard against a

had
possible rescue. Because Porteous

had borne a male child illegitimately and

had killed him or caused him to be killed
soon after he was born, Effie admitted
the birth of the child but refused to

who was

Robertson, had escaped, and the officers

feared that Robertson might try to rescue
Wilson. For that reason, Porteous and a

Jeanie Deans had

that her sister Eifie

just

for her, and

execution for firing into the crowd attending the hanging of Andrew Wilson, a
smuggler. Wilson's accomplice, Geordie

greatest novel.

The Story:
The first knowledge

was no defense

she was placed in the Tolbooth prison to

await execution.
Another prisoner in the Tolbooth was

be hanged.

Jeanie might have saved her sister, for it

was the law that if a prospective mother
had told anyone of her condition she

would not be responsible for her baby's

death. But Jeanie would not lie, even to

the

prison,

seized

Porteous,

and

hanged him. For that deed Robertson

became a hunted man.
Meanwhile Jeanie Deans, who had refused to lie to save her sister, had not forsaken Erne.

When

she visited Effie in

was
prison, she learned that Robertson
had left her
the father of her child.

He

Murdockson, considered by many to be a witch, and it

must have been Meg who had killed or

in the care of old

Meg

sold the baby. Meg's daughter Madge

had long before been seduced by Robert-

1490

George promised not to leave his father's

house until Effie was free,
Jeanie at last readied London and

of
and had lost her mind for love
on
sworn
any
revenge
him and Meg had
But

son

Robertson might love

old woman's guilt or Effie s
the
proving
for Robertinnocence was not possible,
and Meg swore that
son had disappeared,
had seen Effie coming back from the

other

woman

sented herself to the

drowning the baby.

determined

Jeanie,

to save

her

misfortune,

sister,

and through her

London
and queen. She told
pardon from the king
a minister
her plans to Reuben Butler,
betrothed.
been
had
long
to whom she
Reuben had not been able to marry her,
other than that
for he had no position
and his salary
of an assistant schoolmaster
was too small to support a wife. Although
was able
he objected to Jeanie's plan, he
could
she
that
saw
he
to aid her when

perimental

decided

to

be

not

walk

to

from

swayed

her

three nights after her release

from prison.
one knew where they were, as the
outlaw's life was in constant danger be-

No

cause of his part in the Porteous hanging.

Reuben and Jeanie were married and
were blessed with three fine children.
They prospered in their new life, and

and queen.

kill

to

only sorrow was her sister's

marriage to George Staunton. She kept
Effie's secret, however, telling no one that

her so that she could not save

Jeanie's

old
Erie. But Jeanie escaped from the
woman and sought refuge in the home of

George was actually Robertson. After

several years, George and Effie returned
to London, George having inherited a
title from his uncle, and as Sir
George
and Lady Staunton they were received in

met
the Rev. Mr. Staunton. There she
and
the minister's son, George Staunton,
Geordie
was
he
that
him
from
learned

He

Robertson, the betrayer of her sister.

admitted his responsibility to Effie, telling
and executed
Jeanie that he had planned
to rescue
order
in
incident
Porteous
the
reEffie from the prison. But she had
tried
had
He
him.
with
leave
to
fused

court

Jeanie

other schemes to save her, including

confesto force from Meg the
but
sion that she had taken the baby,

an attempt

He
everything had failed.
that he had been on his way
up

in exchange

told Jeanie
to give himfor Effie's release

and was m-

when he fell from

with the
iured. He told Jeanie to bargain
last resort to
a
as
and
Duke of Argyle,
his horse

to Robertoffer to lead the authorities

Effie s pardon.
for
in

son

exchange

society.

Effie

and sent her

wrote

large

secredy

to

sums of money

which Jeanie put away without

her husband about them. Even

many

self

of his estates in

overflowing with joy until she learned

that Effie had eloped with her lover just

purpose.

London was a long

journey
and dangerous one. Once Jeanie was
who tried
captured by Meg Murdockson,
to

farm on one

Scotland, and he made Reuben the minister of the church.

Jeanie's heart was

ancestor of the present Duke of Argyle,

and Reuben gave Jeanie a letter asking
to the
the duke's help in presenting Jeanie

The

efforts the

Eflic,

out revealing George Staunton's secret,

The duke was so impressed with
Jeanie's goodness and honesty that he
made her father the master of an ex-

an
Reuben's grandfather had once aided

king

Argyle with
duke, impressed

with the stipulation

that she leave Scotland for fourteen
secured the pardon withyears. Jeanie

seek a

king pardoned

to

pre-

of

Reuben's letter, The

with Jeanie's sincerity and simplicity, arranged for an audience with the queen.
She too believed Jeanie's story of Effie's

she

river after

Duke

telling
to him

she could not reveal Effie's secret.

By chance

Jeanie found a paper con-

taining the last confession of

Meg Mur-

dockson, who had been hanged as a

witch. In it Meg confessed that she had

baby and had given him to

an oudaw. Jeanie sent this information
to Effie, in London, and before long Effie,

stolen Effie's

as

Lady Staunton, paid Jeanie a visit.

had used a pretext of ill health to

Effie

go to Scotland while her husband, acting

1491

letter, tried

killed

the whereabouts of their son.

many

on the information in Meg's

to

trace

for George
Although it was dangerous
to be in Scotland, where he might be

Geordie Robertson, he
recognized as
followed every clue given in Meg's confession. In Edinburgh he met Reuben

there on business, and

an invitation to accompany
Reuben back to the manse. Reuben, not
knowing George's real identity, was happy

Butler,

who was

secured

to receive the

Reuben,

Duke

of Argyle's friend.
not know that

at that time, did

was also a guest in his home.

As Reuben and George walked toward

Effie

the manse, they passed through a thicket

where they were attacked by outlaws.

One, a young fellow, ran his sword
through George and killed him. It was
not until Reuben had heard the whole
story of the Stauntons from Jeanie that
he searched George's pockets and found
there information which proved beyond
doubt that the young outlaw who had

George was his own son, stolen

years before. Because Effie was

by George's death, Jeanie

and Reuben thought it useless to add to
her sorrow by revealing the
identity of his
grief-stricken

assailant.

Reuben

later traced the

boy

to

America, where the young man continued

his life of crime until he was
captured
and probably killed by Indians.

with Reuben and Jeanie

more than a year. Then she went
back to London and the brilliant
society
she had known there. No one but Jeanie
and Reuben ever knew the secret of
Effie and George. After ten
years, Effie
retired to a convent on the
continent,
where she spent her remaining
years
grieving for her husband and the son
she had never known.
Reuben and Jeanie Butler, who had
been so unavoidably involved in sordidness and crime, lived out their lives
happily and carried their secret with them
Effie stayed

for

to the grave.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Type

of work:

Author.

Tyve
Time

Novel

Graham Greene (1904-

realism
of plot: Psychological

War II

of 'plot: World
Locale: British West Africa
First 'published:

1948
Principal characters:

SCOBIE, police chief in one of the colony's

MRS. SCOBIE, his wife
MRS. ROLT, shipwreck victim, Scobie's mistress
WILSON, a counter-intelligence agent
YUSEF, a Syrian merchant

MAJOR

districts

Critique:

and hopes, friendships and

and hates of Euroin a colony on the African
peans immured

The

to

fears

coast afforded

Graham Greene, who

World War

II,

ac-

begun

continues the study of British

under the influence of our times

family of the

Greene's earlier work. Major

in

Scobie, like

Arthur

Rowe

in

The

Ministry

had

of Fear, is a relatively friendless man a

for
type that seems to have fascination

Catholic novelists of the day, is actually a

bereligious story, a fable of the conflict
tween good and evil. It is a drama of the

Heaven

The

soul

in

mid-passage

toward

For fifteen years Major Scobie, chief of

West African district

Dolice in a British

up a reputation for honesty.

learned that in spite of his labors

'iad built

he was

to be passed over for the district

commissionersnip in favor of a younger
man. Those fifteen long years now seemed

THE HEART OF THE MATTER by

Inc. Copyright, 1948,

district.

and

their wives.

Once

the differ-

ence was discerned, the other Britishers

distrusted and disliked her. They even
pitied the

Nor were

man whom she had married.

much happier than

the Scobies

people imagined them to be. Mrs. Scobie

hated the life she led, and her husband
disliked having to make her face it real-

Both drank. When she found he

be made district commissioner,
she insisted that he send her to the Cape
Colony for a holiday, even though German submarines were torpedoing many

istically.

was not

to

vessels at the time.

or Hell.

Story:

Then he

filled

love for literature, especially poetry,

set Mrs. Scobie apart from the other

officials

Like Rowe, In the earlier

novel, Major Scobie is placed in a position
where he can choose between life or
death: the high point in both novels Is
that at which the choice is made. Beyond
the immediate story, however, there are
the
larger implications. The Heart of
Matter, written by one of the leading

the author.

human

have been too long

O and

much

couragement that a rise in official position

would have given her, to compensate for
the loss of her only child some years before
and her unpopularity among the official

the material for this novel.

The hook
people

to

work. Worse than his own

disappointment was the disappointment
of his wife. Mrs. Scobie needed the en-

worked in such a place during

tually

him

with too

loves
petty rivalries,

Scobie had not the money to pay expenses of the trip. For a previous excursion of hers from the colony lie had
already given up part of his life insurance.
After trying unsuccessfully to borrow the
money from the banks, he went to Yusef,

a Syrian merchant, who agreed to lend

the money at four percent interest.
Scobie knew that any dealings he had

him

Graham Greene. By permission

by Graham Greene.

1493

of the publishers,

The Viking

Press,

with Yusef would place

him under

cloud, for the official British family knew

of the Syrian's
only too well that many

the shipdoings were illegal, including

ment of industrial diamonds to the Nazis.
Pressed by his wife's apparent need to escape the boredom of the rainy season in
the coast colony, Scobie finally took the

chance that he could keep clear of Yusef s

entanglements, even though he knew that
the Syrian hated

he had

integrity
fifteen years.

To add

him

for the reputation of

built

up during the

Scobie's

to

past

he

difficulties,

learned that Wilson, a man

supposedly
sent out on a
clerkship with a trading company, was actually an undercover agent
working for the government on the prob-

lem of diamond smuggling.

OO
O First of all,
Scobie had no official information about
/-i

'

Wilson's true

had

activities;

secondly,

Wilson

with Scobie's wife; and,

thirdly, Mrs. Scobie had bloodied Wilson's nose for him and
permitted her husfallen in love

band

to see her admirer

of the counts

crying.

Any

one

would have made Scobie un-

easy; all three in

combination made him

painfully aware that Wilson could only

aate him, as Wilson
actually did.
Shortly after his wife's departure, a series of events
to break down

began

Scobie's trust in his

reputation he

had

own
built

Major

honesty and the

up

for himself.

When a Portuguese liner was searched

on

in port, Scobie found a

suspicious letter in the
captain's cabin. Instead

its arrival

of

turning in the

after the

captain

letter, he burned ithad assured him that the

was only a personal

message to his
daughter in Germany. A few weeks later
Yusef began to be
very friendly toward
Scobie.
Gossip reported that Scobie had
met and talked with the
Syrian on several
letter

occasions, in addition to

money from

the

having borrowed

suspected smuggler.
One day word came that the French
had rescued the crew and
passengers of
a
torpedoed British vessel Scobie was with
the
oarty who met the rescued
people at
the Border between the
French
ish colonies.

and

Among

Brit-

the victims was a

young bride of only a few months whose

husband had been killed in the war.
While she recuperated from her
exposure
in a lifeboat and then waited for a
ship to
return her to England, she and Scobie fell
in love. For a time
they were extremely
careful of their conduct, until one
day Mrs.
Rolt, the rescued woman, belittled Scobie

because of his caution. Scobie, to

prove his
daring as well as his love, sent her a

which was intercepted by Yusefs

payment for return of the letter
Scobie was forced to
help Yusef smuoole
some gems from the
colony. Wilson,

letter

agents. In

Scobie's enemy, suspected the

smuggling
done by Scobie, but he could
prove

nothing.
Mrs. Rolt pleaded with Scobie to show
his love by divorcing his wife and
marrying her. Scobie, a Roman Catholic, tried
to convince her that his faith and his conscience could not permit his
doing so. To
complicate matters further, Mrs. Scobie
cabled that she was
already aboard ship on

her

way back home from Capetown.

way to turn.
nagged him to
communion with her. Scobie, unable

Scobie did not know which

On her return Mrs. Scobie
take

to receive absolution because he refused to

promise to give up adultery, took the sac-

rament of communion
anyway, rather
than admit to his wife what had
pened.
faith

He

realized that

he was damning his

hapaccording to his
soul.

The worry

over his sins, his uneasiness

about his job, the problem of Yusef, a

murder that Yusef had had committed for

him, and the nagging of both his wife and
Mrs. Rolt
a turmoil.

all

these

He did

not

made Scobie's mind

know which way to

turn, for the Church, haven for

many,
was forbidden to him because of his sins
and his temperament.

In
searching for a way out of his predicament Scobie remembered what he
had been told by a doctor
shortly after an
official

investigation

of a

suicide.

The

had told Scobie that the best

way
to commit suicide was to
feign angina and
then take an overdose of
a

doctor

evipan,

prescribed

1494

for

angina cases.

drug

Carefully,

made plans to take his life in that

he wanted his wife to have
because
way
his insurance money for her support after
she returned to England. After studying
Scobie

the

symptoms of angina, Scobie went

who diagnosed

doctor,

from the symptoms he

knew

to a

Scobie's

trouble

related.

Scobie

that his pretended heart condition

would soon be common knowledge in the

colony.

Scobie was told that he had

Ironically,
been reconsidered for the commissionerbut that he could not
ship of the colony
be given the post because of his illness.

To

news made little differhe had already made up his

Scobie, the

ence, for

mind

to

commit

suicide.

To make

his death
appear convincing,
he filled his diary with entries
tracing the
progress of his heart condition. One evehis
ning he took his overdose of

only solution

evipan,

to difficulties

which had be-

come more than he could bear.

and only one or two people even

He

died,

suspected

the truth. One of these was Mrs.

Scobie,
who complained to the priest after he had
refused to give Scobie absolution. The

knowing of Scobie's virtues as well

as his sins, cried out to her that no one

priest,

could call Scobie wicked or damned, for

no one knew God's mercy.

HEARTBREAK HOUSE
Type of uw k; Drama
Author: Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Time: 1913
Locale: Sussex, England
First presented:

1920
Principal characters:

CAPTAIN SHOTOVER, an English eccentric and visionary

LADY ARIADNE UTTERWOOD, and
MRS. HESIONE HUSHABYE, his daughters
HECTOR HUSHABYE, Hesione's husband
ELLIE DUNN, a guest in Captain Shotover's Louse
MAZZINI DUNN, her father
Boss MANGAN, an industrialist

RANDALL UTTERWOOD, Lady Ariadne's brother-in-law

NURSE GUINESS, a servant

BILLY DUNN, an ex-pirate and burglar

Heartbreak House has always held an

equivocal place in the Shavian canon.
Its admirers and they are many bracket

with Shaw's best, beside such acknowledged masterpieces as Man and Superman and Saint Joan. Severer critics see it
as an unsuccessful
attempt to create a

it

mood

Chekhovian melancholy and faframework of political allegory and social satire, a mixture of
comedy, tragedy, dialectic, and prophecy
of

talism within a

that never
quite coalesces into unity of

theme

or structure.

Shaw
as

much to blame
some of the misconceptions
play. Always ready, even

himself was as

anyone

for

regarding his

had received following the publication

of his pamphlet,

Commonsense about

(1915), read by the jingo-minded

wartime public as a piece of pacifist

prop-

aganda. Under the circumstances his reluctance to present his most

sweepine indictment of a society unable or unwilling
to
bring its moral judgments and political
convictions into balance with its
potential

destruction becomes understandable.

War, Shaw seems to say, is no longer the

of

trade of the professional soldier or the

recreation of the feudal elite; all of man-

kind

is

now

involved in the

and

tastrophe

cannot realize

society

opposed

fully appraised,
sents almost the

had been written as

was in its final form
was not published until 1919, Its first
performance was the
Theatre Guild production on November
12, 1920. Even then Shaw
apparently
preferred to let his work speak for itself
without mediation on his
part, for when
asked on one occasion to
interpret some

though

it

early as 1913 and

by 1916, the play

it

of his lines he answered

brusquely that
he was merely the author and therefore
could not be
expected to know. Perhaps
he was still
smarting from the abuse -he

ca-

if

it

possibilities for good as

to its capacities for destruction.

cence toward his work and

appeared hesitant to let it
pass out of his hands. Al-

In a

common

must perish

its

eager, to instruct his public, in this instance he maintained an attitude of reti-

part of

the

War

that criticism

way

has not yet

Heartbreak House

pre-

whole range of Shaw's

few of his plays are more

thought, for

representative or inclusive in the themes

and motifs touched upon if not explored:

war,

love,

politics,

society,

and

science.

education,

The

religion,

only element

.acking is the Shavian principle of the

Life Force. As a drama of ideas it looks

back

to

the earlier plays and anticipates

and The Ayple Cart. As com-

Saint Joan

ment on upper-class

life it continues and

themes Shaw presents in
Getting Married and Misalliance. Shaw

climaxes the

himself

1496

is

present in his various manifes-

the recorder of that verbal in-

rations:

which

of ideas,

provided
in

the

mitted as such in Shaw's preface, where

he states that Heartbreak House is more
than a title: it is the Europeor England
of culture and leisure in the period before World War I. As the alternative to
Heartbreak House he sees only Horsehack Hall, peopled by the gentry who
have made sport a cult. In either case,
true leadership is lacking in this world
of cross-purposes, futile desires, and idle
talk. These people have courage of a sort,
but they are able to do little more than

playwright
the master of comedy, the maker
the teacher, the critic, the
the parodist, the fabulist,

philosopher,
and the poet.
A clue to the

meaning

the

subtitle:

Russian

manner

in

the

of the

is

"A

j>Iay
Fantasia

on

English

production

of

Following
several of Chekhov's plays in London,
Shaw had been studying the work of the
Russian dramatist and had seen in at

themes."

least

three,

The Cherry

Orchard,

The

clench their

Sea Gull, and Uncle Vunya, cxempla of

the theme he himself had in mind: the
of a society from within

The

setting of the play is the Sussex

built like a ship, of Captain Shotover, an eighty-eight-year-old eccentric
credited by hearand retired sea

and its final collapse in the face of forces

had previously ignored or denied. Allowances must be made, however, for
Shaw's habit of exaggeration where precedents or sources are concerned. Shaw
have begun h s play with a similar-

captain
devil in
say with selling his soul to the
^ i
t
Zanzibar and marriage to a black witch
*"

*fl

in the

was the

rum

the atmosphere, he

mind

initial

with effects quite different from those we

find in Chekhov. Partly the difference is

and

own moral and spiritual blight. The

sound of the ax echoing through the twiOrchard
light at the end of The Cherry
than
is more
portentous and meaningful
fire

and death

at the close of

Heartbreak

essential differences

Dunn,
guest

of

young singer arMrs. Hesione

at-

bothers to greet visitors; members of the

family are treated like strangers- strangers
are welcomed like old friends. An elderly

their

The

the

the

political values;
Chekhov's, entirely within the world of

from the sky

House.

Ellie

as

Hushabye, the captain's daughter,

as puzzling
mosphere of the house seems
and "unpredictable as its owner. No one

shrewdlv. Shaw's people exist only in the

rain

To

riving

the fact that the haunted landscapes of

Chekhov's world have little in common
with those asnects of British middle and
so
upper-class life that Shaw, observed

bombs which

a day, strives to attain the seventh

tions.

one of temperament, the great Russian

of all expower of enclosing the poetry
in the single instance, partly
perience

the

Indies. Cranky, realistic, fanhe drinks three bottles of

and spends his

degree of concentration,
time tinkering with death-dealing inven-

impulsebut he ends

light of his ethical

West

tastically wise,

of tone in

said,

in gestures of defiance
the sky.

home,

it

ity

fists

bombs drop from

as the

disintegration

may

of

drama

terplay
the
takes the place of conflict,

of epigrams,

and personalities,
disquisitory
thesis play, it is adat its best.

of ideas

Shavian drama often

in the

between these

two plays are not altogether to Shaw's

disadvantage, for Heartbreak House, al-

though it lacks the larger expressiveness

of Chekhov's theater, exhibits all the intellectual vigor and wild poetrv, the clash

servant calls everyone ducky.

Ariadne Utterwood returns

When Lady
for

a visit

after twenty-three years in the colonies

with her husband, Sir Hastings Utter-

wood, an empire builder, neither her

ther nor her sister recognizes her.

Dunn,

in

persists

captain

Ellie's father,

fa-

The

confusing Mazzini
with a rascally ex-

robbed him many years

pirate who had
before. Arriving unexpectedly, Boss Manindustrialist whom
ga n, the millionaire
to work in the
is
Ellie is to
marry,

put

captain's garden.

From

this

of innocent,
opening scene

the play
seemingly irresponsible comedy

proceeds

1497

to

more

serious business,

and by

the end of the

assumed
Ariadne

their allegorical
is

identities.

translated into speech

Lady

In one sense Heartbreak House

might
be described as the story of Ellie Dunn's

of
Empire, the prestige

for-

is Domeseign rule. Hesione Hushabye

of woman's love and
the
power
ticity,
her husband,
authority at home. Hector,
is

Heroism, a

but

so

man

capable

of trave deeds

tamed by feminine influence that

his only escape

through romantic daydreams and Munchausen-like tales of derMazzini Dunn is the nineteenthis

ring-do.

a believer in progress
century Liberal,
but too sentimental to be an intellectual
become the
force; consequently he has
tool of Boss
istic

Mangan,

Exploitation.

a figure of capital-

Randall

Utterwood,

Lady Ariadne's brother-in-law,

Office

official

is

Pride, a
in

symbolically

Foreign
love with his sister-in-law and
snobbish regard for caste.

filled

with

Looming over

these figures is old Captain Shotover, the

embodiment of Old England and its genthe great
ius, no longer the captain of

but

the

half-cracked,
Ship
drunken skipper of a house built like a
and his counship, suggesting his own
of

State

maritime history. Captain Shotover

the triumph of the play. In spite of his

try's
is

is
always susignificance he
than life
a
himself,
figure larger

allegorical

perbly

and yet

lifelike, reliving his past

of his
creating
O his future in terms

ters.

Childlike

resentments,

old

griev-

charged atmosphere that the play generates, but all this sound and fury leads
dramatized, impotence of

herself in love with

middle-aged
ground,
cretly.

man

whom

The

Marcus Darnley,
of

idleness

mind and

will

romantic

back-

she has been meeting

se-

Marcus

is

discovery

that

Hector Hushabye opens her eyes to reality and deceit. Disillusioned with romantic love, she decides to accept Boss

Mangan and

his

to discover

money, only

that his millions are nonexistent, that he

is

simply the capitalist

other

men

who uses

the

money

entrust to him. In the end she

decides that she will

become

the white

bride of old Captain Shotover because

his seventh degree of concentration holds
a promise of peace and happiness beyond
desire or despair. This time it is the captain who disillusions her; his seventh de-

rum. Ellie's edugree of concentration is

cation is now complete, and she is free
to be as practical or aspiring as she desires.

Suddenly, while these people sit on

and talk out their predicament, planes begin to drone overhead.
Boss Mangan and a burglar who had
the terrace

now reduced

brooding frustrations, impossible

dreams, and unexpected disillusionments
break through their masks in the heavily

is

first act,
although she
Boss Mangan, she fancies

to

engaged

turned out to be Billy

ances,

nowhere. Heartbreak House

is

and

logic.

gesture.

education. In the

own

These people come toand threes to speak in

gether in twos
their own and in their allegorical charac-

fantastic

and

have

act the characters

first

ing confession
pit;

others

bomb

Dunn

the ex-pirate

to petty thievery

and

snivel-

take refuge in a gravel

and kills them. The

Heartbreak House still

falls

survive.

stands.

All criticism of Heartbreak

duces

itself

to a single issue:

House

re-

Can com-

sustain a
edy, even brilliantly presented,
theme of tragic significance? Shaw, as he
the writer. The reader
declared, was

only

or the playgoer has been left to answer

this question for himself.

THE HEAT OF THE DAY

Type

of

work: Novel

Author: Elizabeth Bowen (1899realism

Type of plot: Psychological

1942-1944

Time of plot:
Locale: London
First

published:

1949
Principal characters:

STELLA RODNEY, an attractive widow

RODEKICK RODNEY, her son
ROBERT KELWAY, her lover
HARRISON, a British Intelligence agent
LOUIE LEWIS, wife of a British soldier

Critique:

The wartime setting of this book is no

more than incidental, for the story treats
of contrasting faiths and loyalties which

to

adjacent listener. This neighbor, Louie

Lewis, was a clumsy, cheaply clad young

are altogether timeless. Though the genis electric with danger,

eral

atmosphere

the author muffles the

and

anti-aircraft

woman

with an artless and somewhat

bovine expression. Lonely without her

sound of bombs

guns until they give

drama of
and the

soldier

of the man
question her own judgment
she loves. Miss Bowen is at her best in

ment.

relationdealing with complex personal

she inspects some barriers
ships, and here

Stella,

and intellectual harmony

that are embodied in a conflict between
patriotism and love. Like Henry James,
emotional

mouth

ly

tember, 1942, found Harrison

a band concert in Regent Park. But he
was not listening to the music. He was,
could
in fact,
killing time until he

merely

Rodney at eight o'clock. ThinkStella and the awkward subject

see Stella

thrust-

into the
ing the fist of his right hand
palm of his left. This unconscious moInc. Copyright, 1948,

in

Wey-

late.

Her

idly why
attitude of wait-

knew how he had managed

life;

to insinu-

first,

he had

turned up unaccountably at the funeral

of Cousin Francis Morris, and since then

at
sitting

THE HEAT OF THE DAY

flat

wondered rather

ate himself into her

of Sep-

he must discuss with her, he kept

her top-floor

than expectant, for

ing was more defiant
she had no love for her visitor. She hard-

is interested in the collision of finelynature

grained personalities; and the very
of her subject matter demands a style
that is sensitive and involved.

ing of

in

Street,

Harrison was

she

afternoon

entirely a creature

she

of

of Stelenigmatic Harrison. The problem

la Rodney is that of a woman asked to

The Story:
The first Sunday

husband and

offended Harrison by
impulse,
naive combreaking into his reverie with
ments which were brusquely rebuffed.
Unabashed, she trailed after him when
he left the concert, giving up only when
he abruptly left her to keep his engage-

for the
only a tonal background
Stella Rodney, Robert Kelway,

to

as well as his obvious indifference

the music, aroused the curiosity of an

tion,

by Elizabeth Bowen.
by Elizabeth Bowen.

had shown a steady increase.

There had been a subtle shade of menace

his attentions

in his

demand

that

she see

him

that

and a curious sense of apprehennight,

sion had prompted her to consent. As

she awaited his knock, her glance flickered impatiently about the charming flat,
and she recalled fleetingly the facts that
her young
shape to her existence:

gave

son, Roderick,

By

1499

now

in the British army;

A. Knopf,
permission of the publishers, Alfred

her ex-husband, long divorced and dead;

her own war work with Y.X.D.; and her
lover, Robert Kelway, also in govern-

ment

service.

When

Harrison arrived, he received

a cool and perfunctory greeting. His first

remarks were hesitant and enigmatic, but

he soon launched into words that left

Stella wide-eyed with shock and disbe-

Her

he told her, was a Nazi

agent passing English secrets on to Germany. Harrison himself was connected
with British Intelligence and he had been
assigned to cover Kelway's movements.
There was just one way to save the

lief.

traitor.

lover,

must give him up, switch

Then Kelway 's

Stella

her interest to Harrison.

fate

might be averted,

or

indefinitely

postponed,
The blunt proposition unnerved Stella.
She refused to "believe in Kelway *s guilt,
for Harrison did not
impress her as a
to

trust.

man

She played for time, winning

a month's
delay in

which

to

make up

her mind. Harrison

sharply advised her
not to warn Robert; the
slightest

change

in his pattern of action would result in

his immediate arrest. As the interview

ended, the telephone rang. At the other

end was Roderick,
announcing his arrival for leave in

London.

Upon

Harri-

son's departure, Stella

pulled herself to-

and made quick preparation

gether

to

receive her son.

Roderick's coming
helped a little; temit
deprived Stella of the time to

porarily

worry. Roderick was

able, and his father's

made

young and vulnerhad

early abdication

Stella

feel
doubly responsible for
her son. Roderick wanted to talk about

his

new

interest in life, the

tate in Ireland

run-down

recently bequeathed

es-

him

by Cousin Francis Moms. The boy was

determined

to

looking after

keep his

new

property,
task of

war was over, the

it would be
largely

but, until the

Stella's

responsibility.

Roderick's leave
expired. The next
night Robert Kelway came to Stella's
flat. She
gave no hint of her inward agitation, though she
casually inquired if

he knew Harrison.
Gazing

at

tractive, considerate lover, Stella

her

at-

silently

marveled that he should be a

suspect he
a lamed veteran of Dunkirk!
Considering
however, that she knew nothing about
his family, she renewed her
request that
they

visit his

country.

noon

at

mother and

sister

in the

subsequent Saturday

Holme Dene

after-

revealed nothina

strange about Robert's background. On

the night of her return from
Robert's

home, she found Harrison waiting at her

apartment; he confirmed his watchfulness by telling her where she had
been,
and why.
Roderick's interests intervened
by sumStella
briefly to Ireland. Robert

moning

protested at losing her for even a few

days and they parted affectionately. In
Ireland, Stella's distrust of Harrison received a jolt; he had been
she

truthful,
learned, in telling her that lie had been
a friend of Cousin Francis Morris. She
resolved that she would
Robert

acquaint
with Harrison's accusation. When she
returned to London, Robert met her at

the station. Minutes later, in a taxi, she

what she had heard; and Rob-

revealed

deeply hurt, made a complete denial.

Later that night he
begged her to marry
him, but Stella, surprised and disturbed,
succeeded in parrying the
ert,

few nights

proposal.

Harrison had dinner

with Stella in a popular restaurant. She
stiffened with
apprehension as he told
her that she had
disobeyed him by putting Robert on his guard. Before Stella
could learn what Harrison intended to
later

do, she was interrupted by the untimely

intrusion of Louie Lewis, who

crudely
invited herself to their table after
spotting Harrison in the crowd. Nevertheless,
Stella
managed to intimate that she

would meet Harrison's terms if he would

save Robert from arrest.
Angry at Louie,
Harrison made no
response; roughly dismissing the two women, he stalked off,
leaving them to find their way home
through blacked-out London. Louie, fascinated by the
superior charm and refinement of Stella,
accompanied her to the

1500

doorway of her apartment.

Robert was at Holme Dene, so that not
until the next night did Stella have a
chance

to

warn him

of his danger. In

morning darkness of Stella's

bedroom, they renewed their love and
confidence with a sense that it was to
the

early

When

Robert finalmeeting.
revealed that he was an ardent Nazi,
ly
above freedom, Stella
prizing power
be their

last

found no way

to reconcile

their views.

Faint footsteps, as of outside watchers,

were heard as Robert dressed and pre-

pared to leave. He climbed up the rope

'..adder to the skylight in the roof, then

came back down again

to

kiss

Stella

once more. Fie told her to take care of

herself

as

he

hurriedly

disappeared

through the skylight. The next morning

Robert's body was found
lying in the
street where he had
leaped or fallen from
the steeply slanting roof.
More than a year passed before Stella
saw Harrison. There were Allied landings

was the invasion of Italy;

was the ever-growing prospect of
a Second Front. Finally Harrison came
back. Stella had had questions to ask
in Africa; there

there

him, questions about Robert, but now it

seemed pointless to ask them. An air of
constraint

hung over

that

feeling

their conversation,
Robert's death had re-

moved any real link between their lives.

Harrison made no romantic overtures; he
even seemed faintly relieved when Stella
told him that she was soon to be married.

MY DESTINATION

HEAVEN'S
Type o\ work: Novel
Author: Thornton Wilder (1897-

Type of plot: Social satire

Time of 'plot: 1930-1931
Locale: Middle West
First published:

1935
Principal characters:

GEORGE MARVIN BRUSH, a traveling salesman

ROBERTA, a farmer's daughter
GEORGE BURION, a peeping Tom
HERB, a newspaper reporter
ELIZABETH, his daughter

Critique:

In George Marvin Brush, Thornton

Wilder would seem to have synthesized
the American character with its many

One admires
and detests
one
moment
Brush
George
inconsistencies.

tragic

him

as a prig the next.

of

deceptive simplicity
tination are terrifying.

The

irony and the

Heaven's

My

Des-

Although George

not the picaresque hero-type,

the novel, with its many colorful and

Brush

is

unprincipled characters and its episodic

form, resembles the picaresque genre.

The

Story:

George Marvin Brush, a straight-laced,

clean-living non-smoker and non-drinker
of twenty-three, was a salesman for the
Caulkins Educational Press; his territory
was the Middle West. He was the amusement and the despair of all the traveling
salesmen in the same territory who knew
him.

One day Doremus

Blodgett, a
hosiery salesman, caught George in the
act of
penning a Bible text on a hotel
blotter
to

and invited George up

chaff

George
hosiery

him.

The

to his

room

righteousness

of

Blodgett, but the

was almost reconciled when

infuriated

man

George admitted to him that he had once

wronged a farmer's daughter.
At another time George withdrew all
his savings from the bank. In his
attempt
to
explain to the bank president his plan
of
voluntary poverty, he insulted that

executive by saying that banks

HEAVEN'S
&

Brothers.

owed

MY DESTINATION by Thornton

existence only to man's fear of

insecurity.

Being thought mad, George was jailed,

but his ingenuousness confounded even
his jailers.

of them, after
hearing

and his "cousin/' Mrs. Margie

he talked of the injustice
There
McCoy.
Blodgett

of his receiving raises in pay, to the utter

confusion of Blodgett and Mrs. McCoy.

He

told

left

it.

them that he had gone through

had had a religious conversion
and
college
in order to be of an independent mind.
All he wanted, he said, was a perfect girl
for his wife, six children, and a real
American home. He confessed that he
was hindered in his quest for these ideals
by his having wronged a Kansas farm
one Roberta, whose farm home he
girl,
had been unable to find since he had
George went from Oklahoma City to
the Chautauqua at Camp Morgan, Oklahoma, to see Judge Corey, a state legislator

who was

tracts.

interested in textbook con-

There he was shocked by

Jessie,

a college girl who believed in evolution;

he pestered a distraught businessman who
wanted to be left alone; and he turned
down Judge Corey's offer of thirty-five

thousand dollars and a state job if he

would marry the judge's daughter, Mississippi.

From Carnp Morgan George went

their

Wilder.
Copyright, 1955, by Harper and Brothers.

One

George propound his theories, withdrew

his own savings from the bank.
In Oklahoma City George again saw

By

1502

permission of the author and the publishers,

to

Harpr

Kansas City, where he stayed in Queenie's

boarding-house with his four wild friends,

of his friend Herb,

and George

not

preach

his

as long as

anti-tobacco

gered a father

George did
and anti-

They, in turn, restrained

and their speech in his
Three of them and George,
presence.
who had a beautiful voice, formed an
alcohol creeds.
actions

their

barbershop

expert

City George

quartet.

In

became the victim

Kansas
of an

elaborate practical joke arranged by his

friends. After they had tricked him into

drunkenness, the five went on a rampage.

The second step in their plan to lead
George to perdition came when Herb
tricked George into going to dinner one
at a brothel.

Sunday

Herb represented

George as an old mansion,

its
proprietor, Mrs. Crofut, as a pillar of
Kansas City society, and the troop of

to

as her daughters.
George,
completely duped, was impressed by the
graciousness of Mrs. Crofut and by the

beauty of her daughters.

He

treated the

neighborhood movie.
Back at Queenie's, George would not

girls

to a

Herb when

believe

his friend told

him

about Mrs. Crofut's genteel

establishment. Irritated by George's prigthe truth

and

stupidity, his four friends

beat him nearly to death. Later, at the
hospital, Louie told George that he ought

gishness

to live

Out

and

let live.

George continued
a train he met an
evangelist who said that money did not
matter; however, George gave the man
money when he learned that the man's
family was destitute. In Fort Worth
George exasperated a bawdy house prohis

of the hospital,

book

selling.

On

prietor posing as a medium, by telling

her that she was a fake.
Having learned that Roberta had taken
a job as a waitress in Kansas City, George
went there and forced himself upon the
co with
girl, who wanted nothing to
him. He adopted Elizabeth, the daughter

observe unself -conscious

human

be-

havior.

George's
ville.

The

in their

the house to

prostitutes

died with few

In Ozarkville, Missouri,
George anwhen he talked to the
man's young daughter in the street. Then
he went to a country store to
buy a doll
for the girl and became involved in a
hold-up. Carrying out one of his strange
theories, he assisted the amazed burglar.
The storekeeper, Mrs. Efrim, thought that
George was out of his mind. Arrested,
he was put in jail, where he met
George
Burkin, a movie director who had been
arrested as a peeping Tom. Burkin explained to George that he peeped only

reporters; Bat, a motion

and Louie, a hospital
mechanic;
picture
Accord lasted between the
orderly,

Herb and Morrie,

four

who

illusions about life.

trial

was

a sensation in

Ozark-

and Mrs. Efrim lied

testimony, and George attempted
little

girl

to explain his theories of life to a con-

founded court. When he explained what

he called ahimsa, or the theory of re-

acting to every situation in a manner that

was the exact opposite from what was

expected, the bewildered judge released

him, telling him to be cautious, however,

because people were afraid of ideas.
After George and Burkin had left
Ozarkville in Buikin's car, they picked
hitchhiker who turned out to be the

up a

whom George had tried to help.

George attempted to work his radical
theory for the treatment of criminals on

burglar

the burglar, but the man only fled in confused anger. George and Burkin argued
about George's theories, Burkin saying
that George had never really grown up,

and George claiming that Burkin had

thought too much and had not lived
enough.

Back in Kansas City, George met

Roberta and her sister Lottie for the purpose of reaching a decision in his relationship with Roberta. Lottie suggested that
the couple marry and get a divorce as
soon as possible, so that Roberta could
be accepted again by her family. George,

however, could not countenance divorce.

Being finally persuaded, Roberta married

1503

George, -abet
overw $.cinig
gre^.-"

tfte'

moved

equple

store".

more and

into a

flat

'But their married life

'mo.re

trying.

George

himself taldrig notes for topics

,lxe and Roberta could
safely discuss.

fouiid
that'

TheyJ 'competed
4
<_

X<

JL

for Elizabeth's affections.

{>

At last Roberta decided

and return to the farm.
George,

He

unha-ppy,

to leave

George

continued to

sell

and began to
lead what many people would call a
normal life. At length he fell sick and
was hospitalized. In the hospital he ad-

books.

lost

bis faith

mitted to a Methodist
pastor that he had
broken all but two of the ten
commandments but that he was
glad he had broken
them. He shocked the
that one

pastor by saying
cannot get better and better

While in the hospital he received a

spoon
which had been willed to him
by a man
whom he had never met but whom he
had admired
through a
reciprocally
mutual

friend.

He

recovered, left the

and reverted to his old

ways.
George Brush was incurable.
hospital,

HEDDA GABLER
Drama

Tyi?e of work:

Author: Henrik Ibsen (18284906)

Social criticism

Type
Time

of

'plot:

Late nineteenth century

of plot:
Locale: Norway
First 'presented:

1890
Principal characters:

GEORGE TESMAN-, a scholar

HEDDA TESMAN, liis wife
Miss JULIANA TESMAN, his aunt
MRS. ELVSTED, Hedda's old schoolmate
JUDGE BRACK, a friend of the Tesnians
LOVBERG, Hedda's former suitor

Critique:

Hedda Gabler has in it most of the elements of good theater which Ibsen painsfrom the popular French
takingly learned

of the last half of the nine-

playwrights
teenth century.

woman with
tue.

She

is

In Hedda, he created a

hardly one redeeming

spiritually

as

empty

assumes her environment to be.

vir-

as she

Nearly

the last half-century

every great actress of
has played Hedda and audiences have al-

and with

of

a professorship
Juliana's help, he

because

his

Aunt

managed to secure it
was what Hedda wanted.

it

He

arranged a long wedding tour lasting

nearly six months because Hedda wished
that also.

spent

On

their

honeymoon George

most of his

libraries for material

time

on

delving

into

his special field,

the history of civilization. Hedda was

She returned to the villa hating

bored.

Hedda Gabler,
aristocratic
daughter of the late General Gabler, consented to marry Doctor George Tesman,

Then it began to look as if

George might not get the professorship,
in which case Hedda would have to
forego her footman and saddlehorse and
some of the other luxuries she craved.
LovGeorge's rival for the post was Eilert
erratic genius who
but
brilliant
a
berg,
had written a book, acclaimed a masterfield.
Hedda's
piece, in George's own
boredom and disgust with her situation
was complete. She found her only ex-

Hedda would marry. He

citement in practicing with the brace of

to General
pistols which had belonged
Gabler, the only legacy her father had

but
ways been attracted to her powerful

ruthless personality.

The

Story:

When

everyone in Hedda's set was surprised

and a litde shocked, x^lthough George
was a rising young scholar soon to be
made a professor in the university, he
was hardly considered the type of person

was dull and

absorbed almost exclusively in

his dusty tomes and manuscripts, while
Hedda was the beautiful, spoiled darling
of her father and of all the other men
prosaic,

who had flocked around her. But Hedda

was now twenty-nine, and George was
the only one or her admirers who was
villa
willing to offer her marriage and a
to the widow of a

which had belonged

cabinet minister.

The

villa

was

somewhat

beyond

George's means, but with the prospect

HEDDA GABLER

George.

left

her.

George

discovered

that

Eilert

had

written another book, more brilliant and

book written
important than the last, a

with the help and inspiration

of a Mrs.

whose devotion to the erratic

reformed him. The manuhad
genius
this book Lovberg brought with
script of
Elvsted,

Tesman villa.
make the most of
In the first place, Thea

him one evening

Hedda proceeded
this situation.

by Henrik Ibsen. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons.

1505

to the

to

Elvsted was Hedda's despised schoolmate,

and her husband's former sweetheart.
The fact that this mouse-like creature

had teen the inspiration for the success

and rehabilitation of Eilert Lovberg was
more than Hedda could bear. For Eilert
in love with
Lovberg had always been
Hedda, and she knew it. In the distant
he had urged her to throw in her
past,
'!ot with him and she had been tempted
to do so but had refused because his
future had been uncertain. Now Hedda
felt a

pang

of regret

that another

woman

to

hold for her-

manuscript,

George

was on

point of leaving with his friend,

Judge Brack, for a bachelor party. They
invited Lovberg to accompany them, but
refused, preferring to remain at the

with Mrs. Elvsted and Hedda. But

Hedda, determined to destroy the handiwork of her rival, deliberately sent Lovberg off to the party. All night, Hedda
and Mrs. Elvsted awaited the revelers'
return. George was the first to
appear
with the story of the happenings of the
night before.

The party had ended in an orgy, and

on the way home Lovberg had lost his
manuscript, which George recovered and
brought iome. In despair over the supposed loss of his manuscript, Lovberg
nad spent the remainder of the evening
at Mademoiselle Diana's establishment.

When
the

he

villa,

beautifully, and
she pressed into his hand a memento of
their relationship, one of General Gathe very one with which
bler's pistols
she had once threatened Lovberg.
After his departure, Hedda
and

coldly

deliberately

the

fire.

thrust

When

the manuscript into

George returned and

own lips the fate of

Lovberg's manuscript, he was unspeakably shocked; but half believing that she

heard from Hedda's

he was

resolved to keep silent and

devote his life to reconstructing the book
from the notes kept by Mrs. Elvsted.

the

villa

in her possession, Hedda

do the deed

burned

what she

Her only impulse was to destroy, and

circumstances played into her hands.
When Lovberg called at the Tesman villa

he

to

possessed

self.

his

moment

urged him

mingled with anger

had lacked the courage

with

that

finally made his appearance at

George had gone. Lovberg told

Mrs. Elvsted he had

destroyed his manuscript, but later he confessed to Hedda
that it was lost and that, as a
consequence,
he intended to take his own life, Without revealing that the
manuscript was at

tered.

it

for his sake,

also

flat-

He

Except for two circumstances, Hedda

would have been safe. The first was the
manner in which Lovberg met his death,
Leaving Hedda, he had returned to Mademoiselle Diana's, where instead of dying beautifully, as Hedda had planned,
he became embroiled in a brawl in which
he was accidentally killed. The second
was the character of Judge Brack, a so-

phisticated man of the world, as ruthless

in his way as Hedda was in hers. He had

long admired Hedda's cold, dispassionate

beauty, and had wanted to make her his
mistress. The peculiar circumstances of
Eilert Lovberg's death gave him his opportunity. He had learned that the pistol
with which Lovberg met his death was
one of a pair belonging to Hedda. If the
truth came out, there would be an investigation followed by scandal in which

Hedda would be

involved.

She could

not face either a public scandal or the

private ignominy oi: the judge's proposal.
So while her husband and Mrs. Elvsted
were beginning the long task of reconstructing the dead Lovberg's manuscript,
Hedda calmly went to her boudoir and

with the remaining pistol she died beauas she had urged Lovberg to do
tifully
by putting a bullet through her head.

THE HEIMSKRINGLA
Type

of work: Sagas

Author: Snorri Sturluson (1 179-1241)

of ^lots: Historical chronicles

Type
Time

of 'plots: Legendary times to twelfth century

Locale: Norway
First transcribed.:

Thirteenth century

Principal characters:
ODIN, ancestor of the

ON

Northmen

JORUNDSSON, o Sweden
HALFDAN THE BLACK, o Norway

HARALD THE FAIRHAIRED, his son

AETHELSTAN, of England
HAKON THE GOOD, Harald's son
ERIC BLOOD-AX, Hakon's brother
OLAF TRYGGVESSON, Christianizer of Norway
OLAF THE SAINT
MAGNUS THE GOOD, his stepson
HARALD SIGURDSSON THE STERN, Olaf the Saint's brother
OLAF THE QUIET, Harald's son
MAGNUS BAREFOOT, Olaf s son
EYSTEIN,
SIGURD, and

OLAF, Magnus' sons

MAGNUS SIGURDSSON

HARALD GILLE,

Sigurd Magmisson's half brother

INGE,

SIGURD, and
EYSTEIN, Harald's sons

HAKON SIGURDSSON
ERLING SKAKKE, counselor
MAGNUS,

to

Inge

his son

Critique:

The

Heimskringla, a collection of

tra-

men

title. These
usually fought for the
few of the hundreds of sagas

Norwegian kings,
by Snorri Sturluson,
mn Icelandic bard and chieftain. Interested in the stories handed down by word
of mouth in the houses of chieftains in
the northern countries, he wrote them
down in Old Norse, the language under-

are only a

Scandinavian peoples at that

by
time. Snorri Sturluson began writing in
1220. Beginning with the Yngling Saga,
which traces the descent of the North-

significance

the years of Norwegian

peditions, through
Christianoccupation of foreign lands, the

the legendary god Odin, The

Heimskringla contains sixteen other sagas
839
covering the historic period between
and 1177. Each saga tells of the life and

The

ditional sagas of the

was

first

stood

transcribed

all

men from

achievements of one man; in The Heimsis the chief

kringla each man represented
several
king of Norway at a time when

known

to

Scandinavian

literature.

While

the time of sagas in general runs from

the sixth to the fourteenth centuries, The
Heimskringla covers the Viking Age,

dating roughly from the eighth century,

when Norwegians came

into

historical

because of their raiding ex-

own country,
izing of their
the consolidation of Norway.

and

finally

Stories:

In Asaland in Asia near the Black Sea

lived Odin, the conqueror of many nations, and a great traveler, whose people
believed he would have success in every

1507

battle.

When

headed

his

body to insure continued good seasons that finally the

body was quartered
and each quarter and the head were sent

a neighboring people be-

Mime

friend

as

his

spy and

head to Odin, he smeared the

head with herbs to keep it from rotting
incantations over it. Thereafter
and sano
CD
the head could speak to Odin and dis-

sent the

to separate

provinces

son.

He

sent

were subduing the

bring to
but she

him

While the Romans

world, Odin learned

that he was to rule the northern half.

Russia and northern
Traveling
o through
o
Germany, he finally settled in the Scan-

and fiendish

ald considered

for

'

good harvests, and

When

to Valhalla

warriors.

and wait there

Then he

he was
he would go
for all

sacrifices his

people

great.

made

When

to

accepted

Odin

King

live sixty years

longer if he sacson every ten years. He sacrificed
as he was told until he had
given up nine
out of his ten sons.
By that time he was

fifteen years old. At the same

time the chief Norse king had sailed west
to ravage
er,

have On's sickness.

After twenty generations of

Yngling
rulers in the Scandinavian countries came

Halfdan the Black, born about 820,

King
of
Norway. In those days a king was an
intermediary between the people and the
supreme powers, whose favor he courted
by sacrifices. Halfdan was considered a
good king because the harvests were plensleighing accident

He

died

England; he was Hakon's broth-

Eric Blood-Ax, so called because he

had slain at least four of his brothers.

died of extreme old age. After that

people dying from weakness of age were

during his lifetime.

Each

was then

and weak

On

a foster father

as

to a real father.

Hakon went from England to Norway

when he heard of his father's death. He

that his people refused

to let the tenth son be sacrificed, and so

in^

foster,

king tried to outdo the other, but each

ruled in his own kingdom until his dying
day. When he was seventy -nine years
old, Harald died in his bed.

rificed a

tiful

to

was always subject

he would

said to

years

it,

Aethelstan

On

Jorundsson of Sweden was sixty years old,

he made an oracular sacrifice of a son to
Odin. His answer from Odin was that

so old

Ten

gers claimed that he

bed, and
land claimed descent from him.

The

a challenge.

however, Aethelstan's messenwas then subject to

their king. The following summer Harald
sent his nine-year-old son Hakon to

good

died

quietly in his
afterward the rulers of the north-

were sometimes

it

he had conquered all of Norway, he sent for the girl and married
her. He had many children by her and
other women. When he was fifty years
old, he divided his kingdom among his
sons and gave them half the revenues.
At that time Aethelstan, Kin 2 of England, sent Harald a sword. When Harald

the dead should be burned, that blood-

be made

to

later, after

shape and wish himself from place to

place. He made laws for his people: that

that taxes be paid yearly.

near death, Odin said that

henchmen

of Norway. I lis attendants

thought
her attitude warranted punishment; Har-

He used magic against his

foes so that they were helpless in battle
against
him, for he could change his own
O

sacrifice

his

all

to

his enemies.

>

some of

a girl to be his
concubine,
refused to bow to a kino of

any territory so small and sent word that

she would consider him when he ruled

dinavian peninsula. There he appeared

to his friends

spread his good

Harald the Fairhaired was Halfdan's

cover secrets for him.

handsome

to

influence.

young

while crossing

thin ice. His

people begged so hard for

Eric was killed in England and

Hakon

subdued Norway. Hakon, who had been

converted to Christianity while in England, began to practice Christian habits
of fasting and prayer in Norway. Al-

though he did not

tianity

on

insist

on forcing

his followers,

many

Chris-

of them,

out of friendship for him, allowed themselves to be baptized. Hakon wanted to

but a counforego sacrifices to the gods,
selor

who

1508

persuaded him to humor the people

believed devoutly in blood sac-

still

Known to his country as Hakon

Good, he was killed in battle with
Eric's sons, to whom he left the kingdom.

rifice.

Land and

the

he

The years during which

ruled Norway were so bad

sons

Eric's

that fish as

were lacking and the people

well as corn

other petty kings,

Tryggve Olafsson, whose

Among

went hungry.
the sons killed

wife escaped to bring Olaf Tryggvesson

to

go back

to

sailed for

Norway

to reestablish Chris-

tianity and to regain the throne once

held by his ancestor, Harald the Fairhaired. Though he did not have the striking personality of Olaf Tryggvesson, Olaf
Haraldsson had persistence enough to

spread Christianity by his bands of miswin control over Norway, and

sionaries, to

to birth.

to set

Olaf Tryggvesson spent six

in slavery before his uncle learned
years
where marauding Vikings had sent him
after capturing the boy and his mother
as they were on their way to a place of
safety in Russia. By the time he was
twelve, Olaf himself was a Viking chief-

was

As

a child

After harrying various parts of Engmade peace with Aethelred, the

English king, and thereafter always kept
tain.

land he

the peace with England. By that time

his aim was to be a crusader, for he had
come und'er the influence of Christianity

during his raids on England. Having

been converted and baptized by the English priests, he wanted to Christianize his
land as well. He set sail for Norway
in 995. Between that date and 1000,
when he was decoyed into a one-sided

own

battle

with the kings of Denmark and

Sweden and

lost his life at Svolder,

converted

of

all

Norway

as well as

he

many

of the outlying islands, either by the force

of his own -personality, or, when that did

not

suffice,

:>y

force of arms.

Norway was

a Christian land by the time Olaf died,

but there was no Norwegian king strong
enough to rale its entirety while the
Danes and Swedes laid claim to various
parts of the country.

While he was very young, Olaf Har-

up

a central

cause of their resentment the chieftains

when he was

1030,

give

up

man who

him

told

further travel to the

Holy

cut down. His hope

and independence
seemed doomed until suddenly rumors
were spread that miracles had occurred
where his body had fallen. People began

for

national

union

give Olaf Haraldsson a new name,

Olaf the Saint, and the whole Norwegian
to

people suddenly craved the independence

he had fought for.
Olaf the Saint's stepson, Magnus, obtained the title of King of Norway without much trouble. Afterward he made a

King Hardacanute of Denkeep the peace as long as they both

treaty with

mark

to

live, the one surviving to become

the ruler of the other's country.
Hardacanute died, Magnus thereupon became King
o of Denmark. Since Harda-

should

When

Canute had also become King of England

after the death of his father, Magnus laid
claim to England when Edward the Good
became the English king; but he was prevented from invading England by trouble
in Denmark by a false friend
he had made earl there. Letters
were exchanged between Magnus and

ageous that

to

latter

it

rose against him at last. With a

superior
force they fought him at Stiklestad, in

the stoning to death of the archbishop

confirmed Olaf Tryggvesson. It
was said that in Spain Olaf Haraldsson

dreamed of a fearful

The

meant taking
away some of the traditional powers of
the chieftains. He created a form of
justice that worked equally for the chieftains and the common people, and be-

stirred

who had

government.

his hardest task, as

aldsson joined Viking expeditions to England, Jutland,

Holland, France, and
Spain. In England, where the Norwegians

were fighting the Danes who were then

in power in
England, he was present at

Norway. In 1015

whom

up

Edward over Magnus' claim to England,

Edward's reply was so sensible and courin his

own

Magnus was

land and

in England.
Greater troubles beset
his

1S09

content to rule

to let

Edward

reign

Magnus when

uncle, Harald Sigurdsson,

returned

north after

many

years in Russia,

Con-

time,

He

ing

the

royal

guard

called

the

strono

the

Scottish

national

costume, his

people called him Magnus Barefoot. On

a fornging expedition, in 1103,
Magnus
was killed in Ireland before he was thirty

the

plundered all through

south lands and at Constantinople joined

killed.

government became

the

power. Because Magnus returned from

one of his expeditions to Scotland wear-

the Holy Land. Ilarald

stantinople, and
had left Norway after the battle of StikleSaint was
stad, when his brother Olaf the

Vacringer.

Meanwhile he had collected much booty,

which he sent to the Russian king for
finished
safekeeping until he should have
his wanderings. When he tired of life in

years old.
From that time until 1130 peace descended on Norway and the Church in-

creased

its

powers, in the early days the

with her and

daughter, and then traveled

Norwegian churches had been under the

archbishopric of Bremen, but during that
time they gained an archbishopric of

his booty toward Norway. Eventually lie

made a deal with Magnus. He received

sons, Eystein, Sigurd,

to RusConstantinople, he traveled north

sia. There he married Ellisiv, the kino's

half of
booty.

Norway

When

their

own

at

Lund

in return for half his

country, but Olaf

called the

Those years were

Magnus,

Good,

in Sknne. Magnus'
and Olaf, ruled the

was only a small boy.

also the period of the

died of illness, Harald, in contrast called

the Stern, ruled alone. He was a harsh

crusades. Sigurd took men and ships

the Holy Land while Eystein ruled

and he met his death in England

while trying to unthrone Harald God-

home. Sigurd was gone three years and

ruler

to Norway, he and Eystein

were jealous of each other's powers. Olaf
died young and Eystein died before Sifancies before
gurd. Sigurd had strange
he himself died, but he had done much

came back

ued to be credited to Olaf the Saint.

Sometimes he appeared to people in
the Good
dreams, as he did to Magnus
C3
just before his death. Sometimes a pilgrimage to his slirine cured people who
had been crippled from birth or who had

improve the legal system of the counof the

by increasing the powers
at
Things. The congregation of people

to

been maimed in

fighting. It was even said

that Olaf could pull the root of a
tongue

man whose

cut out could

speak
was in Nidaros.

try

the Things became the highest authority

in the land, and even the kings argued
their cases before those representative

tongue had been

again.

His shrine

After Harald the Stern, his sons Maso

nus and Olaf ruled Norway, but
Magnus

bodies.

'

soon died of a sickness. Olaf, called the

Quiet, reigned for twenty-six years. There

was peace in Norway during that time,

and the country gained in riches and
cultivation.

Thereafter Olaf s son

Magnus and his
nephew, Hakon Magnusson, ruled Norway, but Hakon soon died of an illness.
Magnus' xeign was of ten years* time,
most of which he spent in
expeditions

reduce the island possessions

submission to trie central

to

to

at

gained much glory in England, Spain,

Constantinople, and Palestine. He was
afterward called the Crusader. When he

winsson, Edward's successor.

Through these times miracles contin-

so that a

to

full

government in
Norway. Under Magnus, for the first

Neither Olaf nor Eystein had sons.

bur
Magnus, Sigurd's son, became king,
his sole rule was threatened by Harald
who came from Ireland and
Gille,
claimed to be Sigurd's half-brother. Harald passed an ordeal by hot iron to prove
his paternity. After Sigurd's death Harald
was proclaimed king over part of Nor-

way.
ish,
civil

It

was

said that

Magnus was

fool-

but Harald was cruel. A series of

wars ensued, ending when Harald

blinded
captured Magnus and had him
and otherwise mutilated. Thereafter Magnus was called the Blind. He retired to a

1510

was killed by the ormonastery. Harald

der and treachery of Sigurd Slembedegn,
a pretender to the throne.
In the days when Harald's sons reigned
there were more civil wars. Crippled

upon the throne whomever it chose. None

of his
party favored Hakon, called the
Broad-Shouldered, who was defeated in
battle within a
year, when he was only

Inoe was the most popular of Harald's

three sons. Sigurd and Eystein led sep-

Erling Skakke's party finally decided

to put Erling Skakke's son
Magnus on
the throne. The child was five years old

arate factions,

and

so there

was always

unrest in the country.

In 1152, Cardinal Nicholas came to
Norway from Rome to establish an arch-

where Kins; Olaf

bishopric at Nidaros,
the Saint reposed. Cardinal Nicholas was
well loved Isy the people and improved
the pope
of their customs.

When

many

Nicholas became

died

suddenly,
Adrian IV. He
the

was always

Pope

friendly with

Norsemen.
Sigurd and Eystein had been

After
killed

in

alone.

He was

different

battles,

Inge

ruled

when he was
with Hakon Sigurdsson,

twenty-six

killed in battle

who had claimed Eystein's part of Norway. Hakon was little to be trusted. Er-

power behind
1If
upon nimselr
strong party which could put

ling Skakke, previously a

Y

>

Inges throne, then took

to create a

it

fifteen, in

at the time.

162.

He was

a legitimate candi-

however, for his mother was a

of Sigurd
the Crusader. Erling
daughter
O
D
O

date,

Skakke was jealous of power, yet he gave

much

throne

of the traditional authority of the

to the
bishops in exchange for

their blessing on Magnus as king; and he

made an agreement with King Valdemai
of Denmark under which he O
gave Valde-

mar a

part of Norway as a fief under the

Danish crown in exchange for peace. It
had been a long time since a foreign
king had claim to part of Norway. Erling
Skakke spent much of his time wiping
out the descendants of Harald Gille, and
in time he became a tyrant in order to

hold the throne safe for his child, Mag-

nus Erlingsson.

HELEN
of work: Drama
Author: Euripides (c. 485-c. 406 B.C.)
Type of plot: Romantic adventure
Time of plot: Seven years after the sack of Troy

Type

Locale: Egypt
First presented:

412 B.C.
Principal characters:
HELEN, wife of King

Menelaus

MENELAUS, King of Sparta

THEOCLYMENUS, King of Egypt
THEONOE, a prophetess, sister of Theoclymenus
Critique:

There is some disagreement among

Greek scholars as to whether Helen is a
serious play or, because of
tic

its

anticlimac-

happy ending, merely Euripidean

parody.

The

line of action

seems

to

self-

build

toward tragedy, from which it Is averted

at the last moment by a deus ex machina
in the form of the Dioscuri. The story is
taken from a tradition established in the
sixth century B.C. by the Greek poet

who

believed that Paris had

Troy only a phantom Helen
fashioned by Hera, while the real Helen
was taken to Egypt by Hermes. H. D. F.

Stesichoms,

carried off to

Kitto praises this

play, asserting that it
has appropriate rhetoric
throughout, consistent

characterization,

and

faultless

Perhaps the only exceptions to its

comic tone are the first ode of the chorus

plot.

and the murder

of

the

fifty

Egyptian

galley-men.

The

Story:

Helen prayed before the tomb of Proteus, late King of

Egypt, who had pro-

tected her from

any dishonor while her
husband Menelaus was
leading the Greek

hosts at the
siege of Troy in the mistaken
that the
phantom Helen carried

belief
off

by

Paris, son of the

really his wife.

Trojan king, was

She recalled that when

the three goddesses,

Hera, Cypris (Aphrodite), and Athena had
appeared before
Paris and asked him to
judge which was
the fairest,
Cypris had promised him

Helen

as a

Hera,

enraged

prize for choosing her.

at

being rejected,

But
had

caused a phantom Helen to be carried

off to Troy. In Egypt the real Helen
prayed for the safety of her husband and
for protection against
Theoclymenus, son
of Proteus,
was determined to

who

marry

her.

She was accosted by Teucer, an exile

from Achaea, who brought tidings of the
end of the war, the ruin of the Greeks
seeking their homelands, the disappearance of Menelaus and Helen, and the
suicide of Leda, Helen's mother, who
had killed herself because she could not
endure her daughter's shame. The anguished Helen then warned Teucer not
to seek out

the prophetess Theonoe, as

he intended, but to flee, for any Greek
found in Egypt would be killed. The

chorus grieved for Helen, who lamented

her miserable fate and threatened suicide.
In despair, she took the advice of the
chorus and herself sought out Theonoe.

Menelaus, shipwrecked and in rags,

appeared before the palace seeking aid,
only to be berated and sent off by a portress who warned him that since Theoclymenus had Helen in his possession no
Greeks were welcome in
Egypt. Menelaus
was astounded, for he haci just left his
Helen secure in a nearby cave. As he

in
bewilderment, Helen
from
her
conference with Theoemerged
noe and confronted amazed Menelaus.
Helen could not convince him that she
was indeed his wife until a messenger
brought word to Menelaus that the Helen
he had left at the cave was gone, having
stoor<!

1512

there

soared away into the air. The long separated lovers then embraced, rejoiced, and
told each other of all the adventures that

tions concerning

king drowned
there

at

Greek
sea.

burial rites for a

He was

told that

must be a blood-ofFering, an empty

decked and carried in procession,

had befallen them. But their immense

darkened by realization of
happiness was
their present plight: Theoclymenus was
determined to make Helen his own, and

Wr

Menelaus was in danger of his life. The

two resolved that if they could not concoct some scheme for escape, they would
commit suicide rather than be separated

everything to the waters. The gullible

Theoclymenus, anxious to foster piety in
the woman who was about to become his

again.

Theonoe, aware of the presence of

Menelaus, appeared to inform him that,
and was now
although Hera had relented
willino to let him return to Sparta with
Helen, Cypris was unwilling to have it
revealed that she had bribed Paris to be
chosen as the most beautiful of the goddesses. Therefore Theonoe, serving Cyi

felt obliged to expose Menelaus to

her brother. Terrified, Helen fell to her
knees in tears and supplication, and the
enraged Menelaus threatened that they

pris,

would

Theonoe

die rather than submit.

promised to keep silent, and

urged them to devise some way of escape.
After rejecting several of Menelaus'

relented,

Helen

hit

upon
desperate proposals,
scheme which she put into operation as
soon as Theoclymenus returned from a

before him in
trip. Appearing
mourning clothes and addressing him for
the first time as her lord, Helen told him

hunting

i)

in

pitiful

TT

voice

that

a shipwrecked

Greek warrior had just brought her word

that Menelaus had drowned at sea. She
was now ready, she added, to marry
Theoclymenus if he would permit proper
burial honors, in the Greek fashion, for
her husband. Theoclymenus consented
and turned to Menelaus, who was posing
as the bearer of sad tidings, for instruc-

bronze arms, a supply of the fruits of the

earth, all to be taken out to sea in a lar^e
o

ship from

which the widow must commit

wife, agreed to everything, and preparations were made for both a funeral and
a royal wedding.
Later, a breathless

messenger came
running to Theoclymenus with the news
that Helen had escaped with Menelaus.
He described in detail how the Greek
stranger

commanding

the ship

had

per-

mitted a large number of shipwrecked

sailors to come aboard and how, when the
time came to slay the bull, the stranaer,
instead of uttering a funeral praver, had
called upon Poseidon to allow him and

wife to sail safely to Sparta. The

a r oused Egyptians sought to turn back

his

the ship, but they were slaughtered by

the Greek warriors whom Menelaus had

smuggled
raged,
less

aboard.

realized

but resolved

treacherous

Theoclymenus, enpursuit was hopeavenge himself on his

Theonoe. A servant

that
to

sister,

from the palace tried in vain to convince

that he ought to accept what was
obviously an honorable treachery. Both
the servant and Theonoe were saved from
death when the Dioscuri, the twin sons
of Zeus, appeared from the sky to restrain
his rage and explain to him that Heaven

him

had ordained the return of Helen and

Menelaus to their homeland. Theoclymenus was chastened, and the chorus
chanted familiar lines about the irony of
Fate.

HENRY ESMOND
oj work: Novel
Author: William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

Type

oj plot: Historical

Type
Time

romance

of plot: Late seventeenth, early eighteenth, centuries

Locale: England and the Low Countries
first published:

1852
Principal characters:

HENRY ESMOND, a Castlewood ward

FRANCIS ESMONB, Viscount Castlewood

RACHEL ESMOND,

his wife
BEATRIX, their daughter

FRANK,

their

son

LORD MOHUN, a London rake

FATHER HOLT, a Jacobite spy
JAMES STUART, the exiled pretender
Critique:

Thackeray did not have

high* regard
Jl
I----ri.
for the average historian of his
day. To
present history as he thought it should
f

\*J

L-'

be presented, he wrote The History vjHenry Esmond, a novel which contains

a blend of fact and fiction. There is fact
in the

many

There

book.

is

fiction in the love

to

likely

at

are so ineffectual

as

ludicrous; but

witchery

of

In her,

charms.

Story:

Henry Esmond grew up at Castlewood.

He knew there was some
mystery about
his birth and he
dimly remembered that
long ago he had lived with weavers who
spoke a foreign tongue. Thomas Esmond,

Viscount Castlewood, had

brought him
to
England and turned him over to Father
Holt, the chaplain, to be educated. That
much he learned as he
grew older.
All was not
peace andn quiet at Castlewood in those years, when his
lordship
j

.*_

and Father Holt were

engaged in a plot
for

the restoration of the exiled

Stuart

icing,

James

II.

When

at

the

appeared.
Henry, a large-eyed, gravefaced twelve-year-old
boy,' was left alone
with servants in the
old house.

There
cousins,

his

new

Francis

found him

when

gloomy

guardians and distant

and Rachel Esmond,

man, greeted the boy kindly enough. His

wife was like a girl herself
she was only

delightfully puzzling and fascinating coquettes in all English literature,

^.

death

Es-

Henry

Thackeray has created one of the most

The

to his

winning Beato be almost

no reader can escape the

Beatrix's

off

they arrived to take posCastlewood. The new Viscount Castlewood, a bluff, loud-voiced

patience with

lose

mond, whose attempts

trix

story

Henry Esmond, who was in

with two women. Today's reader is

rode

Boyne. His widow fled to her

dower house at Chelsea. Father Holt dis-

historical characters of the

of Colonel

love

Esmond

battle of the

James attempted

to recover Ireland for the

Stuarts,

Thomas

session

of

older
than Henry and
years
Henry thought her the loveliest lady he
had ever seen. With them were a little
daughter, Beatrix, and a son, Frank, a
eight

baby

in arms.

As Henry grew older he became more

and more concerned over the rift he saw
coming between Rachel Esmond and her
husband, both of

whom

they had treated

him

he loved because

as one of the im-

mediate family in the household at

Castlewood. It was plain that the harddrinking, hard-gambiing nobleman was
wearying of his quiet country life. After
Rachel's face was
disfigured by smallpox, her altered beauty caused her hus-

band to neglect her even more. Young

Beatrix also felt that relations between

^er P ar ^nts were strained.

When Henry

was old enough, he went

Cambridge, sent there on money left
Rachel by a deceased relative. Later,

to

1S14

when

lie

returned to Castlewood on a

vacation, he realized for the first time

that Beatrix was exceptionally attractive.

had never really noticed

Apparently he
her before. Rachel, for her part, had
for her young kinsman. Begreat regard

from Cambridge, accordRachel went to Henry's

ing to Beatrix,
room ten times to see that it was ready.
Relations between Rachel and the viscount were all but severed when the
notorious Lord Mohun visited Castlewood. Rachel knew her husband had
been losing heavily to Mohun at cards,
fore his arrival

but

when

she spoke to the viscount about

company he was keeping, he flew

He was by no means calmed
rage.

the bad
into a

when

Beatrix innocently blurted out to

her father, in the company of Mohun,

gentleman was interested in

Rachel. Jealous of another man's attentions to the wife he himself neglected,
the viscount determined to seek satisfac-

that

that

tion in a duel.

The two men

fought in London, where

the viscount had gone on the pretext of

seeing a doctor. Henry, who suspected
the real reason for the trip, went along,
for he hoped to engage Mohun in a fight

and thus save the

guardian.

no mood
to

The
to

of his beloved

was

in

be cheated out of an excuse

provoke a quarrel.

debt to

life

viscount, however,

Mohun and

He was
thought

heavily in
a

fight

was

way out of his diffiMoreover, he knew Mohun had

the only honorable

culties.

written letters to Rachel, although, as the

villain explained, she

had never answered

They fought, and Mohun foully

and fatally wounded the viscount. On his

them.

deathbed the viscount confessed to his

young kinsman that Henry was not an
the son of Thomas,
illegitimate child, but
Lord Castlewood, by an early marriage,
and the true heir to the Castlewood tide.

Henry Esmond generously burned the

dying man's confession and resolved
never to divulge the secret.
For his part in the duel Henry Esmond
was sent to prison. When Rachel visited

Henry in prison, she was enraged because he had not stopped the duel and
because he had allowed Mohun to go unShe rebuked Henry and

punished.

bade him

Henry
army.

to return to

Castlewood.

for-

When

prison he decided to join the

For that purpose he visited the

left

old dowager viscountess, his

stepmother,
who bought him a commission.

Henry's military ventures were highly

and won for him his share of
wounds and glory. He fought in the camsuccessful,

the

of

paign

Duke

of

Marlborough

against Spain and France in 1702 and

in the campaign of Blenheim in 1704.

Between

the

two campaigns he returned

Castlewood, where he was reconciled

with Rachel. There he saw Frank, now
to

Lord Castlewood, and Beatrix, who was

Rachel herself cautioned Henry that Beatrix was selfish and
temperamental and would make no man

cordial toward him.

happy who loved her.

After the campaign of 1704 Henry
turned

to his cousins,

who were

To Henry,

re-

living

Beatrix was more

and even more the
coquette. But he found himself unable
to make up his mind whether he loved
in London.

beautiful than ever

her or Rachel. Later, during the campaign of 1706, he learned from Frank
that the ravishing Beatrix
to

an

spirits

was engaged

The news put Henry in low

because he now felt she would

earl.

never marry a poor captain like himself.

Henry's affairs of the heart were put
temporarily into the background when
he came upon Father Holt in Brussels.
The priest told Henry that while on an
expedition in the

Low

Countries,

Thomas

Esmond, his father, had seduced the

young woman who was Henry's mother.
A few weeks before his child was born
Thomas Esmond was injured in a duel.
Thinking he would die, he married the
woman so that her child would be bom
with an untainted name. But Thomas
Esmond did not die, and when he recovered from his wounds he deserted his
wife and married a distant kinswoman,

1515

the dowager viscountess,

Henry's step-

mother.

whom the Jacobites called James

the king over the water. The
two
came secretly to the Castlewood home

chevalier
III,

When Henry returned to Castlewood,

Rachel Informed him she had learned his
secret from the old viscountess and connot Frank, was
sequently knew that he,
the true heir. For the second time

refused to accept the

him.
Beatrix's interest in

title

Henry

belonging to

Henry grew

after

she became engaged to the Duke of Hamilton and learned that Henry was not

but the bearer of a

her brother was using. Henry wanted
to give Beatrix a diamond necklace for a
wedding present, but the duke would not

illegitimate in birth

London, the prince passing as Frank,

young viscount, and there the royal
exile saw and [ell in love with Beatrix.

in

the

Fearing the results of this infatuation,

Lady Castlewood and Henry

sent Beatrix
against her will to Castlewood. When
a report that the queen was

dying swept
through London, the prince was nowhere
to be found.
Henry and Frank made a
night ride to Castlewood. Finding the

title

pretender there, in the room used by

Father Holt in the old
days, they renounced him and the Jacobite cause.

fiance" e to receive a
gift from
one of illegitimate birth. Rachel came
to the young man's defense and declared
before the duke, her daughter, and

Henry

permit his

Henry

the secret of his birth and

title.

Later the duke was killed in a duel with

Lord Mohun, who also met his death at

the same time. The killing of Rachel's
husband was avenged.

The Duke

of Hamilton's death
gave
one
more
chance to win Beatrix's
Henry
heart. He threw himself into a
plot to

put the young Stuart pretender on the

throne
this

to

when

old

end he went
smuggle

into

Queen Anne
to

died.

To

France and helped

England

the

young

dead

realized his love for Beatrix was

at last.

He

no regrets
he rode back

felt

or for the prince as

for her

to

Lon-

don and heard the heralds

proclaiming
George I, the new king.

The

prince

made

his

way

secretly back

where Beatrix joined him in

his exile.
At last Henry felt free to
declare himself to Rachel, who had
grown
very dear to him. Leaving Frank in possession of the title and the Castlewood
estates, Henry and his wife went to
America. In Virginia he and Rachel built
to France,

a new Castlewood, reared a

family, and
found happiness in their old age.

HENRY
Type of work: Drama
Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Type
Time

of plot; Historical chronicle

of plot: 1520-1533
Locale: England
first presented: c.

1612

Principal characters:

KING HENHY THE EIGHTH

THOMAS WOLSEY, Cardinal of York and Lord Chancellor
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS, papal legate
CRANMER, the Archbis'iop of Canterbury
DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM
DUKE OF SUFFOLK

o England

DUKE OF NORFOLK
GARDINER, the Bishop

of Winchester

THOMAS CROMWELL, Wolsey's servant

QUEEN KATHARINE, wife of Henry, later divorced
ANNE BOLEYN, maid of honor to Katharine, later queen
Critique:

In the prologue to Henry VIII the audience is advised that this is not a happy
play; it should be received in sadness. T le

seeking his own ends, he had removed any

possible obstacle in his climb to power.
One such hindrance to his ambitious

is
incomplete and the advice
somewhat misleading. True, the play is

designs was the

description

sad in

its

reality of ambition,

political

maneuvering, misunderstanding, and unhappiness but, as the story progresses,

honesty and altruism predominate. And it
is difficult to
imagine a Shakespearean
audience receiving with sadness Cran?

mer's eloquent prophecy regarding the

newborn

Queen

known

to

history as

Henry VIII

vividly pic-

princess,

Elizabeth.

tures British court life in

pomp and

in

its

its

spectacular

behind-the-throne hu-

manity. Many authorities credit John

Fletcher with tKe part-authorship of this
play.

The Story:
Cardinal Wolsey, a powerful figure at
court during the reigns of Henry VII and
Henry VIII, was becoming too aggressive
in his self
was

-aggrandizement. Wolsey
stock, which fact accentuated
his personal
qualities. Since he had lacked
the advantages of
family and ancestral

of

humble

office,

his political

prominence was enown wisdom, man-

the result of his

tirely
ner,

and persistence. Unscrupulous in

Duke

cused of high
o treason.

of

Buckingham,

ac-

When Buckingham
o

was brought before the court

for trial,

Queen

Katharine, speaking in his defense,

protested against the cardinal's unjust
taxes and informed the king
growing
& of 6

among
Wolsey

animosity
retained

-i

ins people because

as his adviser.

ne

Wolsey

produced witnesses, among them Buckingham's discharged surveyor, who testified

Buckingham's disloyalty. The surveyor

swore that, at the time of the king's journey to France, the duke had sought

to

priestly
,ie

confirmation for his belief that

by gaining favor with the com-

could,

mon people, rise to govern England. In his

lengthy and persistent testimony the surveyor played upon earlier minor offenses
Buckingham had committed, and lie
climaxed his accusation with an account
of the duke's assertion that he would murder the king in order to gain the throne.
In spite of Katharine's forthright protWolsey in his presence,
and her repeated contention of false
testimony against Buckingham, the accused man was found guilty and
estations against

sentenced to Be executed.

1517

The

duke,

for-

recalled the
bearing toward his enemies,

final request to the

of Buckexperience of his father, Henry

been betrayed by a servhad
who
ingham,
VII had restored the honor of
ant.

served her so
strength to tolerate the injustices she had endured lay in her trust
in a Power which, she said, could not be
faithfully.

Henry

the family by elevating the present duke

to favor. One difference prevailed between
the two trials, the duke stated; his father

the king's conscience

hat.

These, among many other offenses,

were of little importance compared with

by questions regardwho had

brother.

Wolsey's double-dealing against the king

in the divorce proceedings. Because Wol-

Wolsey furthered his cause against Katharine by arousing Henry's interest in

Anne Boleyn, whom the king met at a gay
ball given by the cardinal.

sey feared that Henry would marry Anne

Boleyn instead of seeking a royal alliance
in France, Wolsey asked the pope to delay

in securplan followed by Wolsey

was not a difficult

the divorce.

his letter

was

delivered

the

king, Wolsey, confronted with the result of his own careshowed the true tenacious
lessness,

one. In addition to his evident trust of

felt keenly the fact that
the

bom

When

by mistake

Henry

king
Wolsey,
the male children

Wol-

Ego et Rex meus, \vhich subordinated the king to the cardinal, and to have
a British coin stamped with a cardinal's

tion,

ing a divorce for

itself in

power. His great pride

had caused him to accumulate greater
wealth than the king's, to use an inscripsey's designs for

ham's son, sent him to Ireland as a deputy;

then, incensed and uneasy because of
Katharine's open accusations, he pricked

The

Her

corrupted by a king.
But ambition overrode

had been unjustly dealt with, but he himself had had a noble trial.
Wolsey, fearing reprisal from Bucking-

to Katharine,
ing his marriage
been the widow of Henry's

king the maintenance

who had

of the domestics

to

him and Kath-

character of the ambitious climber. Al-

arine in their twenty years of marriage had

been stillborn or had died shortly after
birth. Consequently, there was no male

though he realized that his error was his

undoing, he attempted to ingratiate himself once more with the king.

to

He was

heir in direct succession.

The

cardinal's final step to be rid of his

chief adversary at court was to appeal to
Cardithe pope for a royal divorce.

When

nal

Campeius

arrived

from

Rome

more

resorted to perjured witnesses. Requesting counsel, Katharine was told by

Wolsey that the honest and intelligent

gathered at the hearing were of her

Cardinal Campeius supported

to have the queen sequestered,

but Henry wished no meddling with his

marital affairs. Repentant that he had not

served God with the effort and fervor with

which he had served the king, Wolsey left

the court, a broken-spirited man. He was
later arrested in York, to be returned for
was saved
arraignment before Henry. He

choosing.

the humiliation of

Wolsey's stand.
In speeches of magnificent
dignity

died on the

and

honesty, Katharine denounced the political

treachery that had caused her so much

unhappiness. Later, however, Katharine,

expelled from the court and sequestered in

Kimbolton, was able to feel compassion for

Wolsey when informed that he had died
in ill-repute; and her
undying devotion to

Henry was

indicated in her death note to

him. Altruistic

to the last, she

made

He

maneuver

as

counsel to the king, Katharine appeared

in her own defense. But Wolsey had once

men

too late to save himself.

could instigate the unseating and banishment of subordinates and he could

as her

way

to

trial,

however, for he

London.

seHenry, shortly after the divorce,

WolAfter
Anne
married
Boleyn.
cretly
was crowned queen with
sey's death she
new Archgreat pomp. Cranmer, the

bishop of Canterbury, became Henry's

chief adviser.

Jealousy

and

not disappear
rivalry did

from the court with the downfall of Wolsey.

of
Charging heresy, Gardiner, Bishop
set out to undermine Cran-

Winchester,

1518

mer's position with the king. Accused as

an arch
trial.

heretic,

Cranmer was brought

Henry, trusting his

favorite,

to

gave

him the royal signet ring which he was

to show to the council if his entreaties and
reasoning failed with his accusers. Cranmer, overcome hy the king's kindness,

wept in gratitude.
As he stood behind a curtain near the
council room, the king heard Gardiner's
When Gardiner
charges against Cranmer.
ordered

Cranmer to
was

that the council

the Tower, stating

acting on the pleas-

ure of the king, the accused

man produced

the ring and insisted upon his right to

to the king. Realizing
appeal the case

had been tricked by a ruse which

used for many years, the
had
Wolsey
that they

nobles were penitent. Appearing before

the council, Henry took his seat at the

condemn the assemblage for their

in dealing with Cranmer. After
giving his blessings to those present and
imploring them to be motivated in the
table to
tactics

future by unity and love, he asked Cranmer to be godfather to the daughter re-

cently born to Anne Boleyn.

At the christening Cranmer prophesied
that the child, Elizabeth, would be wise
and virtuous, that her life would be a

pattern to all princes who knew her, and

that she would be loved and feared because of her goodness and her strength.

He

said that she

would rule long and every

day of her reign would be blessed with

good deeds.

HENRY THE
of work: Drama
Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Type

Type of plot: Historical romance

Time of 'plot: Early Dart of tlie fifteenth century
Locale:

England anc. France

First presented:

1600

Principal characters:

HENRY THE

FIFTH, King of England

of France

CHARLES THE SIXTH, King

PRINCESS KATHARINE, his daughter

THE DAUPHIN,

MONTJOY,

his son
a French herald

Henry the

Fifth Shake-

Critique:

In

The

Life of

speare skillfully

When

combined poetry, pag-

came, not from Charles, the

king, but from his arrogant eldest son,
the Dauphin. According to the ambas-

and history in his effort to glorify

England and Englishmen. King Henry

eantry,

himself represents

that

all

is

finest

in

sadors, the

Dauphin considered the Engmonarch the same hot-headed, irresponsible youth he had been before he
ascended the throne. To sV>v that he

English royalty; and yet when Henry

notes on the eve of the battle of Agincourt that he is also a man like other
men, Shakespeare shows us an English-

man who
ity

lish

Henry an unfit ruler whose

demands were ridiculous, the Dauphin
presented Henry with some tennis balls.

considered

possesses that quality of humil-

which makes great men even

Few

greater.

can see or read the play without

sharing, at least for the moment, Shake-

Enraged by the insult, Henry told the

French messengers to warn their master
that the tennis balls would be turned

England and in things

English, and without sensing the vigor
and the idealism that are part of the

speare's pride in

Into

gun-stones
French.

The

Anglo-Saxon heritage.

The

Story:

Once

the toss-pot prince of FalstafFs

tavern brawls,

Henry

was now

Mng

at

Westminster, a stern but just monarch

concerned with his hereditary claim to
the crown of France. Before the arrival
of the French ambassadors, the
young
king asked for legal advice from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
that

The king thought

he was the legal heir

to the throne of
France through Edward III, whose claim
to the French throne was, at
best,

ques-

The Archbishop assured Henry

he had as much right to the French

tionable.

that

the ambassadors from France

arrived, they

throne as did the French

king; conseand the
quently, both the

Archbishop
Bishop of Ely urged Henry to press his
demands against the French.

for

use

against

English prepared for war.

Dauphin

remained

habitants,

unless

the

The

contemptuous of
Henry, but others, including the French
Constable and the ambassadors who had
seen Henry in his wrath, were not so
confident. Henry's army landed to lay
siege to Harfleur, and the king threatened
into
destroy the city, together with its
it

surrendered.

The

French governor had to capitulate because help promised by the Dauphin

never arrived. The French, meanwhile,
were with the exception of King
Charles alarmed by the rapid progress
of the English through France. That

however, was so sure of victory

his herald, Montjoy, to
to
demand
that the English king
Henry
pay a ransom to the French, give himself
up, and have his soldiers withdraw from

ruler,

that

1520

he sent

Henry was not impressed by

France.

this

bold gesture, and retorted that if King

Charles wanted him, the Frenchman

should come to get him.

On the eve of the decisive battle of
the English were outnumAgincourt,
bered five to one. Henry's troops were on
foreign soil and ridden with disease. To
encourage them, and also to sound out
their morale, the king borrowed a cloak
and in this disguise walked out among

his troops, from watch to watch and from

tent to tent. As he talked with his men,
he told them that a king is but a man like

and that if he were a king he

would not want to be anywhere except
where he was, in battle with his soldiers.
other men,

To

himself,

Henry mused over

and

of kingship.
responsibilities
thought of himself simply as a

the cares

Again he

man who

from other men only in cerean empty thing.

Henry's sober reflections on the eve of
a great battle, in which he thought much
were quite
English blood would be shed,
different from those of the French, who
were exceedingly confident of their abil-

differed

mony,

ity

itself

to defeat their

enemy. Shortly before

the conflict began, Mont joy again apto give the English
peared before Henry

one

last

chance

to

surrender.

Henry

He was
again refused to be intimidated.
not discouraged by the numerical inferiof his troops, for, as he reasoned in
ority

speaking with one of his officers, the

fewer troops the English had, the greater
would be the honor to them when they

won.

The following day the battle began.

Because of Henry's leadership, the
English held their own. When French reinforcements arrived at a crucial point
in the battle, Henry ordered his men to
kill all their

prisoners so that the energies

of the English might be directed
entirely
against the enemy in front of them, not

Soon the tide turned. A much

humbler Montjoy approached Henry to
request a truce for burying the French

behind.

dead.

and

Henry granted the

herald's request,

same time learned from him

that the French had conceded defeat.
Ten thousand French had been killed,
and only twenty-nine English.
The battle over, nothing remained for
Henry to do but to discuss with the
French king terms of peace. Katharine,
Charles' beautiful daughter, was Henry's
chief demand, and while his lieutenants
settled the details of surrender with the
at the

French, Henry

and asked her

made

love to the princess

marry him. Though

Katharine's knowledge of English was
and Henry's knowledge of French
slight
little better, they were both acquainted
with the universal language of love.
French Katharine consented to become
English Kate and Henry's bride.
to

HENRY THE FOURTH, PART ONE

Type of work: Drama
Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Type of plot: Historical chronicle
Time of plot: 1400-1405
Locale: England
first presented:

1596
Principal characters:

KING HENRY THE FOURTH

HENRY, Prince of Wales
JOHN OF LANCASTER, another son of the Icing
EARL OF WESTMORELAND, and
SIR WALTER BLUNT, members of the king's party
HOTSPUR, son o Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland

THOMAS PERCY, Earl

EDMUND MORTIMER,

of Worcester, Hotspur's uncle

Earl of March, Hotspur's brother-in-law

claimant to the throne

SIR JOHN FALSTAFF, a bibulous knight
MISTRESS QUICKLY, hostess of the Boar's

Head Tavern

and

in

Eastcheap

his predecessor,

planned a

Critique:

In Part

of

The

History of King Henry

and dramatic se-

Richard

II,

-pil-

quences involving affairs of state are secondary to the comic aspects of the plot.

Holy Land. He declarec. to

his lords that war had been banished from
England and that peace would reign

Falstaff,

throughout the kingdom.

historical

character,

details

Shakespeare's best humorous

is the
figure whose entrances

have been anticipated by audiences of

every period. Here, within a historical

framework, humor

and

no sense

In

exists for its

are the

own

humorous

sake,

details a

subplot to the activities of the Crown.

Woven into and between the scenes of
court and military
Falstaff

and

affairs,

the antics of

his mates created a suitable

atmosphere for showing Prince Henry's

character.

He entered into their

tricks

and

zaniness with an abandon

equal to the
irresponsibility of the commonest of the

group. FalstafFs

lies,

thieving, drinking,
of re-

and debauchery made him the butt

peated ludicrous situations.

He

used any

reverse to the
advantage of obtaining another bottle of sack, of
gratifying his

ego

by

attracting the attention of his cohorts,

or of

endearing himself, with his sly rasto the

prince. Because of Falstaff,

cality,

comedy and

The

history join in this play.

grimage

to

the

But there were those of differing opinPowerful barons in the North remained disaffected after the accession of
ions.

new king. Antagonized by his failure

keep promises made when he claimed
the throne, they recruited forces to maintain their feudal rights. In fact, as
Henry
the

to

announced plans for his expedition to the

Holy Land, he was informed of the brutal
murder of a thousand persons in a fray
between Edmund Mortimer, proclaimed
by Richard as heir to the crown, and Glendower, a Welsh rebel. Mortimer was taken
prisoner. A messenger also brought word
of Hotspur's success
against the Scots at
Holmedon Hill. The king expressed his

commendation

of the

young knight and

his regrets that his own son, Prince

was so irresponsible and carefree.

Henry,

But King Henry, piqued by Hotspur's

him more than one

refusal to release to
prisoner,

ordered a council meeting

to

the overzealous Hotspur to terms,

At the meeting Henry refused to ransom
:>ring

Story:

King Henry, conscience-stricken because of his part in the murder of

King

Mortimer, the pretender to the throne,

held by Glendower. In turn, Hotspur re-

1522

fused to release the prisoners taken at

Holmedon Hill, and Henry threatened

more strenuous action against Hotspur

and his kinsmen.
In a rousing speech Hotspur appealed
to the power and nobility of Northumberland and Worcester and urged that they
undo the wrongs of which they were
in the dethronement and murder
guilty
of Richard and in aiding Henry instead
of Mortimer to the crown. Worcester
to help Hotspur in his cause
Henry. Worcester's plan would
involve the aid of Douglas of Scotland, to
be sought after by Hotspur, of Glendower
and Mortimer, to be won over through

promised
aaainst

command

the prince took

ment

of a detach-

would join ranks with other

units of the roya! annyBlunt's, Prince
John's, Westmoreland's, and the king's
that

in twelve days.

Prince Henry's conduct seemed to

change very little. He continued his buffoonery with Falstaff, who had recruited
a handful of
bedraggled, nondescript foot
J

Falstaff s

soldiers.

contention was that,

despite their physical condition, they were

food for powder and that little more could

be said

for

any

soldier.

Hotspur's forces suffered gross reverses

Worcester's efforts, and of the Archbishop

of York, to be approached by Northumber-

Northumberland's failure, beorganize an army. Also,

Hotspur's ranks were reduced because
Glendower believed the stars not propi-

land.

tious for

Hotspur's

boldness

and

impatience

were shown in his dealing with Glendower as they, Mortimer, and Worcester
discussed the future division of the kingdom. Hotspur, annoyed by the tedium of

through

cause of

illness, to

him to march at that time. Undaunted by the news of his reduced forces,
Hotspur pressed on to meet Henry's army
of thirty thousand.

At Shrewsbury, the scene

Sir

Walter Blunt carried

to

of the battle,
Hotspur the

Glendower 's personal account of his own

and by the uneven distribution of land, was impudent and rude.
Hotspur was first a soldier, then a gen-

would be righted and that anyone involved in the revolt would be pardoned if
he chose a peaceful settlement. In answer

tleman.

to

ill-fated birth

In the king's opinion, Prince Henry

was quite lacking in either of these attributes. In one of their foolish pranks Sir

John

Falstaff

and

his riotous

band had

robbed some travelers at Gadshill, only to

be set upon and put to flight by the prince
and one companion. Summoning the
the
prince from the Boar's Head Tavern,
his son to break with the unkins
O urged
O
desirable company he kept, chiefly the
ne'er-do-well Falstaff. Contrasting young
Henry with Hotspur, the king pointed out

the military achievements of Northumberland's

heir.
high-spirited
Congenial,
Prince
remorseful because of his

Henry,

father's lack of confidence in

his allegiance to his father

him, swore

and declared

he would show the king that in time of

Hotspur's glorious deeds would

prove Hotspur no better soldier than
Prince Henry. To substantiate his pledge,
crisis

king's

offer

that

the rebels'

grievances

the king's message Hotspur reviewed

the history of Henry's double-dealing and
scheming in the past. Declaring that

Henry's lineage should not continue on

the throne, Hotspur finally promised
Blunt that Worcester would wait upon
the long to give

him an answer

to his

offer.

to
Henry repeated his offer of amnesty
Worcester and Vemon, Hotspur's ambassadors. Because Worcester doubted the
on account of previous besincerity,

king's

to
Hotspur on his return
the king
that
and
reported
camp
in abusive terms had announced his determination to march at once against Hot-

trayals,

he

lied to

the rebel

also reported Prince

to Hotspur that they
invitation
Henry's
the
fight a duel. Hotspur gladly accepted

spur.

Worcester

challenge.
As the two armies moved into battle,
Blunt, mistaken for the king, was slain by

who, learning his error, was

killed
grieved that he had not

Douglas,
sorely

Henry. Douglas, declaring that he would

accosted him after a
yet murder the king,
long search over the field. He would have
been successful in his threat had it not
been for the intervention of Prince Henry,
who engaged Douglas and allowed the
king to withdraw from the fray.
In the fighting Hotspur descended upon
Prince Henry, exhausted from an earlier
wound and his recent skirmish with Douglas. When the two
young knights fought,

Hotspur was wounded. Douglas again appeared, fighting with Falstaff, and departed after Falstaff

ground
of his

as if

had

fallen

to

the

he were dead. Hotspur died

wounds and Prince Henry, before

going off to join Prince John, his brother,

eulogized Hotspur and Falstaff. The two

benedictions were quite different. But

Falstaff

had only pretended

lifelessness

to save his life. After the

prince's depar-

ture he stabbed Hotspur.

He

declared that

he would swear before any council that

he had killed the young rebel.
Worcester and Vernon were taken
prisoners. Because
they had not relayed to

Hotspur the peace terms offered by the

they were sentenced to death.

king,

Douglas, in flight after Hotspur's death,

was taken prisoner. Given the

mission

Henry

king's per-

dispose of Douglas, Prince

ordered that the valiant Scottish
to

knight be freed.
The king sent Prince John

to

march

against the forces of Northumberland and

the Archbishop of York. He and Prince

took the field

against Glendower
and Mortimer, in Wales. Falstaff had the
honor of carrying off the slain Hotspur.

Henry

HENRY THE FOURTH, PART TWO

Drama
of work:
Author: William Shakespeare (1 564-1616)
chronicle
of "plot: Historical

Type
Time

of 'plot: 1405-1413
Locale: England

1597

First presented:

Principal characters:

KING HENRY THE FOURTH

HENRY, Prince of Wales
JOHN OF LANCASTER, another son of the king
EARL OF WESTMORELAND, a member of the king's party
EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND, enemy of the king
SIR JOHN FALSTAFF, a riotous old knight
SHALLOW, a country justice
THE LOKD CHIEF JUSTICE, judge of the King's Bench
MISTRESS QUICKLY, hostess of the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap

Critique:

As

The

History of King Henry IV,

is an outstanding feature
of this sequel. The same devices puns,
Part

in

comedy

I,

are used to good

hyperbole, coarseness
effect, and in the earlier scenes of the play
the character of Falstaff again sustains the
of high
spirit

through

this

he did in the

comedy.

He

ambles his way

second part of Henry

TV

as

his lying, drinking, and

useful to his own ends.

first,

chicanery still
In this sequel he becomes further involved
with Mistress Quickly, and his promise to

no more binding than are any

other vows. At the end Falstaff goes

marry her
of his

is

on breezily promising great things

friends, until bis death.

display

comiribn

to

for his

The pomp and

Shakespeare's

his-

permeate the serious

scene
parts of the drama, and the deathbed
between Henry IV and Prince Henry is

torical

chronicles

generally considered

among

the best in

Henry's avowal to put down rebellion by

crushing those forces still opposing him,
Northumberland, sorely grieved by news
of his son's death, prepared to avenge that
loss.
Hope lay in the fact that the Arch-

bishop of York had mustered an army,

because soldiers so organized, being responsible to the Church rather than to a

military leader, would prove better fighters

than those who had fled from Shrewsbury

News

field.

that

the king's

twenty-five thousand

forces

of

men had been

di-

vided into three units was encouraging to

his enemies,

In spite of Northumberland's grief for

and his impassioned threat
Prince Henry, he
against the king and
was easily persuaded by his wife and Hot-

his slain son

widow to flee to Scotland, there to

await the success of his confederates be-

spur's
fore

he would consent

to join

them with

dramatic literature.

his army.

The

Meanwhile Falstaff delayed in carrying

out his orders to proceed north and recruit
involved with
troops for the king. Deeply

Story:

After the battle of Shrewsbury many

were circulated among the

false reports

peasants. At last they reached Northumberland, who believed for a time that the
rebel forces had been victorious. But his

from that stricken field,

brought a true account of the death of
Hotspur, Northumberland's valiant son,
retainers, fleeing

at the

hands of Prince Henry, and of King

Mistress Quickly, he used his royal commission to avoid being imprisoned for
debt. With. Prince
little

heed

to

Henry, who had paid

the conduct of the war, he

continued his riotous feasting and jesting

until both were summoned to join the

army marching against the rebels.

tad
King Henry, aging and weary,

1525

News

been ill for two weeks. Sleepless nights

had taken their toll on him, and in his
restlessness he reviewed his ascent to the
of

monition

to his younger sons, Gloucester

and Clarence, regarding their future conduct, and he asked for unity among his

brought
somewhat heartened by the news of Glenunscrupulousness

him by

against

the rebels.

He was

sons. Spent by his

long discourse, the king
lapsed into unconsciousness.
Prince Henry, summoned to his
dyina
father's bedside, found the
king in a

dower's death.

In Gloucestershire, recruiting troo'ps at

the house of Justice Shallow, Fa. staff
ableaccepted bribes and let
grossly

bodied

The

men buy

raggle-taggle

themselves out of service.

stupor,

lot.

Prince John of Lancaster, taking the

field against the rebels, sent word by West-

moreland to the archbishop that the king's

forces were willing to make peace, and he
asked that the rebel leaders

make known

their grievances so that they

rected.

might be

cor-

When

John and the archbishop met for

John questioned and criticized the archbishop's dual role as churchman and warrior. Because the rebels
announced their intention to fight until
their wrongs were righted, John promised
redress for all. Then he suggested that the
archbishop's troops be disbanded after a
formal review; he wished to see the stalwart soldiers that his army would have
fought if a truce had not been declared.
His request was granted, but the men,

a conference,

excited

by the prospect of

crown and promised, in his turn, to wear

the crown graciously. As he spoke, he
placed the crown on his head and left the
room. Awaking and learning that the
prince had donned the crown, King
Henry immediately assumed that his son
wished him dead in order to inherit the
kingdom. Consoled by the wince's strong
denial of such wishful thinking, the
king
confessed his own unprincipled behavior
in o
the crown. Asking God's forgaining
c?

giveness,

his powerful lords in

opposing leaders arrested for high

and others, including the arch-

bishop, for capital treason. John explained

that his action was in
keeping with his

promise to improve conditions and that to

remove

rebellious factions

was the

first

step in his campaign. The enemy leaders

were sentenced to death. Falstaff took
Coleville, the fourth of the rebel leaders,

who was
others.

sentenced to execution with the

wars with foreign

internal strife.

The

treason

journey

of
powers, thereby relieving the country

among

prince. With his troops assembled and

the enemy's disbanded, John ordered some

to

the

scattered so
rapidly that inspection was impossible. Westmoreland, sent to disband

John's army, returned to report that the

soldiers would take orders
only from the

he repeated his plan

Holy Land to divert his subjects

from revolt, and he advised the prince,
when he should become king, to involve
to

their release,

of the

with the crown beside him. The

prince, remorseful and compassionate, expressed regret that the king had lived such
a tempestuous existence because of the

he took to the war were a

soldiers

as

tory could not gladden the sad old king.

His chief concern lay in advice and ad-

throne and denied, to his lords, the accusation

was brought to
he lay dying, but the vic-

of John's success

King Henry

sorrow
king's death caused great
those who loved him and to those

feared the prince, now Henry

short time before, the Lord Chief Justice,
acting on the command of Henry IV, had

who

V.

alienated the prince by banishing Falstaff

and his band, but the newly crowned king

accepted the Chief Justice's explanation

for his treatment of Falstaff and restored
his judicial powers.
Falstaff was rebuked for his conduct by
Henry who stated that he was no longer
the person Falstaff had known him to be.

Until the old knight learned to correct his

ways, the king banished him, on pain of
death, to a distance ten miles away from
Henry's person. He promised, however,
that

1526

if

amends were made

Falstaff

would

return by degrees to trie king's good graces.

Undaunted by that reproof, Falstaff exbis cronies that he yet would
plained to
make them great, that the king's repri-

mand was only a front, and that the king

would send for him and in the secrecy of
the court chambers they would indulge in

their

old foolishness

vancement

and plan the ad-

of FalstafFs followers.

Prince John,
expressing his admiration
Henry's public display of his changed
attitude, prophesied that England would
be at war with France before a
year had
for

passed.

HENRY THE
of work: Drama
Author. William Shakespeare

PART

SIXTH,

Type

Type
Time

(1

564-1616)

chronicle
of plot: Historical
of plot:

1422-1444

and Fiance
England
o
Fwst presented: c. 1592

Locale:

Principal characters:

KING HENHY VI

DUKE OF GLOSTER, uncle of the king and Protector of the Realm

DUKE OF BEDFORD, uncle of the king and Regent of France
HENRY BEAUFORT, Bishop of Winchester, afterward cardinal
RICHARD PLANTAGENET, who "becomes Duke of York
JOHN BEAUFORT. Earl of Somerset
EARL OF SUFFOLK
LORD TALBOT, a general, afterward Ear! of Shrewsbury
CHARLES, the Dauphin, afterward King of France
THE BASTARD OF ORLEANS, a French general
MARGARET OF ANJOU, afterward married to King Henry
JOAN LA PUCELLE, commonly called Joan of Arc
Critique:

The gravest defeat reported was

the imprisonment of Lord Talbot, general
of the English armies. Bedford swore to

Replete with political intrigue, courtly

of battle, and the mys-

of revolt.

pomp, grandeur

tery of witchcraft,

Part

King Henry the Sixth,

Shakespearean historical
drama. Also typical, but more flagrant
than in most of the other history chroni-

avenge his

cles are the playwright's gross distortions

and inaccuracies in historical detail.
dis-

old,

1, is

typically

which

development

instances

an

earlier

drama,

The

Bishop of Win-

planned to seize the king's person

ingratiate himself into royal favor.
In France, the Dauphin and his gen-

erals,

discussing the conduct of the war,

to overwhelm the depleted Eng-

attempted

lish forces.

known by

Although outnumbered and

without leaders, the English fought

and

val-

of victory
iantly
came to the French, however, when the
Bastard of Orleans brought to the Dau-

nobles and churchmen of

England gathered in Westminster Abbey
for the state funeral of
King Henry V,
hero of Agincourt and
conqueror of

phin's
celle,

eulogies of Gloster, Bedford,

and the Bishop of Winchester,

profound and extensive, were broken off

Exeter,

DV messengers bringing reports of

Engand failure in France, where
the Dauphin,
taking advantage of King
Henry's illness, had raised the standards

lish defeat

of England.

and

The Story:
The great

The

King

aid,

in

Shakespeare.

France.

pro-

disgruntled because the royal

dukes had asked neither his advice nor

military prowess or statecraft are

hardly adequate. Typical, atypical, or distinctive, Henry the Sixth is a. rousing play,
either in print or
upon stage. It is a revi-

sion

and

chester,

tinguishing factor in the play is the fuller

use of melodramatic devices to further

in

Gloster said that he would

claim young Prince Henry, nine months

character

loss.

also hasten military preparations

tenaciously.

Hope

camp a soldier-maid, Joan La Pudescribed as a holy young girl with

God-given visionary powers. The Dauphin's attempt to trick her was unsuccessful, for she recognized him although
in the
Reignier, Duke of Anjou, stood
she
Next
vanquished the
Dauphin's place.
'prince in a duel to which he challenged
.ier in an
attempt to test her military skill.

The

followers of the

Duke

of Gloster
rioted in

and the Bishop of Winchester

1528

when King Henry IV usurped

crown some thirty years before, was
released from confinement. He urged his

the London streets, as dissension between

Church and State grew because of Winchester s efforts to keep Gloster from see-

imprisoned
the

ina young Henry. The Mayor of London

the unseemly conduct
proclaimed against
of the rioters.
When the English and the French

fought

again,

Lord Salisbury and

Thomas Gargrave,
were

killed

nephew, Richard Plantagenet,

the family

Youthful King Henry VI, after making

Sir

the English leaders,

by a gunner in ambush. Mean-

while Lord Talbot, greatly feared by the

French, had been ransomed in time to

command

of English forces in the

the death
siege of Orleans. Enraged by
of Salisbury, Talbot fought heroically, on
take

one occasion with La Pucelle herself. At

English swarmed into the town
the French to rout. Talbot ordered Salisbury's body to be carried into
the public market place of Orleans as a
token of his revenge for that lord's murder.

last the

and

-put

The Countess of Auvergne invited

Lord Talbot to visit her in her castle. Fearand Burgundy
ing chicanery, Bedford
tried to kee^ him from going into an enemy strong nold, but Talbot, as strongwilled as he was brave, ignored their
pleas.

He

did whisper to his captain, howconcerning his

ever, certain instructions

visit.

On

his arrival at

countess

announced

Auvergne Castle the

that she was making

him her

prisoner in order to save France

from further scourges. Talbot proved his

wit by completely baffling the countess

with double talk and by signaling his soldiers, who stormed the castle, ate the food

and drank the wine, and then won the

favor of the countess with their charming
manners.
In addition to continued Internal strife
resulting from Gloster's and Winchester's
personal ambitions,

new

dissension arose

between Richard Plantagenet and the

Earl of Somerset. Plantagenet and his followers chose a white rose as their symbol,
Somerset and his supporters a red rose,
and in the quarrel of these two men the
disastrous

Wars

of the Roses began. In

meantime Edmund Mortimer, the

rightful heir to the throne, who had been

the

to restore

the rightful position the

Plantagenets deserved.
to

Plantagenet

Duke

displeasure

of

of York, much to the

Somerset, was taken to
France by Gloster and other lords to be
crowned King of France. In Paris, Talbot's chivalry

and prowess were rewarded

when he was made

Earl of Shrewsbury.
In preparation for the battle at Rouen,

La Pucelle won Burgundy over to the

cause of France by playing upon his vanity and appealing to what she termed his

sense of justice. The immaturity of the

king was revealed in his request that Tal-

bot go to

Burgundy and

chastise

him

for

his desertion.

The Duke

of

York and the Earl of

Somerset finally brought their quarrel to

the king, who implored them to be friendsake. He pointed out that
ly for England's
disunity among the English lords would
only weaken their stand in France. To

show how petty he considered their differences he casually put on a red rose, the
symbol of Somerset's faction, and explained that it was merely a flower and

kinsmen as
appointed York a
regent of France and ordered both him
and Somerset to supply Talbot with men
and supplies for battle. Then the king and
his party returned to London.
that

he loved one of

much

as the other.

his rival

He

The king's last assignment to his lords

in France was Talbot's death knell; Somerset, refusing to send horses with which
York planned to supply Talbot, accused
York of self-aggrandizement. York, in
turn, blamed Somerset for negligence. As
their feud continued, Talbot and his son
were struggling valiantly against the betFrench
ter-equipped, more fully manned
at Bordeaux. After many skirmishes
Talbot and his son were slain and the
losses.
tremendous
suffered
English
Flushed with the triumph of their great
leaders planned to
victory, the French

army

1529

march on

to

to Paris.

In England, meanwhile, there was talk

of a truce, and the king agreed, after a

moment

of embarrassment because of his

Gloster' s proposal that Henry

accept in marriage the daughter of the
Earl of Armagnac, a man of affluence and

youth,

to

influence in France. This alliance, designed to effect a friendly peace between

the two countries,

was

to

be announced

in France by Cardinal Beaufort, former

Bishop of Winchester, who, in sending

money

to the

pope

to

pay

for his cardinal-

ship, stated that his ecclesiastical position

gave him status equal to that of the lofti-

He

est peer.
ever tried

threatened mutiny

if

Gloster

to dominate him again, The

o
king sent a jewel to seal the contract of

betrothal.

The

fighting in France dwindled greatwith the English forces converging for

one last weak stand. La Pucelle cast a spell

ly,

and conjured up fiends to bolster her morale and to assist her in battle, but her
appeal was to no avail, and York took her
prisoner. Berated as a harlot and condemned as a witch by the English, La Pucelle pleaded for her life. At first she contended that her virgin blood would cry
for vengeance at the
gates of heaven.

When

this appeal failed to move York and

the Earl of Warwick, she implored them

save her

unborn

child, fathered, she

by the Dauphin, the Duke

of Alenon, and the Duke of
Anjou. She
was condemned to be burned at the stake.

said

variously,

In another skirmish the Earl of Suffolk

had taken

as his prisoner
Margaret, daugh-

Duke of Anjou. Enthralled

by
her loveliness, he was unable to claim
her for himself because he was
already
married. He finally struck
upon the noter of the

tion of wooing
Margaret for the king.
After receiving her father's permission to
present Margaret's name to Henry as a
candidate for marriage, Suffolk went to

London

Henry

to

petition

the

king.

While

weighed the matter against the

consequences of breaking his contract

with the Earl of Armagnac, Exeter and
Gloster attempted to dissuade him from
Suffolk's suggestions. Their
pleas were in vain. Margaret's great courage and spirit, as described by Suffolk,

following

held promise of a great and invincible

off-

spring.

Terms of peace having been arranged,

Suffolk was ordered to conduct Margaret
to England. Suffolk, because he had

brought Margaret and Henry together,

planned to take advantage of his opportune political position and, through Margaret,

rule

kingdom.

youthful

Henry

and

his

HENRY THE
Type

of -work:

SIXTH,

PART TWO

Drama

Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

of plot: Historical chronicle

Type
Time

of plot: 1444-1455
Locale: England

First presented: c.

1592

Principal characters:

KING HENKY VI

DUKE

OF GLOSTER, his uncle

CARDINAL BEAUFORT, great-uncle of the king

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York
EDWARD, and
RICHARD, York's sons

DUKE OF SOMERSET, leader of the Lancaster

DUKE OF SUFFOLK, the king's favorite

faction

EARL OF SALISBURY, a Yorkist

EARL OF WARWICK, a Yorkist
BOLINGBROKE,

a conjurer

MARGARET, Queen of England

ELEANOR, Duchess of Gloster

MARGERY JOURDAIN,

a witch

Critique:

In addition to those features contained

first part of King Henry the Sixth

in the

as described in the critique of that play,

there are in this second part scenes re-

These scenes,
flecting social implications.
within the limits of the five acts, not only

make

clear the social strata of

way diminishes the picture of ambition,

the nojealousy, love, and courage among
As is true of the first part of King
bility.
Henry the Sixth, this drama is a revision
an

earlier play.

The Story:
The Earl

of Suffolk, having arranged

King Henry VI and

Margaret of Anjou, brought the new
queen to England. There was great indig-

when

the terms o

the marriage

treaty were revealed. The

truce
for an eighteen-months'
o

contract called

between the
two countries, the outright gift of the
duchies of Anjou and Maine to Reignier,
her
Margaret's father, and omission of
dowry. As had been predicted earlier, no
good could

come

had broken

dukedom.

The

were hardly still from the

new queen before the
earls, and dukes were expressing
ambitions to gain more control in
voices

welcome
lords,

their
affairs

of the

of state.

The

old dissension be-

tween the Duke of Gloster and Cardinal

Beaufort

continued.

The

churchman

tried to alienate others against Gloster by

that Gloster, next in line for the

saying

for the marriage of

nation

at Suffolk's urging,

bride's beauty, gladly accepted the treaty

and elevated Suffolk, the go-between, to a

commoners

and nobles but also point up the principal

characters. This fuller realism of historical perspective and social content in no

of

Henry,

his betrothal to the daughter of the Earl

of Armagnac. But Henry, pleased by nis

of

this

union, since

crown, needed watching. The Duke of

Somerset accused the cardinal of seeking
Gloster's position for himself.

And

these

for
high ambitions were not exclusively
the men. The Duchess of Glostei showed
with het husband when
great impatience
he said he wished only to serve as Protector of the Realm. When she saw that
her husband was not going to help her
ambitions to be queen, the duchess hired
Hume, a priest, to traffic with witches and

Hume accepted
conjurers in her behalf.
her money; but he had already been hired

1531

by Suffolk

and the cardinal

work

to

the duchess.
against
O

Queen

___

Margaret's

unhappy life

in

Eng-

her contempt for the king, and the

dislike for her soon became ap-

land,

people's

The mutual

DO

parent.

hatred she and the

duchess had for each other showed itself

in tongue lashings and blows. The duchof any turn
eager to take advantage

ess,

of events, indulged in sorcery with Margen7 Tourdain and the notorious BolingO
-

'-)

-'

broke.

Her questions to them, all pertaining

king and his advisers,

to the fate of the

and the answers which these sorcerers had

received from the spirit world, were
confiscated by Buckingham and .York
when they broke in upon a seance. For her
duchess
part in the practice of sorcery the
was banished to the Isle of Man; Margery
Jourdain and Bolingbroke were executed.
His wife's deeds brought new slanders

upon

Gloster. In

answer

to

Queen Mar-

charge that he was a party to his

wife's underhandedness, Gloster, a brogaret's

ken man, resigned

his position as Protec-

Realm. Even after his resignation

Margaret continued in her attempts

tor of the

king against Gloster. She was

aided by the other lords, who accused
Gloster of deceit and crimes
against the
State; but the king, steadfast in his

to turn the

loyalty

to Gloster, described the

as virtuous

and mild.

former protector

York, whose regency in France had

been given to Somerset, enlisted the aid
of Warwick and
Salisbury in his fight
for the crown, his claim
the fact that

being based on

King Henry's grandfather,

Henry IV, had usurped the throne from
York's great-uncle. Suffolk and the cardinal, to rid themselves of a

sent

York

to

quell

dangerous

rival,

an uprising in

Ire-

land. Before

departing for Ireland, York

planned to incite rebellion among the

English through one John Cade, a head-

warmongering Kentishman. Cade,

under the name of John
Mortimer, the

strong,

name

of York's uncle,
paraded his riotous
Mowers through the streets of London.

The

rebels, irresponsible

and

unthinking,

went madly about the town

wrecking
buildings, killing noblemen who opposed
them, and shouting that they were headed
for the palace, where
John Cade, the
rightful heir to the throne, would avenoe
the injustices done his
lineage. An aspect
of the
poorly organized rebellion was
shown in the desertion of Cade's followers

when

they were appealed

old Lord Clifford.

He

to
by loyal
admonished them

England from needless destruction

expend their military efforts against
France. Cade, left alone, went

to save

and

to

wandering
about the countryside as a
fugitive and
was killed by Alexander Iden, a

who was knighted

squire

for his

bravery.

Gloster, arrested by Suffolk on a charpe

of high treason, was promised a fair trial
by the king. This was unwelcome news

and when Gloster was sent

he was found
appear
in his bed, brutally murdered and mangled. Suffolk and the cardinal had hired
the murderers. So was fulfilled the first

to the lords;

at the hearing,

for to

prophecy of the sorcerers, that the king

would depose and outlive a duke who

would

die a violent death.

Shortly after Gloster's death the king

was called to the bedside of the cardinal,
who had been stricken by a strange mal-

ady. There King Henry heard the cardinal

confess his part in the murder of Gloster,

the

churchman's

bitterest

cardinal died
unrepentent.

enemy. The

Queen Margaret became more

spoken concerning affairs of state,
cially in those matters

outespe-

on behalf of Suffolk,

and more openly contemptuous toward

the king's indifferent attitude.

At the request of Commons, led by
Warwick and Salisbury, Suffolk was banished from the
country for his part in

murder. Saying their farewells,

he and Margaret declared their love for
Gloster's

each other. Suffolk,

disguised, took ship
to leave the

country. Captured by pirates,

he was beheaded

for his treacheries and

one of his gentlemen was instructed to
return his
body to the ting.
In London, Queen
Margaret mourned

1532

death as she caressed

her loss in Suffolk's
The
head.
king, piqued by
his severed
her demonstration,

would

asked her

how

she

react to his death. Diplomatically

answered that she would not

death; she would die for him.

evasive, she

mourn his
The witch had prophesied Suffolk's
die by
death: she had said that he would
water.

York planned
Returning from Ireland,

on
gather
and seize the crown

to

he

forces

also stated his

his

way

to

London

for himself. Because

determination to remove

Somerset, his adversary in court matters,

the king tried to appease the rebel by

to the Tower. Hearin prison, York

was
enemy
ordered his army to disband.
His rage was all the greater, therefore,

committing Somerset
ina that his

when he

learned that Somerset had been

favor. The armies of York

and Lancaster prepared to battle at Saint
Albans, where Somerset, after an attempt
to arrest York for capital treason, was

restored

to

by crookbacked Richard Plantagenet,

York's son. Somerset's death fulfilled the
slain

prophecies of the witch, who had also

foretold that Somerset should shun castles,

that

he would be

With

safer

on sandy

his death the king and queen

fled. Salisbury, weary from battle but un-

plains.

daunted, and Warwick, proud of York's

victory at Saint Albans, pledged their supfor the crown,
port to York in his drive
and York hastened to London to forestall
intention to summon ParHathe king's
CD

ment

into session.

HENRY THE
Type

of

Type
Time

of

SIXTH,

PART THREE

Drama

work:

Author. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

-plot:

Historical chronicle

of plot: 1455-1471

Locale: England and Fiance

First presented:

c.

1592

Principal characters:

KING HENRY VI
EDWARD, Prince of Wales,

his son

Louis XI, King of France

RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York
EDWABD, York's son, afterward King Edward IV
EDMUND, York's son, Earl of Rutland

GEORGE, York's son, afterward Duke of Clarence

RICHARD, York's son, afterward Duke of Gloster
LORD HASTINGS, of the Duke of York's party
THE EARL OF WARWICK, a king-maker

MARGAHET, Queen of England

LORD CLIFFORD, Margaret's ally
LADY GREY, afterward Edward IV's queen
LADY BONA, sister of the Queen of France
Critique:
third part of King Henry
not a tragedy in the classical

Although the
the Sixth
sense,
tragic

It

is

is

more poignant than many

A revision of an earlier

dramas.

an outstanding example of writunity of impression. Infinite and

play, it is
ing for

unswerving ambition in the characters,

and situations of plot closely knit to reveal this
unrelenting aggression are al-

ways apparent, making

this play a

mas-

The

char-

terpiece of gripping drama. The plot is

so developed that
King Henry is made

pawn

to the

acterization

is

wishes of others,

handled with

finesse,

occasional line
"by King Henry
his true nature. The labels

given

him

"willy-nilly"

"

"poltroon,"
are unjust

Shakespeare's King
part is a man

showing

frequently
weak-willed,"

and misapplied.

Henry

in this third

caught in the mesh of

cumstances and required

to exhibit

qualities of leadership, when his

wish was for contentment and
lity.

Henry's was a

an

cir-

the

only

tranquil-

life

spent in quiet

desperation.

The

Story:

In the House of Parliament,

York, his

sons,

and the Earl of Warwick

rejoiced

over their success at Saint Albans. Riding

O
hard, the Yorkists had arrived in London

ahead of the routed king, and Henry, entering with his lords, was filled with consternation when he saw York already

on the throne, to which Warwick

had conducted him. Some of the king's
followers were sympathetic toward York
and others were fearful of his power; the
two attitudes resulted in defection in the
seated

royal ranks. Seeing his stand weakened,

the king attempted to avert disorder by

disinheriting his own son and by pledging
the crown to York and his sons, on the

condition that York stop the civil war and

remain loyal to the king during his lifetime.

Annoyed by the reconciliation and conher

temptuous toward the king because of
son's disinheritance, Margaret deserted
the king and raised her own army to pro-

her son's rights to the throne. The

casqueen's army marched against York's
to recruit
tle as York was
his
sons
sending
forces for another rebellion. York's sons
had
their father that his oath
tect

persuaded
his
king was not binding because

to the

1534

contract with the king had not been made

in due course of law before a magistrate.
In a battle near Wakefield, Lord Clif-

ford

and his

soldiers killed Rutland, York's

and soaked a handkerchief in

he joined Margaret's
which
outnumbered
victorious
army,
York's soldiers ten to one, Lord Clifford
the handkerchief to wipe away
gave York
his tears as he wept for his son's death.
young

son,

his blood. Later, as

was equaled by his humilihands of Margaret, who, after

taking him prisoner, put a paper crown
on his head that he might reign from the
molehill where she had him placed to be
jeered by the soldiers. Clifford and Marof York and begaret stabbed the Duke
headed him. His head was set on the
York's sorrow

ation at the

gates

of York.

Hearing of the defeat of York's forces,

Warwick, taking the king with him, set
out from London to fight Queen Margaret at Saint Albans. Warwick's qualities as a general were totally offset by the
presence of the king, who was unable to
conceal his strong affection for Margaret,
and Warwick was defeated. Edward and

Richard, York's sons, joined

a march toward London.

Warwick

in

King Henry, ever the righteous monany part in breaking his

vow to York and declared that he prearch, forswore

ferred to leave his son only virtuous deeds,

rather than an ill-gotten crown. At the
Insistence of Clifford and Margaret, however,

the king knighted his son as the

Prince of Wales.
After a defiant parley, the forces met
again between Towton and Saxton. The
king,

banned from

battle

by

Clifford

and

Margaret because of his antipathy to wax

and his demoralizing influence on the sol-

on a distant part of the field lamenting the course affairs had taken in

diers, sat

bloody business of murder and deHe saw the ravages of war when a
father bearing the body of his dead son
and a son with the body of his dead fathis

ceit.

ther passed by.

They had unknowingly

taken the lives of their loved ones in the

fighting. As the rebel forces, led by War-

wick, Richard, and

the king, passive to

toward his

own

Edward approached,

danger and indifferent

safety, was rescued by

Wales and Margaret before
the enemy could reach him. He was sent

the Prince of

Scotland for safety.

After a skirmish with Richard, Clifford
fled to another
part of the field, where,
to

weary and worn, he fainted and died. His

head, severed by Richard, replaced York's
head on the gate. The Yorkists marched
on to London. Edward was proclaimed
King Edward IV; Richard was made
Duke of Gloster, and George, Duke o
Clarence.

King Edward, in audience, heard Lady

Grey's case for the return of confiscated
lands taken by Margaret's army at Saint
Albans, where Lord Grey was killed fighting for the York cause. The hearing,
marked by Richard's and George's dissatwith their brother's position and
Edward's lewdness directed at Lady Grey,
ended with Lady Grey's betrothal to Edward. Richard, resentful of his humpback, aspired to the throne. His many deconprivations resulting from his physical
isfaction

dition,

he

would

stop at

ambition; he
no obstacle in achieving his

felt, justified his

ends.

Because of theii great losses, Margaret

and the prince went to France to appeal
for aid from King Louis XI, who was
kindly disposed toward helping them
maintain the crown. The French monarch's decision was quickly changed at
the appearance of Warwick, who had arrived from England to ask for the hand
of Lady Bona for King Edward. Warwick's suit had been granted, and Mar-

when a messenger
garet's request denied,
brought letters announcing King Edward's marriage to Lady Grey. King Louis
and Lady Bona were insulted; Margaret

was overjoyed. Warwick, chagrined, withdrew his allegiance to the House of York
and offered to lead French troops against
Edward. He promised his older daughter
in marriage to Margaret's son as a pledge
of his honor.

At the

royal palace in

London, family

was broken by open dissent when

King Edward informed his brothers that
he would not be bound by their wishes.
Told that the prince was to marry War-

loyalty

wick's older daughter, the

Duke

of Clar-

ence announced that he intended to marry

the younger one. He left, taking Somerset, one of King Henry's faction, with him.
Richard, seeing in an alliance with Edward an opportunity for his own advance-

ment, remained; and he, Montague, and

Hastings pledged their support to King
Edward.
When the French forces reached London,

Warwick

took

Edward

'prisoner.

The

king-maker removed Edwarc 's crown and

took it to re-crown King
Henry, who had,
in the meantime,
escaped from Scotland,
only to be delivered into Edward's hands

and imprisoned

in the

Tower. Henry

del-

egated his royal authority to Warwick

and the Duke of Clarence, in order that
he might be free from the turmoil attendant upon his reign.

Richard and Hastings freed Edward

from his imprisonment. They formed an

army

in York; and while

Clarence,

who had

Warwick and

learned of Edward's

were making preparations for deEdward, marching upon London,

again seized King Henry and sent him
to
solitary confinement in the Tower.
Edward made a surprise attack on Warwick near Coventry, where Warwick's
forces were soon increased
by the appear-

release,

fense,

ance of Oxford, Montague, and Somerset.

The

fourth unit to join Warwick was led

by Clarence who took the red rose, the
symbol of the House of Lancaster, from
his hat and threw it into Warwick's face.
Clarence accused Warwick of

and announced that he would

duplicity
fioht be-

side his brothers to

preserve the House of
York. Warwick, a valiant soldier to the

end, was wounded by King Edward and

died soon afterward. Montague was also
killed.

When Queen

Margaret and her son arfrom France, the prince won oreat
acclaim from Margaret and the lords for
his spirited vow to hold the
kingdom
against the Yorkists. Defeated at Tewkesbury, however, the prince was cruelly
stabbed to death by Kino Edward and his
brothers. Margaret pleaded with them to
kill her too, but
they chose to punish her
with life. She was sent back to France,
her original home. After the prince had
been killed, Richard of Gloster stole off
to London, where he assassinated
King
Henry in the Tower. Again he swore to
get the crown for himself.
The Yorkists were at last supreme. Edward and Queen Elizabeth, with their inrived

fant son, regained the throne. Richard,

still
intending to seize the crown for himself, saluted the infant with a Judas kiss,
while Edward stated that they were now
to
spend their time in stately triumphs,
comic shows, and pleasures of the court.

HERAKLES MAD
Type

of work:

Time

of plot:

Drama

Author: Euripides (c. 485-c. 406 B.C.)

Classical tragedy
Type of plot:

First

Remote antiquity

Thebes

Locale:

presented:

c.

420 B.C.

Principal characters:

AMPHITRYON, married to Alcmene, the mother of Heraldes

MEGARA, wife of Herakles and daughter of Creon
LYCUS, usurper of Kingdom of Thebes
HERAKLES, son of Zeus and Alcmene
THESEUS, King of Athens
IRIS,

messenger of the gods

MADNESS
CHORUS OF THE OLD MEN OF THEBES
Critique:

Herakles
zlintf

Mad, one

of the most puz-

stereotyped
builds to a powerful climax in the mad
scene of Herakles, and is followed by

one of the most moving tragic reconciliations in all drama. Some critics see in
of Herakles the sugEuripides' treatment
has been deluded all his
gestion that he
life and has never really performed his
twelve great labors; others have suggested
that the madness comes not from Hera,
but from Fate. In either case he reaches
heroic

and

tragic

stature

when,

any case, he was dead in Hades

and would never return.
Amphitryon, retorting that Lycus was
the coward in seeking to kill an old man,
a wo~nan, and innocent children, begged
that, in

of Euripides' plays, begins with a

situation and weak characters,

after

his wife and children in a fit

murdering
C5
of madness, he refuses to commit suicide
and decides to face whatever life has in
store for him.

TJxe Story:

Amphitryon, who together with Megand the sons of Herakles had sought
lamented
sanctuary at the altar of Zeus,
the fact that while He-akles was in
Hades performing one of his twelve laara

that they at least be allowed to go into

Enraged, Lycus sent his servants to

exile.

fetch oak logs in order to burn the relaHerakles alive in their sanctuary.

tives of

The

chorus of old

would

fight

men vowed

that they

with their staves against such

a horrible sacrilege.

Megara, however, counseled that

'

c">

it

was

attempt to escape destiny; Herakles could not emerge from Hades to

folly

save

to

them and

since they

must

die they

without being burnt

ought
alive. Amphitryon then begged that he
and Megara be killed first so that they
would not have to witness the massacre
of innocent children, and Megara pleaded
to

do

so

for the privilege of dressing the children

in the proper funeral robes. Lycus haugh-

his

granted both wishes. As the group

the sanctuary for the palace, Amphita senseless
ryon cursed Zeus for being
and unjust god. In their absence the
chorus chanted an ode on the glories of

chilposition by killing Megara and her

dren, whose only hope lay in the protection of Zeus until Herakles returned.

Herakles and the sadness of old age.

Returning with the children, Megara
woefully recounted the marvelous plans

bors

Lycus had

murdered Creon and

Thebes. The mur-

seized the throne of

derer

was bent upon consolidating

Lycus came

to

taunt

them with the

charge that Herakles was a coward who

used a bow and killed only animals and

tily

left

she had made for her sons. Meanwhile,

for
Amphitryon fervently prayed to Zeus
deliverance. Suddenly they were startled

1537

bv the spectacle

The

of

Herakles approaching.

was darkgreat joy of their meeting

the fearful tale Megara had to

ened by
tell her husband. Furious with rage, Herakles swore that he would behead Lycus
and throw

his carcass to

Amphitryon cautioned
reckless haste, for

in his treachery.
by the fear that

the dogs; but

him

to

curb his

Lycus rnd many

allies

Though deeply moved

made his children cling

to his robes, Herakles agreed to plan his

revenue carefully and led his family into
'

'

the palace.

.-,

The

chorus of ancients once

again lamented their old age and praised

Zeus for sending deliverance in the person of Herakles, his son.

Lycus, upon encountering Amphitryon

emerging from the palace, commanded
that he bring Megara with him, but Amphitryon refused on the ground that such
a deed would make him an accomplice
in her murder. Intent on dispatching
Megara, Lycus angrily stormed into the
palace. Amphitryon followed to watch
Herakles' revenge, As the chorus hailed
the death cries of Lycus, the specters of
Iris
appeared from above.

Madness and

the female messenger of the gods,

that although destiny had
preserved Herakles until he had finished

Herakles within the palace, When

the two specters disappeared, a
messenger
emerged from the palace to tell how

of

Herakles in a frenzy of madness had

murdered his wife and children, believino
them to be the kin of his former master,
Eurystheus. Amphitryon was saved only

by the intervention of Athena, who

put
the possessed hero to
sleep and had him
tied to a pillar.

The doors of the palace were opened,

revealing Herakles, now awake and puzzled by the awful scene about him. Informed of what he had done, Herakles
crouched in shame and wailed in anouish.
Theseus, who had been rescued from
Hades by Herakles, arrived with an
army
for the

purpose of aiding his old friend

against Lycus. Crushed by the weight of

his dishonor, lierakles could not face his

and he announced his intention to

commit suicide. His compassionate friend
Theseus pleaded with him to live and accept his fate; he offered to take Herakles
to Athens where, after
being purified of
his pollution, he would be given great
estates and
high status. Though he pre-

friend,

Iris,

ferred to

pronounced

his

Hera had decreed that

he must now suffer lest the powers of
man seem greater than those of the gods.
She commanded that Madness force Herakles to murder his own wife and chil-

his twelve labors,

dren. Reluctantly, Madness sent out her

power and described the horrible seizures

grow

horrid

into a stone oblivious of

deed,

Herakles

reluctantly

harden his heart against death

and rose with profound gratitude to accept his friend's offer. As he left, he
urged the sorrowful Amphitryon to bury
the dead and to follow him to Athens,
where they would live out the remainder

agreed

to

of their lives in peace.

HERCULES AND HIS TWELVE LABORS

Type

of

work: Classical

myth

Source; Folk tradition

Type
Time

Heroic adventure

of plot:

of plot: Remote antiquity

Locale: Mediterranean region
o

First transcribed:

Unknown

Principal cliaracters:

HERCULES, hero of virtue and

EURYSTHEUS, his COUSLB

strength

Critique:

Hercules

is

the mighty hero of popular

success, called on Eurystheus to use his

power over Hercules. Eurystheus then

Art
imagination in Western culture.
feature paintings and
galleries
sculpture
of the splendid body of the hero. The
latest

engines,

the

demanded

would perish

buildina

strongest

most powerful utilities bear

his name,
Hercules, not born a god,
achieved godhcod at the time of his death,
according to tradition, because he de-

The

materials, the

voted his life to the service of his fellow

men. Some authorities link Hercules with
legends of the sun, as each labor took
him further from his home and one of his

him around the world and

His twelve labors have been com-

tasks carried

back.

pared to the signs of the zodiac.

The

Story:

Hercules was the

and the god

son

of

mortal,

Because
Juno was hostile to all children o her
husband by mortal mothers, she decided
to be
revenged upon the child. She sent
two snakes to kill Hercules in his crib,
but the infant
strangled the serpents
with ease. Then Juno caused Hercules
to be
subject to the will of his cousin,
Alcrnena,

Jupiter.

Hercules as a child was

taught by

who one

day punished
Hercules immediately killed his teacher. For this his
foster father,
Amphitryon, took Hercules
away to the mountains, to be brought up
by rude shepherds. Early in youth Herthe

child for

cules began to attract attention for his

and courage. He killed a
fion

was

in one of them.

labor:

single-handedly and took heroic part

Juno, jealous of his growing

Juno had

people of Nemea.

sent a lion to

The

lion's

hide

no arrow could
he could not kill
bow, Hercules me!

so protected that
pierce it. Knowing that

the animal with his

the lion and
strangled it with his bare
hands. Thereafter he wore the lion's
skin as a protection when he was
for

fighting,

nothing could penetrate that magic

covering.

The second labor: Hercules had to

meet the Lemaean hydra. This creature
lived in a
swamp, and the odor of its
body killed all who breathed its fetid
fumes. Hercules began the battle but
discovered that for every head he severed
from the monster two more
appeared.
Finally he obtained a flaming brand from
a friend and burned each head as he
severed it. When he came to the ninth
and invulnerable head, he cut it off and
buried it under a rock. Then he dipped
that

he

weapons

The

misdeeds.

great strength
in a war.

eat the

first

his arrows into the

Eurystheus.

Rhadamanthus,

that Hercules
carry out twelve
plan was that Hercules

The

labors.

would

body of the hydra so

possess more deadly

for use in future conflicts.

third labor: Hercules captured the

Erymanthian boar and brought it back

on his shoulders. The sight of the wild

beast frightened Eurystheus so much that

he hid in a large jar. With a fine sense

of humor the hero deposited the captured

boar in the same jar. While on this trip
Hercules incurred the wrath of the centaurs
r->n

by drinking wine which they had

claimed for their own. In order to escape

from them he had had to kill most of the
half-horse

The

men.

fourth labor:

Hercules had to

capture a stag which had antlers of gold

and hoofs of brass. In order to capture
this creature Hercules
pursued it for a

whole

year.

fifth labor:
The Stymphalian
were carnivorous. Hercules alarmed
them with a bell, shot many of them with
his arrows, and caused the rest to
fly

The

birds

away.

The sixth labor: Augeas, king of Elis,

had a herd of three thousand oxen whose
stables had not been cleansed for

years.

Commanded

thirty

to

clean the stables,

Hercules diverted the rivers Alpheus and

Peneus through them and washed them
clean in one
day. Augeas refused the

and as a result Hercules later declared war on him.

The seventh labor: Neptune had given

payment agreed

to

Minos king of Crete.

Minos' wife, Pasiphae, fell in love with
the animal and
pursued it around the
a sacred bull to

Hercules overcame the bull and

took it back to
Eurystheus by making it
swim the sea while he rode
upon its

island.

back.

The eighth labor: Like the

Stymphalian birds, the mares of Diomedes fed
on human flesh.
Usually
found food for them

Diomedes
to them

who landed on

his shores.

by feeding

all

travelers

Diomedes

tried to

prevent Hercules from

away his herd. He was killed

body was fed to his own beasts.
The ninth labor: Admeta,
daughter of

driving
and his

Eurystheus, persuaded her father to send

Hercules for the
girdle of Hippolyta,
queen of the Amazons. The Amazon

queen was willing to give up her girdle,

but Juno interfered
by telling the other

Amazons

that Hercules

planned to kid
queen. In the battle
followed Hercules killed Hi
ppo l yta
took the
girdle from her dead
body

nap

their

The

tenth labor:

Geryoneus, a

three-

bodied, three-headed,
six-legged, winced
monster possessed a herd
of oxen.
Ordered to bring the animals to
Eurvstheus, Hercules traveled
beyond the
of
pillars
Hercules, now
Gibraltar.

killed

two-headed

a giant
herdsman,

ryones.
and sent

He

He

shepherd doa and

and
finally slew Geloaded the cattle on a
boat

them

Eurystheus. He himself
returned afoot across the
Alps. He had
many adventures on the
a

to

way, including
with giants in the
Phlegraean
near the
present site of

fight

fields,

The

eleventh labor:

was more

difficult,

Naples.

His next labor

for his task was to

obtain the
golden apples in the garden
of the
Hesperides. No one knew where
the garden was, and so
Hercules set out
to

he

roam

until he

killed

and burned

found it. In his travels

giant, a host of pygmies,
alive some of his
captors in

Egypt. In India he set Prometheus free.

At last he discovered Atlas
holding up the
This task Hercules
sky.
assumed, releasing Atlas to go after the apples. Adas
returned with the
apples and reluctandy
took up his burden. Hercules
brought the
apples safely to Eurystheus.
The twelfth labor: This was the most
difficult of all his labors.
After many
adventures he
the three-headed

brought
dog Cerberus from the underworld. Hfr
was forced to
carry the struggling animal
in his arms because he had been
forbidden to use
weapons of any kind.
Afterward he took Cerberus back to the
king of the underworld. So ended the
mighty ancient hero.

labors of this

HEREWARB THE WAKE

Novel
of work:
Author: Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

Type

Type
Time

Historical
of plot:

romance

of plot: Eleventh century

Locale: England, Scotland, Flanders

First

pub lis hed: 1866

Principal characters:

HEREWARD THE WAKE,

Saxon thane and outlaw

mother
TORFRTDA, his wife

LADY GODIVA,

his

ALFTRUDA, his second wife

MARTIN LIGHTFOOT, a companion in his wanderings
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, Duke of Normandy and King
Critique:

Hereward the
few

stories

credibly

Wake
deal

that

is

one

of the very

realistically

and

with the Anglo-Saxon period of

elements of
history. Although

English
the chivalric romance, in the more
academic sense of that term, are present
in this novel, Kingsley has re-created the
age and
highly
the

and

its

and
people in a believable
manner. Here-ward

interesting

Wake

is

both an interesting story

a valuable

historical

mind being outlawed

as he wished to
more of the world, Lady Godiva sent
Martin Lightfoot, a servant, to carry the
news of Hereward's deed to his father
and to the king. Hereward was then

declared an outlaw subject to imprisonment or death.

Before he

left his father's

ever,

he released

oath

of

as

The

to

Hereward was the son of the powerful

Lord of Bourne, a Saxon nobleman of a
the throne. A highfamily close to
rebellious youth, he was a source
spirited,

how-

from

their

Martin

Lightfoot

be allowed to follow him, not

servant but

his

house,

his friends

allegiance.

Then Hereward

Story;

England

see

begged

study.

of

as

his

companion.

out to live among

the rude and barbarous Scottish tribes
of the north.

His

set

adventure occurred when he

huge bear that threatened the

first

killed a

Alftmda, ward of a knight named

of constant

life of

Godiva.

Gilbert of Ghent. For his valorous deed

worry to his mother, Lady

Hereward lacked a proper rethe Church and its priests and

spect for
lived a boisterous life with

Doon com-

panions who gave him their unquestioning loyalty.

One day a friar came to Lady Godiva

and revealed that Hereward and his

friends had attacked him and robbed
him of what the priest insisted was
money belonging to the Church. Lady
Godiva was angry and hurt. When
Hereward came in and admitted his
crime, she said that there was no alternaFor his own good, she maintained,
he should be declared a wake, or outlaw.
Upon his promise not to molest her
messenger, for Hereward really did not
tive.

he achieved

much renown.

But

the

knights of Gilbert's household, jealous

of Hereward's courage and his prowess,

tried to kill him. Though he escaped the

snares laid for him, he decided that it

would be best for him to leave Scotland.

Accordingly, he went to Cornwall,

where he was welcomed by the king.
There the king's daughter was pledged

in marriage to a prince of Waterford.

But a giant of the Cornish court had be-

come

so powerful that

he had forced the

daughter in
marriage to the ogre. Hereward, with
the help of the princess and a friar, slew
the giant, whose death freed the princess

king's agreement

1541

to give his

marry the prince

to

whom

she really

but because of his

youth he did not
the
support of all the English

have

loved.

After leaving Cornwall,

Hereward and

companions were wrecked upon the

Flemish coast. There Hereward stayed
for a time in the service of Baldwin of
Flanders and proved his valor by defeating the French in battle. There, too,

his

lady wrongly suspected of

sorcery, schemed to win his love. They

Torfrida,

were wed

Norwich.

Then, instead of coming to Hereward's

the Danes fled.
aid,
Hereward was

pledge to

the marriage.

fighting.

after

successful

Meanwhile King Edward had died

and Harold reigned in England. A messenger came to Hereward with the news
that Duke William of
Normandy had
defeated the English

at

the

battle

of

Hastings and that King Harold had been

killed. Hereward then decided to return
to Bourne, his old home.
There, accompanied by Martin Lightfoot, he
found the Norman raiders
encamped.
He found too that his family had been
despoiled of all its property and that his
mother had been sent
away. He and

Martin, without revealing their identity,

secretly went out and annihilated all the

Normans
that

in the area. Hereward swore

he would return with an
army that

would push the Norman invaders into

the sea.

Hereward then went to his mother,

received him
happily. Lady Godiva

who

accused herself of
having wronged her
son and lamented the
day she had proclaimed him an outlaw. He took her to
a

place of refuge in Croyland Abbey.

Later he went to the
where
his aged, infirm uncle,
spending his last

monastery

Abbot Brand, was

days on earth. There

Hereward was knighted by the monks,

the English fashion.
Hereward
went secretly to Bourne and there reafter

cruited
T>

TTT'TI"

rebel

Duke William.
1

army

to

fight
O

against
O

Although there were many men eager

fight the Normans, the English forces
were disunited. Another
king, an untried
young man, had been proclaimed,
to

Danes were

the

stupidity
inveigled into
positions where they were
easily defeated
by the Normans at Dover and

Hereward had fought

campaign against the
Hollanders, and a daughter was born of

in

Hereward had

factions.

been promised
help from Denmark, but the Danish
king sent a poor leader through whose

forced to confess the failure of his

to

his

him

The

tbcy renewed their

and promised to
keep on

situation

when Hereward and

the

island

wise

Torfrida's

feated

Duke

allies

but

men,

of

his

seemed hopeless

men

Ely.

advice,

took

refuge

There,

with

Hereward

de-

William's attack upon the

beleaguered island. Hereward and his

men retreated to another camp of
refuge.
Shortly afterward Torfrida learned of
Hereward's infidelity with Alftruda, the

ward of Gilbert of Ghent. She left Hereward and went to

Croyland Abbey,
where she proposed to
spend the last of

her days ministering to the

poor and to
Hereward's mother. Hereward himself

went
to

to

him.

Duke William and submitted

The conqueror declared that

he had selected

a husband for Hereward's daughter. In order to free herself

from Hereward, Torfrida
falsely confessed that she was a sorceress, and her

marriage to Hereward was annulled by

the Church.
Hereward then married
Alftruda and became Lord of Bourne

under Duke William. His daughter,

spite

her entreaties,

Norman

was married

de-

to

knight.

But Hereward, the last of the English,

had many enemies among the French,
who continually intrigued against him for

Duke William. As a result,

Hereward was imprisoned. The jailer
was a good man who treated his noble
prisoner as kindly as he could, although,
for his own sake, he was forced to chain
the favor of

Hereward.

One day, while Hereward was being

transported from one prison to another,
he was rescued by his friends. Freed,

1542

he went back

to

Alftruda at Bourne, but

happy one. His enemies

to kill him.
Taking advantage
plotted
of a day when his retainers were escorthis life

was not

ing Alftruda

on

a journey, a

group of

Norman knights broke into Bourne

castle. Though Hereward fought valiantly,

he was outnumbered.

He was

killed

and his head was exhibited in victory

over the door of his own hall.
When she heard of his death, Torfrida

came

from

Croyland Abbey and

de-

manded Hereward's body.

All were so

frightened, especially Alftruda, by Tor-

wild appearance and her reputaa witch, that Hereward's first

wife got her way and the body was de-

frida's

tion

as

livered to her.

She carried

Croyland

for

ward, the

last of

burial.

Thus

it

away

did

to

Here-

the English, die, and

William of Normandy become William the Conqueror and King
thus, too, did
of England.

A HERO OF OUR TIME

Type

of iwrfe:

Type
Time

of

Novel

Author: Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814-1841)

Psychological romance

-plot:

1830-1838
Russian Caucasus

of plot:

Locale:

The

First published:

1839
Principal characters:

"V

supposedly Lermontov, Narrator

M \KSIM MAKSIMTCH, Narrator Two

One

GRIGORIY ALEKSANDROVICH PECHORIN, Narrator Three, the "Hero

of

Our Time"
BELA, a young princess
KAZBTCH, a "bandit

AZAMAT, Bela's young brother

YANKO, a smuggler
PRINCESS MARY, daughter of Princess Ligovskoy

GRUSHNITSKI, a cadet and suitor to Princess Mary

VERA, the former sweetheart of Pechorin
LIEUTENANT VULICH, a Cossack officer, a Serbian

Critique:

This

novel of social and milinineteenth-century Russia well

realistic

tary life in

deserves

its

renown because of its colorand sharp delineations of

ful descriptions

character. Structurally, the novel is made

up of five related short stories, with Nar-

One (presumably Lermontov), Maksim Maksimich, and Pechorin in the prin-

rator

cipal roles. The narrative

structed. In "Bela,"

is

T'

Maksimich, who
sim

Maksimich,

skillfully con-

meets Maksim

refers to

Pechorin.

Narrator

the story bearing his

Two,

name

Maktells

as its title.

Pechorin actually appears, but briefly. In

"Tainan," "Princess Mary," and "The
Fatalist," the narrator is Pechorin himself,
the stories
being told as extracts from his
second notable feature of the

journal.

writing, in addition to the involuted time

sequence, is Lermontov's habit of letting

the reader eavesdrop in order to avoid

detailed narrative. This device makes for

compact writing, since

it is

convenient

biography of any Russian person, living

or dead. Rather, Pechorin was intended

to be a collective
personification of all the
evil and vice then found in Russian life.

In creating his portrait of Pechorin, the

"superfluous" man, Lermontov pointed to
the development of the Russian psychological novel.

The Story:
The Narrator met Maksim Maksimich
while on a return

trip

from

Tiflis,

the

The season
capital of Georgia, to Russia,
was autumn, and in that mountainous region snow was already falling.

The two

men

continued their acquaintance at the

inn where they were forced to take refuge
for the night. When the Narrator asked
Maksim Maksimich about his experiences,
the old man told of his friendship with
a Serbian

Grigoriy Pechorin,

come from Russia about

to join a

company

who had

five years before

of cavalry in the Cau-

means of

letting the principal characters

learn of events necessary to an under-

casus

standing of the story. Lermontov felt compelled to preface his novel with the explanation that A Hero of Our Time was not

tier

post, the soldiers

As

a result of this friendship, the prince

A HERO OF OUR TIME by

By permission

To

relieve their

boredom on

that fron-

played with Azamat,

the young son of a neighboring prince.

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov. Translated by Vladimir and Dmitri Nabokov.

Doubleday & Co., Inc. Copyright, 19S8, by Vladimir and Dmitri Nabokov.

of the pubkshers,

1544

return the greeting. Dawn found Maksiat the

gate again. When

and Pechorin to a
that celebration
At
family wedding.
Pechorin and Kazbich, a bandit, met and
Maksimich

invited

mich waiting

Pechorin finally arrived, he prevented

Maksimich's intended embrace by coolly
offering his hand.

were equally attracted to Bela, the beautiful young daughter of the prince. Azalater
mat, observing this development,
offered to give Bela to Kazbich in exbandit's horse.

Maksimich had anticipated warmth

and a long visit, but Pechorin left imme-

Neither Maksimich's plea of

friendship nor his mention of Bela served
to detain Pechorin.

Kazbich

change for the

laughed at the boy and rode away.
Four days later Azamat was back at the
with Pechorin, who
camp and visiting
Kazbich's horse for the
Dromised to

diately.

Thus Maksimich bade

bye.

get

for Bela. The promise

boy in exchange
was fulfilled. Kazbich insane with rage
at his loss, tried to kill Azamat but failed.

him

s
father had
Suspecting that Azamat'
been responsible for the theft, Kazbich

killed the prince and stole his horse in

for the loss of his own animal.

revenge

Pechorin became
she and
Maksimich were walking on the ramparts
when Bela recognized Kazbich on her
passed, and
to Bela.

Weeks

less attentive

father's

One day

An

horse some distance

away.
Kazbich failed
and he escaped. But Kazbich had recog-

to shoot
orderly's attempt

nized Bela, too, and a few days later,

when the men were away from camp, he

kidnapped her. As Pechorin and Maksimich were returning to camp, they saw
Kazbich riding away with Bela. They
were
pursued the bandit, but as they
about

to

overtake him, he thrust his knife

and escaped.
Although Pechorin seemed to be deepwhen Maksily grieved by Bela's death,
mich tried to comfort him, he laughed.
The Narrator, having parted from Maksim Maksimich, stopped at an inn in
Vladikavkaz, where he found life very
dull until, on the second day, Maksimich
into Bela

arrived unexpectedly. Before long there

was a great stir and bustle in preparation
for the arrival of

an important

travelers learned that

guest expected.

Happy

guest.

The

Pechorin was the

in the thought of

seeing Pechorin again, Maksimich

structed a servant to carry his regards to

in-

who had stopped off

Colonel
Day turned to
come to
night but still Pechorin did not

his former friend,

to visit a

his friend goodthe Narrator's attempt to cheer

the old man remarked only that

To

Pechorin had become too rich and spoiled

to bother about old friendships. In fact,
he would throw away Pechorin's journal
that he had been saving. The Narrator
was so pleased to be the recipient of the
from the
papers that he grabbed them
old man and rushed to his room. Next
day the Narrator left, saddened by the
reflection that when one has reached

Maksim Maksimich's

age,

scorn from a

friend causes the heart to harden and the

soul to fold up. Later, having learned that
Pechorin was dead, the Narrator published three tales

from the dead man's

had written

journal, as Pechorin himself

them:
a little town on the seacoast
was the worst town Pechorin
had ever visited. For want of better lodghe was forced to stay in a little coting,
he immediately disliked. Greeted
that
tage

Taman,

of Russia,

the door by a blind, crippled boy,

Pechorin admitted to a prejudice against
To
infirmities.
people with physical
a crippled
'iim, a crippled body held

at

soul. His displeasure was enhanced when

he learned there was no icon in the house
an evil sign.

In the night Pechorin followed the

blind boy to the shore, where he witnessed a rendezvous that he did not comnext morning a young
prehend. The
woman appeared at the cottage and he
been on the "beach
accused her of

having

the night before. Later, the girl returned,

kissed him, and arranged to meet him on
the shore.

1545

Pechorin kept the appointment. As he

girl

sailed in a boat, she tried to

drown him;

he, in turn, thrust her into

and the

officer's

uniform.

Succumbing

to

Pechorin's attitude of

the swirling, foaming water and brought

the boat to shore. He was stunned to find

indifference, Princess Mary consented to

dance the mazurka with him. Pechorin

swum to safety and was talkman on shore. Pechorin learned

man was a smuggler. The blind

did not wish to hurt Grushnitski

by divulging this news when the new officer

had

that she

ing

to a

that the

a
appeared, carrying

boy
he delivered
gler.

They

to

sailed

boasted that he intended to have this

honored dance with the princess.
When, after the ball, it was rumored

later

heavy sack which

and the smug-

the girl
away in a boat.

that Princess

he

fled to

Mary would marry

Kislovodsk

Pecho-

be with Vera.

Pechorin returned to the cottage to

find that his sword and all his valuables

rin,

had been

his association with Pechorin, whom he

short time later
deliberately ignored.

Grushnitski followed, but not

stolen.

whom

he
had known previously. The two men were
attracted to Princess Mary, and Pechorin
was angry though he pretended indifferencebecause Princess Mary paid more
attention to Grushnitski, a mere cadet,
cadet

continue

the princess and her party arrived in Kislovodsk to continue their holiday.

in his journal. While stooping at Elizabeth Spring, a fashionab e spa, he met

wounded

to

Quite a different atmosphere pervaded

Pechorin's next experience, as described

Grushnitski, a

to

to him, an officer. The men

agreed that young society girls looked

than she did

upon soldiers as savages and upon any

young man with contempt,
Pechorin opened a campaign of revenge against Princess Mary. On one

Still furious at the affront which had

caused his disappointment at the ball,
Grushnitski enlisted the aid of some dragoons in an attempt to catch Pechorin
in Princess Mary's room. When this effort
failed, Grushnitski challenged Pechorin
to a duel. According to the plan Pechorin

would have an empty

the

covered

Grushnitski

pistol.

Having

Pechorin
plot,
to stand at the

dis-

compelled
edge of an

abyss during the duel. Then he coolly

shot the young officer, who tumbled

occasion he distracted an audience of her

into the depths below. Pechorin labeled

Grushnitski's death an accident.

admirers; again, he outbid her for a Persian rug and then disparaged her sense

to

Princess Mary's mother asked Pechorin

wrote
marry the girl. He refused and

by putting it on his horse. Her

these and other offenses gave
Pechorin the satisfaction of revenge for

in his journal that a soft, protected

was not his way.

her favor of Grushnitski.

Grushnitski wanted Pechorin

were ridiculing
group of Cossack officers
the fatalism of the Moslems. Lieutenant
offered to
Vulich, a renowned

of values

fury

at

to

be

friendly toward Princess Mary so that the

cadet might be accepted socially through
his association with her.
Having seen

Vera, a former lover of his but now marPechorin decided to court Princess

ried,

Mary

as a cover for his illicit affair

with

Vera.

As excitement mounted in anticipation

the ball, the major social event of
the season,
antagonism between Pechorin
and Grushnitski and Pechorin and Prin-

of

cess

grew. Grushnitski's excitement

result of his promotion; Princess Mary would see him in his

Mary

and pride were the

On

life

another occasion, Pechorin and a

gambler,
in fatalism. While
prove his own faith
Pechorin and the Cossacks watched,
at his head
Vulich aimed a
aghast,

pistol

and pulled the trigger. No shot was fired.

He then aimed at a cap hanging on the
was
wall; it was blown to pieces. Pechorin
amazed that the pistol had misfired on
Vulich s first attempt. He was sure he
had seen what he called the look of death
on Vulich's face. Within a half hour
after that demonstration Vulich was killed
in the street by a drunken Cossack,

1546

The next day Pechorin decided

to test

his

own

fate

by offering

to

take the mad-

dened Cossack alive, after an entire detachment had not dared the feat. He was
successful.

Later, when Pechorin discussed the Incident with Maksim Maksimich, the old
man observed that Circassian pistols of

the type which Vulich used for his

demonstration were not
really reliable.
He added philosophically that it was unfortunate Vulich had
stopped a drunk
night. Such a fate must have been
assigned to Vulich at his birth.

at

HERSELF SURPRISED
Type

of

work- Novel

Author: Joyce Gary

Type
Time

(18884957)

of plot: Social comedy

twentieth
of plot: First quarter of the

Locale:

London and

First published;

century

the English southern counties

1941
Principal characters:

SARA MONDAY,

cook

MATTHEW (MATT) MONDAY,

GULLEY JIMSON,
NINA,

his

her husband

a painter

supposed wife

MR. WILCHER, owner of Tolbrook Manor

BLANCHE WILCHER, his niece by marriage
Miss CLARISSA HIPPER, her older sister
MR. HICKSON, a friend of the Mondays
Critique:

Sara

Monday, the

life-loving,

self-in-

dulgent, and generous cook who is the

heroine of the first volume of Gary's first
trilogy,

her story sometimes ingenusometimes shrewdly. Both these

tells

ously,
characteristics are portrayed

The

compassion and irony.

with Gary's
vivid, com-

plete characters in Gary's novels are presented through their reactions to difficulties.

Thus

cident,

crowded with

his books are

in-

but without formal plot. Gary's

is
simple, his language rich

prose style

and

colorful.

Although

critics

have found

impossible to interpret his philosophy

with any certainty, he is considered one
of the foremost British novelists of his
it

period.

The

Story:

also to ruin.
first

her

position

was

that of cook in

medium-sized country house. Matthew

Monday, the middle-aged son of Sara's
employer, had been dominated all his life
by his mother and sister. Then this rather

man

ridiculous.

Nevertheless, and
her surprise, when he proposed marriage she accepted him.
At a church bazaar a few months after
her marriage, Sara met Mr. Hickson, a
millionaire art collector with whom Mat-

slightly

somewhat

to

thew was associated in business. With

Hickson's help she was able to emancipate
Matt from the influence of his family.
Partly because she was grateful to him
for his
help, Sara did not rebuke Hickson
\vhen he tried to flirt with her. After Sara

had been forced

to spend a night at Hickcountry house his car had broken

down Matt supported her against the
gossip and disapproval the episode occa-

son's

Sara's life

fell

in love with Sara,

who

discouraged his attentions, both because

R E F SU RPRI SED by

X?i u ^
^
1941, by Joyce Gary.

Joyce Gary.

By

with Matt was, except

for

the death of their son in infancy, a lappy

one during the first years of their marriage.
Sara's

They had

time was

four

filled

daughters,

and

with

parties, clothes,
on local commit-

her nursery, and work

tees.

pathetic

job

sioned.

In prison Sara
Monday realized that
she was indeed
guilty as charged. She
hoped that other women would read her
story and examine their characters before
their
thoughtless behavior brought them
Sara's

would cause her to lose

and because she found him

she feared he

Hickson brought an

artist to

He was

the Mondays.

stay with

Gulley Jimson,
who was to compete for the commission
to
paint a mural in the new town hall.
Gulley settled in quickly and soon his
forbearing wife, Nina, joined him. After

permission of the publishers, Haroer

'

1548

&

Brothers. Copyright,

a quarrel
sons left.

over a portrait of Matt, the JimSoon afterward Saia visited

rooms at the local inn.

In jealousy, Hickson told Matt of these
visits and the infuriated man accused his
them in

their

wife of infidelity. After his outburst Matt

was very repentant and blamed himself
for

neglecting
cident caused

Sara.

him

to

However, the
lose

all

in-

the con-

fidence his marriage had given him.

Sara did not see Gulley for years after
this incident. One day during Mart's last

police.

After Sara had thus

lost her
good charonly position she could obtain
was that of cook at Tolbrook Manor. The

acter, the

owner, Mr. Wilcher, had a bad reputation for

ing his

molesting young

women

servants.

girls

and seduc-

Sara, however,

pitied him and liked him. Eventually Mr.

Wilcher moved Sara to his town house,

having persuaded her to serve as housekeeper for both residences. She was glad
of the extra
money because Gulley had
been writing to her
asking for loans.
For many years Mr. Wilcher had had a

he reappeared. He looked shabby

and he wanted money to buy paints and
clothes. After telling her that Nina was

mistress

dead, he asked Sara to marry him after

Matt's death. Although she was shocked,

During one of many long talks by Sara's

fireside, he told her that he was tired of

Sara did not stop seeing Gulley

visiting this woman.

Sara to take her place,

illness

diately.

immeWhile Matt was dying Gulley re-

to her.
Finally she sent
peatedly proposed

aim away.

and the sale of her

Rose Cottage, where
Gulley was staying with Miss Slaughter,
one of the sponsors for the church hall
in which he was painting a muraL Miss
After Matt's death

house, Sara

went

to

Slaughter encouraged Sara to marry Guland at the end of a week they were
ley,

engaged. Just before they were to be married, however,

Gulley unhappily confessed that he had a wife and had never
formally been married to Nina. Sara

was
and also bitterly disappointed, but
in the end she
agreed to live with Gulley
and to say they were married. After an
furious

intensely happy honeymoon, they lived

with Miss Slaughter while Gulley worked
on his mural. During that time Sara tried
to

persuade Gulley to accept portrait comby her interference,

missions. Infuriated

who then left him.

She was glad to return, however, when
Miss Slaughter came for her.
Although Gulley's completed mural
was considered unacceptable, he refused
Gulley struck Sara,

change it. When Sara wanted him to

repair some damage done to the painting,
Gulley knocked her unconscious and left.
Having exhausted her funds, Sara paid
their
outstanding bills with bad checks,
and she was duly summonsed by the
to

whom

he visited every Saturday.

When

he asked
she was at first

slightly hesitant and confused, but in the

end she agreed. The arrangement worked
well enough for several years.
Mr. Wilcher became worried with
family and financial affairs and Sara
helped him by economizing on household
expenses. At the same time she managed
to
falsify her accounts and send extra

money

to

Gulley.

One

day a policeman

came to the house with two girls who

had complained of Mr. Wilcher's behavior. Mr. Wilcher disappeared, but
Sara discovered him hours later hiding
behind the chimney stacks on the roof.
The family was appalled by this incident.
After the impending summons had been
quashed, Mr. Wilcher became even
more unstable. Haunted by his past misdemeanors, he decided to confess them to

He also asked Sara to marry

he had served his sentence. At
this time he had an attack of sciatica.
While he was confined to his bed,
Blanche Wilcher, his niece by marriage
and a woman who had always been susthe police.

him

after

picious of Sara, dismissed her.

Returning from a visit to her daughter,
Sara forgot that she was no longer em-

ployed and entered Mr. Wilcher's street.

There she found that the house had
burned down in the night. Mr. Wilcher
had been taken to the house of his niece's

1549

Clarissa. After he had recovered

from shock he continued to see Sara and
Blanche. He rushed Sara to a
sister

ignored
registry

office to give notice of their forth-

a small
coming marriage and then took
new house for them to live in.

Sara had recently encountered Gulley

once more and had gradually assumed
for his new housefinancial
responsibility

and a detective examining her possessions.

She did not protest. After they had found
receipts from the antique dealer and orobills

cers'

was taken

for

supplies

for Gulley,

to the police station.

She

she
re-

ceived an eighteen-month prison sentence

and did not see Mr. Wilcher

again.

newspaper offered her money

story.

With

this

for her

she paid
Gulley's

ex-

hold.

penses and planned to become a cook

again after she had served her sentence.
She knew she could thus regain her

The evening before her marriage, Sara

arrived at the new house to find Blanche

keep

She maintained these payments for

a time by selling to an antique shop oddments that Mr. Wilcher had told her to
throw away.

"character,"
it

now

weaknesses.

and she believed she could

that she had discovered her

HESPERIDES
of work: Poetry
Author: Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Type
First

published;

As thou

1648

deserv'st,

youthful poet was allowed

be proud; then gladly

and go

his service

let

The Muse

the Delphick Corogive thee

to

terminate

to

Cambridge. Though

Herrick's activities
during his university
period are remembered chiefly for the

net,

This brief epigram, one of hundreds

Robert Herrick included in his collection
of twelve hundred poems, best describes
the pride with which he presented his
Hesperides and the recognition he re-

he wrote asking

letters

uncle

his

for

money, he also composed a variety of

commendatory poems and memory verses.
One, the longest poem he wrote, is addressed to a fellow student who was or-

of neglect.

dained in 1623.
The second period, and perhaps the
most important, was from 1617 to 1627,
when he became the favorite of the

of his Hesperides and his Noble

Numbers, a group of ecclesiastical poems,
and apothegms dated
prayers, hymns,

poem, "His Fare-well

more than one hundred years

His subtitle, The Works both
Human and Divine of Robert Herrick
the inclusion in one volEsq., indicates
ceived after

"sons" of

ume

comprise the literary remains of

one of the finest lyricists in the English

talk,

Anacreon, Horace, and by implica-

tion,

Catullus and Theocritus.

of

The

well-

His Book"

echoes the pastoral strain in the poet's

The arrangement of the poems in

Hesperides (the name itself is a conceit
based on the legend of nymphs who

declaration of his literary interests:

I

sing

of Brooks, of Blossomes, Birds,

and Bowers:

guarded with a fierce serpent the golden

apples of the goddess Hera) is whimsical.

Of

of the lyrics were composed in Devonshire, where Herrick was vicar of Dean
Prior from 1629 until the Puritan vic-

April,

May,

of June, and JwIy-FJow-

ers.

Most

sing
sails,

Of

caused his removal from his parish

in 1647. Restored to his living in 1662,
he lived until his death in the West
tories

of May-poles, Hock-carts,

Was-

Wakes,

Bride-grooms, Brides, and of their

Bridall-cakes.
I

Country which had inspired his pagan-

write of Youth, of Love, and have

Accesse
to

By

these,
nesse.

spirited, rustic verse.

The

great Herrick scholar, L. C. Marhas discovered a chronology, from the

collation of many manuscripts, which indicates the four general periods in which
tin,

poems were composed, carefully rewritten, and then painstakingly pubthese

to

epito-

him

known "The Argument

language.

apprenticeship

Sack,"

fellowship. In this poem too are the

names of the poets who most influenced

script,

his

to

wide reading, witty writing, and good

teenth-century scholars and about twice

the number recovered recently in manu-

From

Herrick's famous

mizes these formative years of good

1647. This collection, together with fifteen or so poems discovered by nine-

lished.

Ben Jonson.

his

goldsmith uncle at least one poem remains, "A Country Life," which may
have been one of the reasons why the

1551

1 sing of

sing of cleanly-Wanton-

Dewes, of Raines, and piece

by

piece
Of Baltne, of Qyle, of Spice,
ber-Greece.
I

sing of
write

How

Times

Roses

first

and Am-

trans-shifting;

came Red, and

and

Lillies

White.
I write of

Groves, of Twilights,

sing

The Court

of

Mob, and

and

of the Fairie-

be,
I write of Hell; I sing

Of Heaven, and hope

shall)
to have it after

Dean

vicar's

Prior

hope

aginary,

Master of Arts (1620) and a disHerrick never forgot his

classical background. As an epigrammatist he was without peer, especially since
he injected strong originality into a conventional and satiric form. He often
made his parishioners models for these
satiric verses, as in this comment on one
man's discomfiture:

for

to

the idealized

tradition. Herrick's

woman

philosophy

of poetic
is

Anacre-

of the Cavontic, the carpe tl'em attitude

alier poets.

Urles had the

not stand;

The best-known example from

his work, in his own time as well as ours,

of
is "To the Virgins, to Make Much

Then from

at

When

Now

the

Plantations fully show

All the yeere, where Cherries grow.

have

Ribbands,

Strings

Colours, that shall

his

are;

and though our words

differ

from our Lines by

Andrew Marvell:
Give
If

my cold lips a kisse at last:

twice you kisse, you need not feare

That

I shall stir,

or live

more

here,

Next, hollow out a Tombe to cover

Me; me, the most despised Lover:
And write thereon, This Reader, know,
Love kiWd this man. No more but so.

Roses,

move

and

he greeted his many friends and relatives

who, despite all his verses, insisted on
"The cruell Maid" he
getting married. In
echoes, or is echoed by, his contemporary,

Others to Lust, but me to Love.

These (nay) and more, thine own shal

himself

Lesbia and the epithalamia with which

Rings,
Gloves, Garters, Stockings, Shooes, and

Of winning

spare

in the vein of Catullus are his lyrics to

In the manner of Shakespeare he cornwith the

posed "The mad Maids Song,"
same "Good Morrows" and the strewing
of flowers for the tomb, but in this instance the lament is for a lover killed by
a bee sting. In the style of Marlowe and
then Raleigh, Herrick continues the Elizabethan shepherd-maiden debate in "To

shalt

gives no Almes

An extension of this mode is Herrick's

Anacreontic verse. In "To Bacchus, a
Canticle" he begs the god of revelry and
him the way,
reproduction to show
among thousands, to have more than one
mistress. Somewhat more restrained and

Whose

Thou

Hand, he

Our Lives do
much.

There's the Land, or Cherry-He:

with him"

shifted to his

be such,

answer, There,
doe smile

live

in's

Wantons we

lips

and

'tis

friends

Cherrie-Ripe, Ripe, Ripe, I cry

Full and fake ones; come and buy:
If so be, you ask me where

Phillis to love,

co'd

'twas in's Feet, his Charity was

Nor does he

known:

They doe grow"? I

Where my Julias

it

he

at all.

all the excitement

ing a Maying" catches
of the festival in the most intricate of
A ballad in the manner of
singing forms.
is "Cherrie-ripe," one which de-

serves to be better

his Feet,

that

so,

small;

rich variety of his poetic subjects. Set in

the form of the madrigal, "Corinna's go-

Campion

Gout

Hand:

Time," which begins: "Gather ye Rosebuds while ye may."

That Herrick was a man of his time

may be ascertained by a glance

with me.

ciple of Jonson,

be based on his "cleanlyhis

Wantonnesse," even if one considers
f
s ately Julia,
mistresses-Corinna,
many
smooth Anthea, and sweet Electra as im-

heaven seems

live

all.

The

thou wilt love, and

If

(and ever

The more humble and

bucolic songs of

Horace, however, were the poet's abiding

love.

1552

While he may have wished

for the

court rather

than

the

parish,

his

best

work was composed amid peaceful surroundings on pleasant rural subjects. His

more delicate and

subtle poem than the well-known lyric
Wordsworth
by
s
'To Daffadills"

is

Faire DafFadills, we weep to see

You haste away so soone:

As

yet the early-rising

attain'd his

Has not

Sun

the

final

period

represented
to

London"

in
is

significant poem illustrating the soof his genius, the pomp

phisticated side
and circumstance which made a lasting

poetry for this faithful royalist.

aere of

Place!

please

of the book

which he sent forth

kinsman or a friend." He honestly thought and in fact knew "The
Muses will weare blackes, when I am
dead." Ironically, his death went almost
unnoticed, though his verses were re-

Even-song;

Hespen^es, "His returne

prov-

to find "a

And, having pray'd together, we

Will goe with you along.
In

things

ince.

poems

Noone.

Has run

to the

as he links himself with his Elizabethan

patron saints, the Renaissance man who
took all life and all
for their

"And here my ship rides having Anchor cast," he writes in his

concluding

Stay, stay,
Untill the hasting day

But

All Nations, Customes,

Kindreds, Languages!

He

called in oral tradition for many

years before the
modern
recovery of his work

by

scholarship a most appropriate tribute to

the man who gives such a vivid
picture
of the folk and their wassails, harvests,

wakes, and loves.

sings

People! Manners! fram'd to

To

his Book's

have

end

this last line

he'd

plac't,

Jocund
chast.

his Miise

was; but

Jiis

Life

was

WIND RISING

Type, of work: Novel

Author: Elsie Singmaster (Mrs. E. S. Lewars, 1879- 1958)

Type
Time

of plot: Historical chronicle

of plot: 1728-1755

Locale: Pennsylvania
first published:

1942
Principal characters:

ANNA SABILLA SCHANTZ,

a pioneer matriarch

JOHANN SEBASTIAN SCHANTZ, her grandson

OTTILIA ZIMMER, a young German immigrant, loved
by
MARGARETTA, and
GERTRAOD, their twins
CONRAD WEISER, a famous Interpreter and Indian agent
SHEKELLIMY, an Oneida

chief, friend of

Sebastian

Wciser

SKELET, a half-friendly, half-treacherous Delaware

Critique:

The

American history which most writers

have neglected. It is a story of the

In 1728, Conrad Weiser, white clan

brother of the Mohawks, saw Owkwariowira Young Bear for the first time, a

A High Wind Rising deals with a phase

of

Pennsylvania

settlements

beyond

the

Schuylkill during the decisive years when

French and English battled for control of

Ohio and Conrad Weiser helped to

determine the fate of a continent
by keep-

the

Ing the Six Nations loyal to their British

allies. The writer
brings the period dramatically to life in her characterizations of
pioneers like Conrad Weiser and Sebastian Schantz, of frontier women like
resourceful, devoted

Anna

Sabilla.

Those

people live with no self-conscious sense

of

national destiny, as do so
many
pioneers In lesser fiction. Their lives illustrate what must have been the
daily
of the frontier, the
hardships and
dangers that they faced no more than a

life

part of their everyday existence. Other

figures great in Pennsylvania annals are

more briefly viewed in this crowded canvas

of people and events
Benjamin Franklin,

James Logan, John Bertram, Henry

MelcHior Muhlenburg, Lewis Evans. The
passing of time and the pressures of history shape the plot, but the story itself
as simple and realistic as

legend.

The

novel

is

is

homely family
an example of the

historical chronicle at Its best.

Story:

naked small boy daubed with clay and

running wild in Chief Quagnant's village.

Weiser, his quick eye seeing pale skin

under the dirt and grease, bartered for the
child and took him back to the German
settlement at Schoharie.
Young Bear was

baptized Johann Sebastian, and found in

Anna Eve, Conrad's wife, a second mother.
The Weisers believed that Bastian was the
grandson of Anna Sabilla Schantz, whose

daughter Margaretta had followed an

English trader into the forest.
Many of the Schoharie community

were preparing to move to Pennsylvania,

where there was rich land for thrifty, industrious

German

settlers.

Anna

Sabilla

her own cabin in a

clearing beside the Blue Mountains.
Sturdy, resolute, she cared for Nicholas,
her paralyzed brother, tended her garden,
called all Indians thieves and rascals, but
fed them when they begged at her door.
For trader Israel Fitch she carved wooden

had already gone

to

puppets in exchange for salt, cloth, tools.

Weiser took Bastian to her when he went
to
claim his own lands along the

Tulpehocken.

Growing up, Bastian helped his grandmother with plantings and harvests. From
o

1554

author and the publishers Houshtoa

-

Skelet,

health,

the

Indian

humpbacked

sickly,

had nursed back to

he learned the ways of animals and

whom Anna
deep

Sabiila

When

woods.

died, Bastian

moved

old

Nicholas

into his room. Tall

and strong for his age, he was the

man

of

the family at fourteen.

road ran through the clearand along the trail Delawares and

The
ing,

chiefs'

traveled to

and from the

treaty

Iroquois
councils in Philadelphia. Bastian knew
them all old Sassoonan of the Delawares,

who
Shekellimy, Weiser's friend,
ruled the Delawares for the Six Nations,

loyal

and Mohawk spokesmen

and they remembered Owkwari-owira,
Sabiila grumbled
Sharp-tongued Anna
when he talked with them in their own
but she raised few objections
tongues,
when he went with Weiser and the chiefs

Seneca, Oneida,

council of
Philadelphia for the great
1736.
The city was finer than Bastian had

to

ever imagined it.

the State

left

Whenever he could, he
House and wandered

waterthrough the streets and along the

He saw a shipload of German im-

front.

a black-haired
migrants and among them
whose parents had died at sea. Because
girl
she had no one to pay her passage, her
a hurt deer, and
eyes were like those of

he gave

to a kindly couple
look after her. Bastian
heard only that her name was Ottilia be-

who

all

his

offered

money

to

runner from Weiser summoned him

to the council. He went back to look for
her later, but the immigrants had gone.
Anna Sabiila hinted that Anna Maria,
Weiser's daughter, or the Heils' blonde

fore a

Sibby would have him quickly enough,

but Bastian remembered black hair and
dark eyes. Tramping from clearing to

he found some
remembered
passengers from the ship who
that she had gone away with a family
named Wilhelm. Again he went to PhilaWeiser
delphia for a treaty council. There
found the girl's name on a ship's listOttilia Zimmer. Bastian's search led him
clearing looking for her,

John Bartram, the Quaker naturalist,

the Blue
along the Schuylkill, beyond

to

Mountains. Nowhere did he o

get word of
or the Wilhelms. Anna Maria
Weiser became engaged to marry Henry
Melchior Muhlenburg, a young pastor.
Anna Sabiila shook her head over Bastian;
in her old age she wanted the comfort
of another woman and children in the
Ottilia

cabin.

The

chiefs of the Six Nations and delefrom Pennsylvania, Maryland, and

Virginia met in Lancaster in 1744. Weiser
was there because he was needed to hold

gates

Long House

the

Bastian

because,

in
as

friendly

the

alliance,

years

passed,

The

waitress

Weiser counted greatly on his help. The

weather was hot, the noise deafening.
Weiser and Bastian went to a small inn
to

escape feasting Indians.

had black hair and dark eyes. She was

Ottilia, and she rode home with Bastian

when

the

conference

ended.

Hump-

backed Skelet ran ahead to tell Anna

Sabiila that Bastian had found his squaw.
Settlers were moving beyond the Susquehanna. While Delawares and Shewanese signed treaties with the French, Weiser

keep the Long House neutral.

went with him to Logstown on
Ohio, where Tanacharison and

worked

to

Bastian
the

Scarouady promised

to

keep their

friendly toward the English.

tribes

As Bastian

rode home, neighbors called to him

the cabin Anna
hurry. In the kitchen of
Sabiila rocked a cradle in which slept the
to

newborn Twillings, Margaretta and Gertraud. At last, said Anna Sabiila, they
were a

real family.

But winds of violence blew from the

west. Weiser gave presents at Aughwick,
at Carlisle, but his arguments, feasts, and
could not hold the Shewanese and
gifts

the Delawares, angry because their hunt-

been taken from them.

ing grounds had
General Braddock, marching to force the
French from the Ohio, was ambushed.
Fitch, the trader, brought word of bumthe mountains.
ings and killings beyond
Because Pennsylvania lay open to war
French and Indians, Bastian was
parties of
Fitch decided to stay; another
when
glad
man might be needed if Indians appeared

on the Tulpehocken.
Bastian had gone to help a sick neighbor when the raiders struck, burning the
cabin and bam and leaving Fitch's body

where

it fell.

Anna

Sabilla, Ottilia,

and

the twins were gone. Pretending ferocity,

Skelet had taken a small part of Ottilia's

unconscious.
scalp and left her
Sabilla and the twins he took with

Anna

Anna
him to

One night he and a friend captured a

young Frenchman who carried the carved
figure of a little girl, and Bastian,

recogniz-

ing Anna Sabilla's work, concluded

she and the twins were still alive.
joined

that

He

marching on
Kitanning, but Anna Sabilla and the little
were not among the white
girls
prisoners
raiding

party

freed in the attack.

realsquaw. She was indignant, but she

ized that his claims kept her alive and the

Anna Sabilla and the twins were already on the way home. Knowing that
Skelet was vain and greedy, she promised

twins

money

Ki tanning,

calling

Sabilla

his

safe.

the
Reviving, Ottilia wandered through
in company with a small
woods for

days

killed and
boy whose parents had been
she
scalped. At \ast, with other fugitives,
made her way to the Moravian settlement
at Bethlehem. There Bastian found her
on his journey back from Philadelphia,
where he and other settlers had gone to
demand the formation of militia units and

Leaving Otwith the Weisers, he joined the garrison at Fort Henry, built where Anna
Sabilla's cabin had once stood.

forts to protect the frontier.

tilia

the

if

he would guide them back

settlements.

dreaming of the

They set out,

rum and finery he

to

Skelet

would

buy with the old woman's gold. Then,

worn out by hardships on the trail, he
died on the ridge above her

own

clearing.

Suddenly Anna Sabilla smelled chimney smoke, heard voices. She ran, urging
the girls before her. Safe within the stockade, and grateful, she declared that the
old humpback had been a rascal but that

he had been helpful. She intended

him among her

people.

to

bury

THE HILL OF DREAMS

Novel

of work:

Type

Machen (1863-1947)

Author: Arthur
Type, of

Impressionistic

'plot:

romance

Late nineteenth century

Time

of plot:
Locale: England
first published:

1907
Principal characters:

LUCIAN TAYLOR, a would-be author

THE REVEREND MR. TAYLOR, Lucian's
ANNIE MORGAN, Lucian's sweetheart

Critique:

He

This novel by Arthur Machen, in part

an autobiography, received little notice

when it was published. During

after

Machen's books had

tation, this

self

said,

novel also came in for a share

and popularity. Machen

in the introduction to a later
him-

with his fellow students. In his studies

he turned toward the less material- preferring
o to learn of the dim Celtic and Roman
hisdays of Britain of medieval church
of works in magic.
tory, and
In his fifteenth year Lucian returned to
his home during the August holidays and
found it quite changed. His mother had
died during the previous year, and his
father's fortunes had sunk lower and

life

he had begun it
as proof to the world and to himself that
he was indeed a man of letters and that,
even more important, he had thrown off
the style of Robert Louis Stevenson,
whom he had been accused of imitating,
and had found a style of his own to express

He

also related that the writing

was imbedded in the work

itself: that many of the trials and weird
into the
experiences which have been put

of the novel

lower.

much

of the fictional

searching for a

way

The

to express life, lost

type.

Story:

Lucian Taylor, son of an Anglican

was an
even before he went

rector in a rural parish,

extraordi-

nary lad,

to school.

THE HILL OF DREAMS

of his

had become

moody and Lucian

time away from the
to

spent
house.

wander through the

roll-

ing countryside by himself.

One bright summer afternoon

a widely diversified body of readers, the

book is likely to stand as a notable exits

a result his father

His habit was

both himself and the power to understand

are too
humanity. Although such studies
intense and yet too nebulous to appeal to

ample of

As

exceedingly

Lucian Taylor were, in

of Machen himreality, the experiences
self as he wrote the novel. This novel will
for it is
probably never be a popular one,
a somewhat difficult study of a highly introverted character, a man who, while

life

was both studious and reflective, so

so that he was not accepted readily

by the boys of the neighborhood. When

Lucian went away to school he did very
well in his studies, but he formed an
acute dislike for athletics and for social

the 1920's,

edition of the book, that

his ideas.

clergyman

much

won him a repu-

of attention

father, a rural

he

climbed up a steep hillside to the site of

an old Roman fort. The site was at some
distance from any human habitation, and
Lucian felt quite alone. Because of the
heat, he had an impulse to strip off his

He

did,
sweaty clothing and take a nap.
only to be awakened by someone kissing
him. By the time he had fully regained his

senses, the

unknown

person had disap-

was not sure whether some

peared. Lucian
Annie Morgan,
supernatural being or
awakened
daughter of a local farmer, had

him

thus.

Soon afterward Lucian went back

to

the publishers, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

by Arthur Machen. By permission of

Copyright, 1922, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Renewed.

1557

school. At last the rector told his son that

he could no longer afford to send him to
school and that matriculation at Oxford
was out of the question. Lucian was
disappointed, but he settled down to

that the

make-believe Avallaunius and

spent most
of his time there
peopling it with men
and women,
buildings and customs, that
he had learned of
through his exhaustive
studies of Roman times in
Britain He

studying

school.

went
wandering through the modem
town
imagining that the people he met
and the scenes before his

de-

clined, his popularity in the parish

lishment turned the local

gentry against
him. Everyone felt that his studies and his
attempts to write were foolish, since they
brought in no money. Nor could the
people understand Lucian's failure to

maintain their standards of

in dress

and deportment.

respectability

Lucian

felt, however, that he could

stand beyond such criticism of his
habits,
but his
self-respect suffered a blow when

he tried

to sell

lishers,

refusing

some of his
writings. Pubto
accept his work,

Caerrnaen, near

rectory, xvas onc e

Roman settlement it had

been
centuries before. Lucian called
his land of

wandering about
the countryside in
solitary fashion, as he
had done during his vacations from

had
diminished. Lucian's own
reputation had
never been high, and his failure to take a
job in some respectable business estab-

of

his father's

again the

in his father's
library or

As the elder Taylor's fortunes had

modem town

which was

ot ancient times.

eyes were those

Even Annie Moroan's

announcement that she was

goino
& away
made little impression
upon him, for he
felt that

she had

sion in his life

accomplished her

mis-

by showing him how

escape into a better world.

People wondered
havior of the
not given to

at

the stranoe be-

young man; even

People

his father

noticing anything, became

worried because Lucian ate

thin.

to

little

who knew him

and grew

only by

sioht

suspected him of being a drunkard because of his odd behavior and

absent-

mindedness.

pointed out to him that what they wanted

was sentimental fiction of a
stereotyped
kind. Lucian, not
wishing to cheapen himself or his
literary efforts, refused to turn
out popular fiction of the
type desired. He

But at last Lucian

escaped physically
from Caermaen; he received notice
that a
distant cousin who had lived
on the Isle
of
Wight had died and left him two
thousand pounds. He
immediately gave
five hundred
pounds to his father and invested the remainder for himself.
With

ness preyed
upon him, plunging him at
times into the
One afterdeepest

Lucian left Caermaen behind and

went
to London. There he
felt he could
escape
from the moodiness which had held
him

he had to express himself in a

graver kind of literature.
Lucian's social and intellectual loneli-

felt that

despair.

noon, while sunk in a mood of

depression,
he went out for a
long walk. By dusk he

was

from home, or so he
thought, and
in the midst of a wood.
Finally fiphtrag
his
way clear of the dense brush, Lucian
blundered onto a
path and there met
Anme Morgan. She sensed his mood and
tell in with it. Both
of them announced
far

their love and

pledged one another. Lucian
went home
better than he had

months.

feeling

in

As the days passed Lucian fell into

the
habit of
putting himself in a world apart
a world o the
past, when Rome held
Britain as a distant
province. He dreamed

the assurance of a
small, regular income,

prisoner in the country. He also

hoped
that the different mental

would prove
helpful

to

him

atmosphere
in his

at-

tempts at writing.

Upon

his arrival in the

city Lucian

found himself a
single room in a private
home. He soon settled down to a
regular
existence, writing late each
night, sleep-

ing late in the morning, reading over his

work of the
night before, and walking, in
the afternoons. His meals were
sketchy,
he was forced to live on as little as

for

fifteen
shillings a week. But the regular
schedule was not to hold for
His

1558

long.

inspiration

Lucian

felt

was not a regular thing, and

that he had to make his writitself. He threw away as

inas perfection
much as he wrote.

Disappointment over
to drive him into
his efforts soon began
worse moods than he had known before.
as a boy by the
Having been impressed
work of De Quincey in Confessions of an
Opium Eater, Lucian turned to
English
that

drug

for

solace

and

inspiration.

After he began taking drugs, he knew

on in the world about
litde that was

him.

He

going
of his time lying
spent much

and reliving the past

had a real inspiration
about an amber goddess

in his room
quietly
in visions. Once he
to write; his story

was the product of true imagination. But

of the story did
and the will
ambition
generate

publication

he was too

far

gone in

little

to

to create;

his addiction to

opium.
A heavy snow and a severe wave of cold
but
struck London and southern England,
o
the weather made little impression on him;
he might just as well have been living in
a ghost city. Then one night he took too
much opium. His landlady, not hearing
*

him stir for many hours, looked into his

room and found him dead at his desk, his
writings spread about him. Even she felt
little

made

sorrow for him, although he had

over his small fortune to her.

HILLINGDON HALL
Type of work: Novel
Author: Robert Smith Surtees (1803-1864)
Type
Time

of plot:

Comic romance

of plot: Nineteenth century

Locale: England

1845

First published;

Principal characters:

JOHN JORROCKS,
MRS. JORROCKS,

a wealthy cockney grocer

his shrewish wife

and sportsman

EMMA

FLATHER, a country girl

MRS. FLATHER, her mother
THE DUKE OF DONICEYTON, Jorrocks' neighbor
THE MARQUIS OF BRAY, his son

Critique:

new

Hillingdon Hall, Or, The Cockney

is the final novel of the Jorrocks
series. Here the emphasis is on country

and

satire in the
electioneering

and in

in

the

cockney speech, as in
is

all

series,

Mrs. Flather announced the news to

Emma. The two
ladies thought it would be only neigh-

scenes

them to call right away, espebe a son in the

cially since there might
at
time
had an underthe
family.

borly for

Emma

standing with James Blake, who had the

was alliving at Hillingdon, but she
ways on the alert for a better match. Mrs.

and the

of Surtees' work,

who was,
than Mrs.

Trotter,

Story:

Hillingdon Hall was a charming example of the old-style manor house with

many haphazard

additions

and types

It was set in a
pretty viland the nearby river adc'ed to its
attractions. Mr. Westbury, the former
owner, had been an old-fashioned gentleman of talent and learning who spent
his whole time in the country. Since he
was a kind of patriarch for the district,
the village wondered after his death who
would be the new owner of the hall.
When the carriage drew up at the
door, curious eyes were fastened on the

of architecture.
lage

if

anything, quicker

at

Flather, brought the

news that Jorrocks was old and married
and had no children.

gossip

its

new

her blooming daughter

accurately represented.

The

brocade. John Jorrocks, the

stiff

owner, had arrived.

one of the better con-

structed works in

was covered

A huge, fat man with roses in his

back pocket got out, followed by his wife

Flathers attempts to get

a husband, and some current farming
o
fads come in for good-natured ridicule.
is

chaise

dows.

Emma

Hillingdon Hall

The

huge geranium, and flowers and plants

of all kinds were sticking out of the win-

its

Jorrocks, a

good

package of apple trees lay

on the roof, the coach boy clutched a

charms and oddities. John

London grocer turned sporting country proprietor and agriculturist,
is less a clown than he was in
previous
volumes, although he does meet with
many undignified adventures; and the
whole tone of the book is more sympathetic than
picaresque. There is some

life

arrivals,

with dust.

Squire

Jorrocks tried hard to be a good gentleman farmer. He visited his tenants

faithfully but found them a poor lot.
They could scarcely understand his cockney accent and they were full of complaints; besides, they knew much more
than he did about farming. Mrs. Jorrocks
got on better at first with her country
folk.

Traditionally the lady of Hillingof the local

don Hall was the patroness

school.

When

she visited the establish-

ment, she was appalled at the drab uniforms worn by the girls. Forthwith she

1560

a friend in

had

London, an

new costumes

sian

in

These she forced on the protesting

Unfortunately,

when

some

actress, de-

she

had

girls.

new

the

he was able

Emrna and capture

For some time Jorrocks had had as

One memorable day a magnificent

coach drove up and an impressive footman left a card from the Duke of Donkevton. The duke fancied himself as a
Dolitician.

sure that

wanted

to visit

that girl's willing heart.

Jorrocks.

Decome

him

Bray topped off the occasion by a speech

lauding the ancient Romans. Afterward

up at the school the spelling

bad; it announced to the world that
institution was "founder'd" by Julia

sicm pat
^vas

of the farmers did not follow

very well. He advocated the growing of

pineapples and the making of drain tile
with sugar as the principal ingredient.

the Swiss mode.

tate

make

self

es-

named

well

off.

One

morning, however,

Jor-

rocks rose very early and decided to make

a tour of inspection. In a secluded spot

certain of his allegiance.

Jorrockses were still more astounded

to receive an invitation to dine and stay

The

the night at

jack-of-all-trades
Sneakington Sneak for

short.
Joshua
for fees and bribes
After he had arranged
o
to add to his income, Sneak
thought him-

Thinking that Jorrocks might

person of standing, and feeling
he must be a Whig, the duke

to

manager

Donkeyton. Although much

initials R. S. V. P., Jorpuzzled by the

tocks wrote a formal acceptance. Mrs.
Flather and Emma were also invited, but

he came upon Sneak netting pheasants.

Furious at the trickery, he had Sneak sent
to jail. His new manager was a doughty
North Countryman, James Pigg? who had!
been with Jorrocks at Handley Cross.
The duke showed favor to Jorrocks by

were thinking
characteristically they
the duke's son, the Marquis of Bray, as

which won a
giving him a prize bull,
ribbon at a fair, and by appointing him

a possible suitor for

the way to

mostly

of

Emma.

On

Donkeyton, Jorrocks
contrived to get in the same carriage with
Mrs. Flather and squeezed that poor lady
and stole a kiss or two. He continued his
boisterous tactics at the castle.

The duke

was much impressed by Jorrocks* appetite

and drink. After dinner he made
the mistake of trying to keep up with

for food

Jorrocks in drinking toasts; consequently,

to retire early and was unable to

in
time for breakfast.
appear

he had

The

elegant and effeminate Marquis

of Bray was quite taken with Emma.

fell in with a scheme that Jorrocks

He

and

had for founding an agricultural society with Bray as president and

Jorrocks as vice-president.
readily
agreed to come to an organizational meetthe duke

He

ing,

since

there he

would

see

Emma

to visit,
magistrate. Bray came again
to see Emma, but Jorrocks dragged
him off to a rough farmers' masquerade.

made
Bray, who was a slender youth,
the mistake of dressing as a woman.
loutish farmer who would not be put

off tried to kiss

The meeting was

a great success. Bray

was horrified at the amount of food
'

away by Jorrocks and his farmers,

he did his best to keep up appearances.
Jorrocks' speech sounded good, although

The

boisterous treat-

wan-

startled

awaking

had blundered on the

Flather's house.

After staying the night with the family,

he had a chance

to

flirt

with

Emma

at

breakfast.

After that adventure Emma and hei

mother confidently expected an offer
from Donkeyton. When no word came,
the desperate Mrs. Flather herself went
to the castle. The duchess was amused
at the idea of

again.

him.

Bray so much that he

dered off in the night and got lost. He
came upon a sleeping household and,
the inhabitants, found he
after

ment

her son's marriage with a

commoner, but the duke was incensed;

he knew that Bray had conducted himself properly, for he had read Chesterfield. The son had no voice in the matter
at all. Later Emma and her mother had

1561

to

admit he had never made an outright

profession

of love.

The member of Parliament from the

district died, The duke immediately sent
the vacancy, and
was expected. The Anti-

out a bid for Bray

no opposition

to fill

wrote several times to

his stand on repeal of the
asking
Bray
but Bray knew nothing
grain tariff,
and did not reply.
the matter
of

Com-Law League

its own
Thereupon the League put up
candidate, Bill Bowker, a grifting friend
the
To avoid a
of

Jorrocks.

campaign,

duke bought off Bowker for a thousand

the proposals of
pounds and endorsed
the League.
It was a shocking thing for the duke
to advocate removal of tariffs on grain.
When next the farmers tried to sell theit

produce

at

market, they found that prices

had tumbled. In

their
anger they put
forth the willing Jorrocks as their candidate. The duke was hurt that a man

to whom he had given a bull and whom

he had elevated to a magistracy should
run against his son, but Jorrocks was obdurate. At the hustings,
although the

Marquis
ers

of

Bray won, Jorrocks' support-

demanded

The

a poll.

farmers

all

worked

to

get every

Pigg was a little

tricky because he persuaded the Quakers
to vote for Jorrocks on the grounds that

eligible voter to vote.

his candidate

was a

teetotaler.

When

the

votes were counted, Jorrocks won by a

margin of two. Elated at beating a marquis,

and glad

to

go back to London,

Jor-

rocks left Pigg in charge of Hillingdor*

Hall and went on to bigger things.

HIPPOLYTUS
Type of work: Drama
Author: Euripides (480-406 B.C.)
Type of plot: Classical tragedy
of plot: Remote antiquity
Locale: Troezen in Argolis

Time

First presented;

428 B.C.
Principal characters:
THESEUS, King of Athens
HIPPOLYTUS, son of Theseus and Hippolyta,
PHAEDRA, wife of Theseus

Quern of

the

Amazons

APHRODITE, goddess of physical love

ARTEMIS, goddess of spiritual love
Critique:

The Hippolytus is probably one of the

most provocative of Greek tragedies, and
Phaedra, despite her comparatively brief
appearance in the play, is one of the most
pitiful
self is

of tragic heroines. Hippolytus himan insufferable prig; but because

Phaedra and Theseus are victims of relentless fate our sympathies go out to them. It
has been said that this play is Euripides'
dramatic treatment of the conflict in the

human between

physical

and

spiritual

although this theory may attribute

too much importance to the traditional
rivalry between Aphrodite and Artemis in
Greek mythology. Racine treated this
story in the baroque manner in his Phedre.
love,

The

filled with
longing she had dedicated
a temple to the
Cyprian goddess. Poseidon,
ruler of the sea, had once
The-

promised

seus that three of his

prayers to the sea god
should be answered.
Through that prom-

ise

Aphrodite planned to accomplish her

revenge.
o

Now

it
happened that Theseus had
kinsman, and as punishment for
his crime he had been exiled for a year in
Troezen. There Phaedra, who had accompanied her husband when he left

killed a

Athens, was unhappy in her secret love

for the

young huntsman.

Hippolytus, returning from the chase,

paid his respects with song and garlands
before the altar of Artemis. Reminded by
a servant that an image of Aphrodite stood

Story:

Aphrodite, goddess of physical love, be-

came angry because Hippolytus, offspring

of an illicit union between Theseus and
Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, alone
among the citizens of Troezen refused to

do her homage. Instead, the

youth, tutored
by holy Pittheus, honored Artemis, god-

dess of the chase and of

spiritual love. To
punish him for his disdain of love and
marriage, Aphrodite, jealous of Artemis
and incensed at his neglect of her altars,
vowed revenge: she would reveal to The-

seus the love his wife, Phaedra,

was

had for her

nearby, he answered impatiently that he

acknowledged the power of the Cyprian
goddess,

chastity,

but from
he had no

afar.

Dedicated

desire to

to

become her

The attendant, after Hippolytus

the shrine, asked Aphrodite to indulge the young man's foolish 'pride.
Phaedra, meanwhile, mopec. in her
devotee,

had

left

hopeless passion for the young prince, so

much so that her servants expressed deep

concern over her illness and wondered

what strange malady

alarmed

at

affected her.

Phaedra's

nurse,
restiveness and

stepson.

petulance, was the most concerned of all.

When her mistress expressed a desire to

to the

hunt wild beasts in the hills and to gallop

horses on the sands, the nurse decided that
Phaedra was light-headed because she had

Some time before, Hippolytus had gone

country of Pandion to be initiated

holy mysteries. There Phaedra,
seeing him, had fallen in love with the
handsome youth, and because her heart
into the

not eaten food for three days.

1563

At

die nurse swore by the Amazon

who had borne Theseus a son that

last

queen
Phaedra would be a
children

she

if

At the mention
Phaedra

traitor to

let herself

started;

sicken

and

die.

name

o
Hippolytus'
then she moaned

fully.

Poseidon to grant the first of his requests:

he asked the god to destroy Hippolytus

that

her

for

husband's son, she bewailed the unnatural

of her Cretan house. At the
passions
her
nurse's urging she finally confessed
The
nurse,
her
for
true feelings
stepson.
at the thought of the confrightened
because of that sinful
sequences possible
was horrified. The attendants

that very day. His attendants, shocked,

implored him to be calm, to consider the
welfare of his house, and to withdraw

his request.

Hippolytus, returning at that moment,

encountered his father and was mystified

words of Theseus.
passionate
of his dead wife,
the
over
body
Standing
the

king

showed

the

hold for all

that she was determined to take her own
and to
life in order to preserve her virtue

protestations,
from his sight.

natural course; she would offend Aphrodite if she were to resist her love for
Phaedra was quite scandal-

purest

Going down to the seashore, Hippolytus

entered his chariot after invoking Zeus to
strike

from Hippolytus' mouth or an item of his

a rock and the car overturned. Hippolytus,

was mortally Indragged across the rocks,

their concern for their mistress.

The

nurse, eager to aid the lovesick

and told him
woman, went to

jured.

Hippolytus

The young huntsman,

shocked, rebuked the nurse for a bawd and
all mortal womanexpressed his dislike for

Theseus,

of Phaedra's love.

having

overheard

that his son

would be

revealed.

To make Hip-

for hei death, she

polytus suffer remorse

"aanged herself.

learning
still

with

indifference

lived, consented to have

to the palace. While

he waited, Artemis appeared and told him
of his son's innocence and of Phaedra's

him brought back

her

and his constepson's angry reproaches

demnation of all women, feared that her
secret

he had sinned. As he

horses drawing Hippolytus chariot panicked and ran away, the bull in pursuit.
wheels struck
Suddenly one of the chariot

in-

voked Aphrodite not to look askance upon

Phaedra,

if

bull whose
emerged a savage, monstrous
shore. The
the
echoed
along
bellowing

potion

kind.

him dead

drove along the strand, on the road leadino to Argos, an enormous wave rose out
of the sea and from the whirling waters

that she even see Hippolytus. The nurse

said that she had a love charm, that would
end Phaedra's malady. As it turned out,
was ineffectual without a word
the

them In

had

insisting to
of mortals.

the nurse suggested

clothing or personal belongings.

Phaedra's attendants melodically

son and

Phaedra

banished the young man

Hippolytus departed, still
his friends that he was the

save Theseus from shame.

But the nurse, having reconsidered, advised her mistress to let matters take a

when

bastard

letter

Hippolytus, proudly defending

his innocence, said that he had never
looked with carnal desire upon any woman.
Theseus, refusing to believe his sons

at

Hippolytus.
ized, however,

his

reviled

him

written.

what the future seemed to

concerned. Phaedra told them

mourned

the

by

passion,

and

row

piti-

was

Thinking how horrible

had been stricken with love
it

she

own

her

had caused her death

by
Wild with sorTheseus called upon
rage,

that Hippolytus

his attempts to ravish her.

Theseus, who had been away on a journey, returned to discover that Phaedra had
taken her life. Grief-stricken, he became
enraged when he read a letter clenched
in his dead wife's hand. In It she wrote

guilty passion
she declared,

for Hippolytus. Aphrodite,

had contrived the young

at his
hunter's death to satisfy her anger
neglect of her shrines.

and

maimed
Hippolytus, his Body
into his
broken, was carried on a litter
his infather's presence. Still maintaining
selfshameless
with
moaned
nocence, he
pity

1564

and lamented that one

so pure

and

death because oE his

chaste should meet
horses. They were, he said, the
frightened

means by which he had always

of the hunt.
honored Artemis, goddess
had
that
him
told
she
Aphrodite
When
that he, his
caused his death, he declared

principal

father,

and Artemis were

Cyprian's

evil designs.

all

victims o

the

Knowing

the trutfi at

last,

Hippolytus,

humbled, took pity on broken-hearted

Theseus and forgave his father for his misunderstanding and rage, Theseus, arising
from the side of the dead prince, miserably
faced the prospect of living on after causing the destruction of his innocent, beloved son.

HISTORIA CALAMITUM
of work: Autobiography
Author: Pierre Abelard (1079-1142)
Time: 1079-C.1132

Type

Locale: Paris, Melun, Laon,

first iranscribed: c. 1132

and

St.

Gildas, France

Principal 'personages:

PIERRE ABELARD, philosopher,

theologian, churchman
FULBERT, Canon of Notre Dame
HELOISE, Canon Fulbert's niece
WILLIAM OF CHAMPEAUX, Abelard's teacher, a
philosopher
ANSELM OF LAON, a teacher
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, Abbot of Clairvaux

My

Abelard's History of
Calamity is an
account of the romantic and intellectual
misfortunes of one of the significant phi-

Middle Ages. As a modAbelard upheld the Aristo-

losophers of the
erate realist

telian idea that

names of

characteristics

do not name
independently real universals but
merely call attention to certain
resemblances

in

made him

philosophical opponent of
William of Champeaux.

his

teacher,

things.

This

opinion

Abelard's reliance on logic and dialectic

together with his love of debate resulted
in his
antagonizing many churchmen,
Bernard of Clairvaux in
particular, and

he was condemned for

heresy. This misfortune took second
place to the castration
which he suffered as the result of
having

seduced Heloi'se, niece of the Canon of

Notre Dame. Abelard's
story of his misfortunes is at the same time a
personal

statement from the Middle

Ages and a
timeless expression of human trials.
Pierre Abelard was bom in the
village
of Pallet, about
eight miles from Nantes.

His father was

a soldier

who had

studied

and through his influence Abe"lard acquired a

passion for learning. In
particular, he delighted in philosophy
and in the logical exercise of
disputation.
In Paris he studied under William of
letters,

Champeaux, whom he irritated by besting

him in a series of debates. Abelard set

up

own at Melun and,

near Paris, until he was

a school of his

later, at Corbeil,

OF

MY MISFORTUNES

the translator. Published

by

Bellows. Renewed. All rights

reserved.

forced by illness to return to his

native

province for several years. When he returned to Paris, he resumed

study with

William of Champeaux, but

Abelard's skill in

once' aoain

overthrowing his mas-

ter's
philosophy of universals gained the
enmity of that cleric. Consequently, Abelard reestablished his school at 'Melun

and

attracted

many of William's students

school. Later, he moved closer
to Paris, conducted his school on Mont
to his

own

Ste. Genevieve, and carried on a

philosophical feud with William.
After the conversion of his
parents to
the monastic life, Abelard decided to

study under Anselm of Laon, but he was

disappointed to discover that Anselm's

fame was more a result of custom than

of intellect. Anselm had a
great flow of
words, but the words were all meaningless. Taunted
by Anselm's admirers for
his

desultory attendance at the lectures,

Abelard invited the students to hear his
own exposition of the Scriptures. The

presentation

was

so successful that, like

William, Anselm began to persecute

Abelard for surpassing him. When Anselm ordered Aboard to cease the work

which was embarrassing him, Abelard

returned to Paris.
In Paris he

completed the

glosses

on

Bellows.

By

which he had begun at Laon.

As his philosophical fame grew and the
numbers of his students increased, his
pride and sensuality grew accordingly. AtEzekiel

by Pierre Abelard. Translated by

Henry
The Free Press, Glencoe, 111.

Adams

Copyright, 1922, by Henry A.

1566

canon

cle

criticized her uncle for telling

o the secret

to possess her. Having persuaded

in as a lodger, he
her uncle to take him

mined

to

agreed

become

guide.

was soon reached.

the
act so angered
o

kinsmen arranged

Pretending

lovers explored

less

and Abelard gave

philosophy

less

time

and,

to

of

the

who loved

delights
Fulbert dismissed the rumors which came
his niece and
to him because he loved
faith in the

had

The

truth

them

Their separation brought

part.
shame, but shame gave way to increased
she
desire. When Heloise discovered that
to

grief,

lo'ise.

Fulbert

to

would

cil at

marry H6-

the council that the book should be or-

sealed their

When

in-

she objected strenuously, argube a loss to the Church

ing that it would
and to philosophy if he were to disgrace
himself by marrying a girl he had se
duced. Furthermore, she argued, if ha
tention,

marry he would be going against

the advice of the most eminent philosthat no one could
ophers, who argued
while comdevote himself to

were

to

philosophy
the disturbances of
she referred to the
family life. Finally
those who underexamples provided by
took the monastic life in order to serve

pelled

to

listen

Soissons for writing a tract contain-

as heretical views
ing what they regarded
of God.
concerning the unity and trinity
could
book
the
case
no
against
Although
be made, Abelard's enemies convinced

offer and
agreed to the

a kiss.
agreement with
Abelard told H61oise of "his

through

the cooperation of Alberic and Lotulphe,

for Anselm, arranged to have
apologists
him called before an ecclesiastical coun-

have killed or iniured Abelard had he

not feared that Heloise might suffer from
the vengeance of her lover's family. Then
Abelard begged the canon's forgiveness

and declared his intention

'

as well as theology.
Abelard's rivals at the abbey,

have

taken to his sister's house. There

Helo'ise gave birth to a son, Astrolabe.

mad with

of Paris. Heloise took

and scholars

from them by teaching secular philosophy

her

Fulbert, nearly

apprehended
punishment, blinded and also

apparent,
even to Fulbert, the lovers were forced

was pregnant, Abelard arranged

perpetrated this

later

the vows of a religious life at the conand Abelard became

vent of Argenteuil,
C
a monk at the abbey of St. Denis. There,
of the abbot
deploring the scandalous life
and other monks, he lured their students

finally

to

as

clerics

continence of Abelard.

becoming

who

Abelard suffered not so much from the

of the
physical injury as from the grief

world.

this

of those

castrated.

which became famous among those

etry

Two

trated.

canon that he and his

to have Abelard cas-

shameful deed were

to

teaching. Instead of
lectures, he wrote love po-

and

new

writing

and

Fulbert punished her.

Abelard, hearing of the punishment, sent

Heloise to a convent at Argenteuil. This

be engrossed in study, the

all the avenues of love,

Abelard's objective
to

of her marriage,

and

tutor

Helo'ise's

ceremony witnessed by her unand a few friends. When Heloise

Paris, the

the young niece of a

by Heloise,
named Fulbert, Abelard deter-

tracted

to

God.
Abelard refusing to be convinced, he
and Heloise were married secretly in

dered burned. This decision was carried

out and Abelard was sent to the abbey
a
of St. M6dard as punishment. After
short period of time, however, all who
had been involved in punishing Abelard
out the blame on others; Abelard was al'.owed to return to the abbey of St. Denis.

When the envy of the monks of St.

Denis iDrompted more ecclesiastical quarrels,

Aboard secured

permission

to build

This he named the

church to the
Paraclete, dedicating the

an oratory

Holy

at Troyes.

Spirit.

Abelard was then called to be abbot

of St. Gildas at Ruits, but his suffering
continued because of the undisciplined
and immoral behavior of the monks.
When the abbot of St. Denis expelled

1567

the nuns from the abbey of Argenteuil,

where Heloise served, Abdlard arranged
to have her and some of her
deposed

port of his action.

companions take charge of the Paraclete.

In this manner he secured Helo'ise's hap-

to

piness.

Rumors began

to

that

spread
Abslard was acting in her behalf because
he was moved bv lust, but he defended
j
'

himself by arguing that the

damage done
to his
person made any base act impos-

Furthermore, he regarded it as his

duty to supervise the nuns, and he
pointed out passages in scripture in
sible.

sup-

Abelard was

constantly threatened by

monks of his
abbey, who
poison him and to have him

the

attempted

murdered

by bandits. Only by exercising great care

and by
excommunicating the most wicked
among the brothers was Abelard able to

He wrote the letter

givino an
&
account of his misfortunes in
order to
survive.

show how much

one

who

serves

despite suffering,
in God's

suffering

God and
all

providence.

is

to

possible for

argue
persons should

that,

trust

THE HISTORY OF COLONEL JACQUE

Novel

of work;

Type

Author: Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)

adventure
Type of plot: Picaresque
Time of plot: Late seventeenth century
Locale: England, France, Virginia
First published:

1722

Principal characters:

COLONEL JACQUE, commonly

CAPTAIN JACK,

called Jack, a wail

his foster brother

MAJOR

JACK, another foster brother

WILL,

a pickpocket

COLONEL JACQUE'S FOUR WIVES

Critique:

Although in our day Daniel Defoe is

remembered chiefly for Robinson Crusoe,
in

own

time Colonel Jacque attained

popularity. Defoe declared that

its

great
his

twofold

purpose was

to

show the

ruination of youth through lack of proper training and to prove that a misspent

may be redeemed by repentance,

The novel opens on a theme simi ar to that
of Oliver Twist but follows a line of de-

life

'

velopment modeled after Gil Bias. Although a rogue, Colonel Jacque aspires
to win back his good name, and in the
end he succeeds. Defoe, in the fashion of
his day, gave the novel a grandiose title:

The

History and Remarkable

life of

the

truly Honourable Colonel Jacque, vulgarcalled Col, Jack, who was born a
ly

Gentleman, put 'Prentice to a Pick-pockflourished six and twenty years as a

Thief, and was then Kidnapped to Virginia; came back a Merchant, was five
times married to four Whores, went into
the Wars, behaved "bravely, got preferment, was made Colonel of a Regiment,
came over and fled with the Chevalier,
et,

Abroad Completing a Life of Wonders, and resolves to die a General. The

end of the novel does not fulfill, howis still

ever, the

promise of the

The Story.
The illegitimate

title.

son of a gentleman

and a lady, Colonel Jack, as he was later

known, was early in his life given to his
nurse to rear. There he was brought up

with her own son, Captain Jack, and

another unwanted child, Major Jack. She
treated the boys well, but she herself had
little
money and so they were forced to
fend for themselves. When Colonel Jack
was but ten years of age, the good woman
died, leaving the three boys to beg their
food. Lodging did not bother them; they

slept in ash piles and doorways in the

winter and on the ground in summer.
Captain Jack soon turned to picking
pockets for a living and was so successful
that he took Colonel Jack into partner-

The two young rogues preyed on

men who were careless of their
money. One of the boys would take the
ship.

wealthy

money, extracting only

a small note

from

the whole; then tbe other would return

the rest to its rightful owner and collect
a reward for

its

return.

One

of the

men

thus duped was so grateful to honestseeming Colonel Jack that upon the retum of his wallet he agreed to keep the
reward money for the boy and pay him
interest on it. Since Colonel Jack bad no
place to keep the stolen goods safely,
he had asked the gentleman to do him
that service. Later Colonel Jack took more
stolen money to tbe same man for safe-

keeping and received bis note for the

whole amount, to be paid only to Colonel
Jack himself. In fairness let it be said that
after the scamps bad robbed a poor woman of all her savings, Colonel Jack was
so ashamed that he later returned ber
money with interest.

1569

Captain Jack, a real villain, was apprehended and taken to Newgate Prison.
Colonel Jack then became a partner of a

thief named Will, a really vicious rogue

who plundered and robbed and at last

He

was caught and taken to

a fate which
to be hanged,
Newgate
O
O
Colonel Jack knew Will deserved but
which made his heart sick and his own
killed.

also

'

conscience a heavy burden.

Captain Jack escaped from

times,

prison.

They were almost caught many

but

on

each

until that gentleman's death.

Jack's plantation prospered.
inal two slaves
given to him

occasion

Captain
Jack's foresight enabled them to elude

When

loyalty

return to
Resolving
England after
an absence of almost
twenty years, he
tried to get his tutor to travel with him.
to

When

native land.

But the two who

many were themselves

of travel.

had cheated so
duped. Instead of sailing for England,
they found themselves on the high seas
bound for America and servitude. Colonel Jack, knowing himself for a villain,
accepted his fate calmly, but Captain
Jack stormed against it. The defiant Captain Jack abused his master,
escaped back
to England, resumed his old
ways, and
some twenty

years later was hanged.

In Virginia, Colonel Jack w as the
property of a good master who told him that
7

after

he had served

five years

he would

be freed and given a small

piece of land.
Thus, if he were industrious and honest,
he might benefit from his ill fate. Jack,

worked diligently
Soon he was made an overseer,
kind heart and keen mind were

respecting his master,

for him.

and

his

responsible for changing the Negro slaves

from rebellious fiends to loyal workers.

His master was so fond of Jack that he

bought for him a small plantation nearby
and lent him the money to
it. He
also

supply
arranged for Jack to secure his money

keeping in London. The money

was converted into goods for the
plantation, goods which were lost at sea. The

left in

by

former master.

thought. Since they were deserters from

the army, which they had joined to save
their skins, they could not afford to risk

means

orig-

his old

workmen. Wanting to
improve his
education, for he could neither read nor
write, he took one of his bonded men as
a tutor and soon
grew to admire him as
he himself had been admired
his

capture.
they were ready to return to England, they took work on a
ship bound for London, or so they

regular

The
by

master were increased

by several more
slaves and bonded white workers.
Jack
always a kind master, won the
of
his

Colonel Jack being also in danger because of his deeds, the two journeyed to
Scotland.

master offered Jack his freedom

before
the five years were
up, but Jack was
loyal and continued to serve his master

the man refused, Jack made him

the overseer of his
large plantations. It
was some time before Jack arrived in his

He was first tossed about at

then captured by the French, and at
exchanged for a prisoner held by the

sea,
last

English.

Soon Jack's heart was taken by a

lady
lived nearby and they were married.
But she proved unfaithful to him, as well

who

being a gambler and a spendthrift,

and shortly after the birth of their child
he left her. He first attacked her lover,
however, and so had to flee for his life.
Later, learning that she was to have another child, he divorced her and went to
France. There he joined an Irish
brigade
and fought in France, Germany, and
Italy. Captured, he was sent to Hungary and then to Italy, where he married
the daughter of an
innkeeper. Eventually
he was allowed to go to Paris with his
wife. There he recruited volunteers to
as

fight against the English. Tiring of war,

he returned
to

to Paris
unexpectedly, only
that his second wife had also

find

taken a lover. After almost killing the

fled to London and then to
Canterbury, where he lived as a Frenchman with the English and as an English-

man, he

man

with the French.

Still

desiring a

happy home

married again. His wife, at

1570

first

life,

he

beauti-

ul

and virtuous, became a drunkard and

finally

killed herself.

children.

Wishing

They had had

to

an older
Jack married

three

provide for them,

woman who had

them and whom they loved as

But that good woman, after
him
children, died from a fall,
bearing
leaving him a widower once more. After
all but two of his chilsmallpox took
dren, he returned to Virginia. His daughcared for

a mother.

ter he left with her grandfather; the

maining son he took with him.

re-

and servants had been added

the plantations, and Jack found one

of them to be his first wife. Since she had

to

repented wholly of her sins, he married

her again and lived happily with her for

many

years.

But he was not always

to live in peace.
Several captive servants who knew of his
part in the rebellion, when he had served
with the Irish brigade, were brought to

neighboring plantations. His part in the

rebellion

becoming known, he had

went

to
Antigua, from which she later
returned to Virginia to await the news
of her husband's pardon. Pardoned, he

was on

to

his

way home when he was capmany long

tured by the Spanish. After

months

as a hostage he was released, having turned the experience into profit by

trading with some of his captors. He continued the trade, which was illegal in the

Spanish government, and

of pounds. He was often
in danger during his voyages, even taken,
but each time he turned the situation to

eyes

In Virginia he found his affairs in

tutor having made a faithgood order, the
ful overseer for twenty-four years. Sev-

eral slaves

leave Virginia until he could secure a

pardon from the king. He and his wife

of

the

made thousands

his

own

At

advantage.

he left danger behind, returned

England, and sent for his beloved wife.
There they remained, leaving the Virginia plantations in the hands of the
faithful tutor. In his old age Colonel
Jack spent many hours contemplating the
goodness of the God he had formerly ignored. He believed that his story was one
last

to

to

make

mend

others repent of their sins

their

broken ways.

and

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND

of work: History

Type

Thomas Babinoton Macaulay (1800-1859)

Time: 56 B.C.-A.D. 1702
Author:
Locale:

England

First published:

Books

and

II,

1848; III and IV, 1855; V, unfinished, 1861

Principal personages:

CHARLES
JAMES II

II

WILLIAM

III

MARY, wife of William

JOHN CHURCHILL, Duke

of

WILLIAM PENN

Macaulay knew

about English

little

before the seventeenth century.

knew almost nothing about foreign

history

He

history.

He

science,

philosophy,

was not interested

or

religion.

in

Whig, he had no sympathy with

Tories and

little

He

art,

As

the

understanding of James

overlooked many of the authoritative books

covering the period about
which he was writing. Therefore, in The
History of England from the Accession

II.

of

James the Second he

fair to

and
is

sometimes uncertain figures or mistaken in facts

interpretations.

a vivid

The

is

result,

however,

and eminentlv readable

history

with vivid pictures of the actors and the

and cultural background

against
o
o
which they performed.
Macaulay was a child prodigy who
started writing early. Before he was
eight,
this future historan,
poet, and essayist
had completed an outline of
history and
a poem in three cantos modeled after the

social

poetry

of Scott.

He went

to

Trinity Col-

Cambridge, intending to enter law.

Before he passed his bar examinations in
1826, he had attracted attention by a
lege,

essay on Milton, the first of many

he contributed to the influential Edinburgh Review. Later his essays about the

critical

Indian question got him an

appointment
on a commission to India.

While still in India, he wrote in his

diary his intention to compile a five-volume history, the first part to cover the
thirty years
to the

from the revolution

of 1688

beginning of Walpole's adminis-

Marlborough

tration, It would end with the death

of
George IV and achieve unity by coverino
"the Revolution that brought the crown
into harmony with the Parliament
and
the Revolution which
brought the Parliament into harmony with the nation."
Further planning convinced him of the
need to precede his account of the revolu-

tion

by the story of the reign of James II.

he returned to England, he had

When
barely

his proicct before

begun

he was

named Secretary of War, a post which

gave him no time for literarv work until
the elections of 1 84 1 turned him out of
and into his study. He progressed
slowly on his history until the return of
his party to
power in 1846, when he was
appointed Paymaster General. In spite of
public demands on his time the first two

office

The History of England from

the Accession
of James the Second ap-

volumes of

peared in November, 1848.

The ten chapters begin with an account of Roman times and
bring the story
of England down to the
crowning of
William and Mary on February 13, 1689.
Diary entries reveal Macaulay's worry
about how to
He had to start somebegin.

where and so, in the first

paragraph, he
bravely announced his purpose to "offer a
slight sketch of
earliest times."

my

country from the

Saxons, and
Danes move through the first chapter,
bringing the reader up to the general
elections

Charles
ter

1572

1660

of

II to

Romans,

and the return

of

England. In the next chap-

Macaulay

followed

the

career

of

Charles II until his death in 1685. At

this point the historian was ready to
beoin his task in earnest. His announced
in the third chapter was to "give
purpose
of the state in which Enga
description

land was at the time

Charles
passed " from

when
II

to

the crown
his brother,

James.
First,

Macaulav

stressed the small popu-

lation of the British Isles in

1685, per-

with half living in Enghaps

land. Then he discussed the revenue available. Excise taxes, taxes on chimneys, and
five million,

Jesuit adviser, for he did possess administrative ability, more,

than Macau-

perhaps,

lay grants him.

The exciting part of this section tells

of James's following the invasion of England by William of Orange and of his
capture by "rude fishermen of the Kentish
roast," who mistook the royal party for

and the monarch

Jesuits

adviser,

Father

Petre.

his hated

for

Then came

his

France, the Convention that

formulated the Declaration of Rights, and
the coronation of William and Mary. Be-

flight

to

the rest brought in hardly a fifth as much

to the crown as France was collecting.

cause of this stirring material, excitingly

told, thirteen thousand copies of the his-

Then follows a study of the army and the

navy on which the money was largely
spent. A discussion of agriculture and
mineral wealth introduces the country
gentlemen and the yeomanry, with a

were sold in four months.

Such success worried Macaulay. Attempting to make the other volumes dealing with William as colorful, he provided

glance at the clergy. Next, the historian's

attention fixes on the towns and their

growth, following the expansion of trade

and manufacturing, with special attention
to

London. Discussion of communication

with London leads to a section on the

em, inns, and highwaymen. A

snidy of England's cultural status, both

postal sys
literary

section

and scientific, precedes the final

on the terrible condition of the

very poor.

The

II,

description of the death of Charles

in Chapter IV, is a sample of Macau-

The

lay's style.
torical novel,

ten pages read like a hisexcept that the historian has

tory

himself with a timetable: two book pages

a day, two years to finish the first draft,

and another year

ing.

about winding the clock at his bedside.

The

surreptitious visit of the priest,

John

Huddleston, and the reaction of the crowd

outside the palace bring vividness to the
event.

The

of James II to the
theme of die other six chapters of the first two volumes. The new
monarch lacked the political acumen and

throne

succession

is

the

the general knowledge of the world possessed by Charles II; otherwise, he might

not have been so easily duped by his

felt

for revision

and

polish-

the need for making every

sentence clear and precise, for seeing that

had continuity. Such labor

his paragraphs

took longer than he had planned. It was

nearly seven years before he had the
manuscript of Volumes III and IV ready
for the printer. Their twelve chapters

brought England's story to the end of the

war with France in 1697. The public
acceptance justified
its

the time

taken in

Within two months 26 ,were sold, and his royalties

composition.

500 copies
amounted to twenty thousand pounds.

Macaulay's diary frequently voiced his

fame and immortality. "I think

footnotes available for the details of the

palace room, the visitors at the bedside,

and such bits as the king's dying comment

He

desire for

book die," he
let
posterity will not
wrote in 1838. In addition to the wealth

my

work

brought, the success of the

view of English history,
placed the Tory
as voiced by Hume in his History of
England (1754-1761), with the Victorian

it

re-

concept originated with Macaulay.

In the new volumes Macaulay showed
himself kindly disposed toward Mary in
her trying position between her Catholic
father and her Protestant husband, who
divided his attention between her and
Elizabeth Villiers. But William of Orange

1573

did love Mary.

The

last lines of

Macau-

liam's skin
laid out.

when

"The

his remains

was

His

it

The

be taken off. It contained a gold ring

and a lock of the hair of Mary."
The
Macaulay admired William.
Dutch king had an enormous task, organ-

and

whose perjury about

considered by some scholars an exagWilliam's basic disillusiongeration of

ment with English life. With a rosy picis

amid which William

rode into London on Thanksgiving Day

in November, 1697, and with the promise of a happier age, the volumes published during the writer's lifetime come to

an end.

When

Macaulay died he had comonly three chapters of the conclud-

the story up to
ing volume, bringing
the prorogation of Parliament, April 11,
1700. His sister, Lady Trevelyan, pre-

pared this material for publication exactly

as Macaulay had left it, with "no references verified, no authority sought for or
examined," but she did include several
fragments, among them six pages describing the death of William with which
Macaulay had probably intended to conclude his work. She also compiled a

double-column index of the

Macaulay was often biased. As one who

seemed never in doubt, who decided on
one of two conflicting
o stories and frethe existence of
did
not
mention
quently
the other, he saw a man as good or bad.
Historians have pointed out his failure
to do justice to William Penn.
Being a
a

toward Tories, as

is

more severe

and Titus
the

Macaulay turned to lampoons for details,

he must have known they were
though
o
biased. Perhaps his dislike was based on
-

the unproved

criterion

evident In his discus-

sions of James's relations with Catherine

accusation

that

Marlbor-

ough had tried to overthrow William.

In a work of such magnitude, errors of
fact and interpretation were bound to
creep in, but even some that were pointed
out

to Macaulay during his lifetime remained uncorrected. In other cases, he

did not have access to the journals and

scholarly research now available. Another

source of error arose from Macaulav's
>

toward everything
O outside the
British Isles. Except for India, where he
had lived for four years, he practically
ignored the colonies. American history is
attitude

'

with hapbrought in chiefly in connection

and
penings in England. Captain Kidd
the piratical activities of New England

and

New

York appear

to explain the fate

of an English ministry, while the Jamaica

as one
earthquake of 1692 serves only

more reason

In his presentation of his characters,

Whig, he used

caricatures.

Macaulay writes of Oates's "short neck,

his forehead low as that of a baboon, his
purple cheeks, and his monstrous length
." and features "in
of chin
which
villainy seemed to be written by the
hand of God/' For Marlborouoh, even
when he was plain John Churchill,

the

of the king's yearning to return to Holland and leave England for Mary to rule

fifty-page,
five books.

sometimes

Popish
Plot brought death to the innocent, are
made physically hideous. In Chapter IV,

a war in France.
carrying on
WilMacaulay does seem to overestimate
liam's political genius, and his account

pleted

and black monster.

villains are

crafty Robert Ferguson

Oates

while

ture of the prosperity

as a libertine

to

izing England, reconquering Ireland,

all
subduing rebellious Scotland,

What was lamentable in William

crime in James, whom he
portrayed

Villiers.

were being

lords in waiting ordered

and William's with Elizabeth

Sedley,

tell about "a small piece of

lay's history
found next to Wilsilk
ribbon,"
black

for the unpopularity of Wil-

liam's reign.

Macaulay 's style has also come in for

some criticism. His efforts toward clearness lead at times to verbosity and his
create a
attempts to emphasize sometimes
have
paragraph where a sentence would

served.

But

its

basic flaw

is

that

Macaulay

is more
thought as an orator. His history
than when
aloud
read
when
impressive

read silently;
literary.

1574

it

is

more

rhetorical than

But no book lacking In inherent worth

its century, and The History
England remains a landmark of its

can outlast
of

kind.

As long

as

people are

moved by an

exciting story, interestingly told, they will

continue to read Macaulay's history with

both enjoyment and profit,

THE HISTORY OF MR. POLLY

of work: Novel
Author: H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

Type

Type
Time

of

'plot:

Comic romance

of 'plot: Early twentieth century

Locale: England

1909

First published:

Principal characters:

MR. POLLY, a shopkeeper

MIRIAM, his wife

THE PLUMP WOMAN

UNCLE JIM, her nephew
Critique:
timeless comedy, as

A
funny now as
when it was first published in 1909,
The History of Mr, Polly has strangely

dreary dormitories. He hated being told

to hustle when he wanted to dream

enough not been one

romance.

of

dreams about adventure and

spent most of his money
and all his spare time on books which
took him away from the humdrum of
socks and neckties. Fie did not know
what it was he really wanted, but to
anyone who might have studied him
the answer would have been
simple. He
wanted companions.

beautiful

H. G. Wells'

most popular novels.

It is the
story of a
gentle man who rebels at last against
the insults heaped upon him by the
world and finds the peace of mind that

few achieve. Wells'

in the quiet

is

special genius here

that startles even

humor

as
amuses. This is a highly original
book, funny, moving, and pathetic.
it

The

When his father died, Mr. Polly found

himself in possession of several useless

Story:

Mr. Polly

on a

bits of bric-a-brac

and cursed.
He cursed the world, his wife, and himself. For Mr.
Polly was thirty-five and
buried

sat

stile

:>een

with this

He

nothing but one frustration after

At

Inc.

he was sure of what had happened,

Mr, Polly found himself in possession
of a wife, his cousin Miriam, and a drapshop. For the next fifteen years Mr.
Polly was a respectable though unhappy

er's

JE

,j

He

could get on with none

of his neighbors, and before long he hated
his
slatternly wife as much as he hated

shopkeeper.

hold one position for

hated the bleak life in
u

fore

to

by Duffield

which was

of his cousins, all female,

began to set
their caps for their rich relative, and be-

After the routine

sketchy schooling of
his class, he was
apprenticed by his father to the owner of a
draper's shop.
Mr. Polly was ill-suited to work in
that shop or in
any other. But he served
out his
apprenticeship and then began a
progression from one shop to another,

his father's funeral,

proper one, Mr, Polly had met aunts and

cousins he did not know existed. Three

Mr. Polly had been the usual adored

baby, kissed and petted by his parents.
His mother had died when he was seven.

He

wealth. Various relatives

spend his time in taking a holiday.

thirties.

very long.

new

had sensible suggestions for him, most

of them centering on his
opening a little
shop. He put them off, for he wanted to

another, from babyhood into his middle

being unable

and three hundred and

seemed at first that
was open to him

ninety-five pounds. It
a whole new world

hated his slovenly wife,

his fellow shopkeepers, and
every other
person in the world. His life, he felt, had
alive.

He

~i Gl Wells B y
& x
Co. Renewed, 1937,
-

1576

permission of the publishers, Dodd,

by H. G. Wells.

Mead &

Co.,

the other

little

shopkeepers.

For these reasons

Mr. Polly

sat

on the

and cursed his luck, For the

stile

first

time in fifteen years he found himself,

in addition to his other troubles, unable

meet the forthcoming rent. As well as

was in debt sixty or

to

he could figure, he

He knew how Miriam

seventy pounds.
would greet this news; It was just too
much for him.
At that point a plan which had been
forming in the back of his

mind began

shape. He would kill himself.

Then the struggle would be over for him
and Miriam would be provided for by
take

to

his insurance.

He would

set fire

to

the

the fire insurance, and before

shop, for
would cut his throat. Crafthe burned

up

he waited until a Sunday evening,

when almost everyone was at church, and
then carried out his plan. It worked so
well that half the business area of the
ily

burned down. But when Mr.

saw flames licking the -leg of his
trousers, he forgot all about cutting his
throat and ran screaming down the street.
It was a beautiful fire, and because of
it Mr.
Polly was for the first time in his

village
o

Polly

life

a hero.

who

lived

He

rescued a deaf old lady

on a top

floor

and

for

whose

safety he felt responsible because he had

started the fire.
the excitement

When

was all over, it dawned on him that he

had forgotten to cut his throat. He felt
a

little

guilty.

But that one night of fighting back

against the world changed Mr. Polly forever.
Taking only twenty-one pounds
for himself and
leaving the rest for Miriam, he simply disappeared. Wandering
through the country, he enjoyed
the

life for

He

discovered the world,

the beauties of nature, the casual friendfirst

time.

of passing
wonderful.

ship

After a

acquaintances.

month Mr. Polly

It

was

arrived at a

wayside inn run by a cheerful

felt an instant close-

plump woman. They

and she offered him a job as handy

man. His duties were endless and varied,
but there was an unhurried peace about
the plump woman and the inn that
brought joy to the soul of Mr. Polly.
There was, however, a black spot on the
peace. The plump woman had a nephew,
called Uncle Jim, who was a brute and
a villain. He had run off all other males
who had ever stopped there, and he beat
his aunt and stole her money, She knew
that he would return again when he was
out of funds. Mr. Polly knew this was
not his fight, but he had started fighting
on the night of the fire and he would
not stop now. Sometimes running when
he should have been chasing, hiding
when he should have been seeking his
adversary, Mr. Polly nevertheless bested
the scoundrel in two encounters. Then
Uncle Jim disappeared again, taking Mr.
Polly's clothing and leaving in his place
an uneasy peace.
Uncle Jim did not appear again. After
inn Mr. Polly began to
five
years at the
ihink of Miriam and her sadness at loshe
ing her husband. Conscience-stricken,
returned to the village and there found
that Miriam and her sisters had opened

ness,

a tearoom, untidy but successful enough

him

provide their living. They thought

dead, a body wearing his clothing having
been fished out of the river. Miriam,
to

recognizing
to fret

him

began at once
pay back his in-

in terror,

about having

to

surance money. She could have spared

the worry, however; Mr. Polly
had no desire to reappear. He told her to
herself

would
keep her mouth shut and no one
be the wiser.
Mr. Polly made his way back to the inn
and the plump woman. With Uncle Jim
at last a mellow,
gone for good, he knew
wonderful peace.

A HISTORY OF NEW YORK, BY DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER

of work: Humorous pseudo-history
Author: Washington Irving (1783-1859)
Time: 56 B.C. to 1664

Type

Locale:

New Amsterdam (New York)

First published:

1809
Principal personages:

HENDRICK HUDSON,

the

Dutch explorer

WOUTER VAN TWTLLER,

the first
governor of
governor
KIEFT, the second o
PETER STUYVESANT, the last ogovernor

New

Amsterdam

WILHELMUS

GENERAL VON POFFENBURGH, Commander of Fort Casimir

JAN RISINGH, Governor of the Province of New Sweden

The fun of reading a parody is heightened by acquaintance with the material

burlesqued. Although Washington Irving
confessed, in the "Author's Apology"
added to the edition of 1848, that his
idea had been to parody Samuel L.
Picture of New York
Mitchell's A
(1807), a knowledge of Mitchell's book

about the disappearance of a man named

Diedrich Knickerbocker. A short time
later an advertisement
appeared, suppos-

not necessary to the enjoyment of the

Irving volume. The parody is only part

rent.

edly signed by the owner of the boarding

house where Knickerbocker had

landlord for the old gentleman's unpaid

is

"by

History of New York,

Diedricli Knickerbocker, originally be-

of the

gun
and

humor

as

his

of

collaboration

older

of

Washington
brother Peter, and con-

cluded by Washington alone. The original title was A History of New York
from the Beginning of the World to th&

End of the Dutch Dynasty,

The book shows the interest
twenty-five-year-old

customs,

author

in

On December 6, 1809, A History of

New York, by Diedrich Knickerbocker,
in seven parts and 130,000 words, was
first offered for sale. Legends about its

reception spread rapidly.

Albany threatened

its

history,

and etymology, and the bur-

lesquing of several literary styles reveals

Irving as a literary critic. His notebook

names of some of the authors

names now largelv forgotten.
While Irving was in the course of

supplies the

parodied,

completing the book, his fiancee, Matilda

Hoffman, died suddenly, and at first he
was too stunned to continue his work.
Later he returned to the manuscript as an

anodyne for his grief, finished it quickly,

and delivered it to his publisher. About
the same time he conceived the idea of
ascribing the authorship of his book to an
imaginary and eccentric Dutchman. The
hoax was elaborately contrived. First
printed in the public press was a story

Dutch woman

horsewhip the
author for his slanderous account of an
ancestor. A number of famous New York

in

families

of

lived, of-

fering for sale "a very curious kind of

written book/' printed to reimburse the

to

were reported ready

to

sue the

On

the other hand, Walter

publisher.
Scott was reported with sore ribs from

laughing at

The

it.

wanders from playful to

Evidence of Washington Irving's
wide reading appears on almost every
it
page, and voluminous footnotes clothe
with pseudo-scholarship. At first readers
thought that these references were part of
style

erudite.

the

humor; later scholars began tracing

them to actual, though minor, Roman
and Greek writers.

The

author's pleasantries are apparent

to
I, according

from the beginning. Book

him, was "learned, sagacious, and nothing

at all to the purpose," and he suggested
that the idle reader skip it. More prea study of
Irving embarked on
cosmogony or creation of the world, he
cisely, as

1578

advised the reader to "take fast hold of

and wait for

the beginning of some smoother

his skirt or take a short cut

him

at

chapter."

The

books contain more chatter

first

is

waggish humor. Noah

mentioned in connection with travel

by

sea, in

than matter.

It is

order to get the reader to

Amer-

In one place the author defends the

killing of the Indians because, as the oriao
ica.

inal inhabitants of

America, they did not

to improve
ground; therefore they did not use the
talents that Providence had bestowed
upon them; therefore they had proved

know European procedure

therefore they had no

and therefore there was

careless stewards;

right to the soil;

Biblical authority for their extermination.

In

Book

settlement

the author proceeds to the

the Province of Nieuw

II

of

He

confessed that his was

the procedure of Flans von Dunderbottom, who took a running start of three
miles to ^ump over a hill, and arrived at
it out of breath. So he "sat down to blow
Nederlandts.

and then walked over

One

source of

it

humor

at his leisure."
lies in

the deriva-

The

four explorers who

passed through Hell Gate and reached
the Island of Manna-hata ("The Island
of Manna") were named Van Kortlandt
tion of

names.

(Lack-land),

Van Zandt (Earth-bom),

Harden Broeck (Tough Breeches), and

Ten Broeck (Ten Breeches or Thin
Breeches). Irving usually refers to the
governors by his translation of their

names. Wouter Van Twiller becomes

"Walter the Doubter," living up to his

name by smoking

his pipe

ing silence in every

crisis.

and maintainAccording

to

Irving, this man of wisdom, five feet six

inches in height and six feet five inches

in circumference, settled a suit between

debtor and creditor by weighing the papers containing their claims, finding them
equally weighty, and decreeing that the

accounts were balanced. After he made

the constable
pay the fees, he had no further law

His

trials.

successor,

Wilhelmus Kieft

or

"William the Testy," defied the Yanokies

("Silent Men") from
Mais-Tchusaeg and
Connecticut by
bombarding them with
proclamations and by building a fortress,
garrisoned by a lusty bugler, a flag pole,
Quaker guns, and a windmill, to resist
them. One of the
amusing scenes in the
book is the
description of the Yankees

marching to war at Oyster Bay, where

they were defeated by the doughty
burghers, who thereupon celebrated on
oysters and wine. Later this governor disappeared; either he was lost in the smoke
of his pipe or carried

away

like

King Ar-

thur. Peter
Stuyvesant, "the Headstrong,"

then became the governor.

Stuyvesant is the favorite of Diedrich
Knickerbocker; three volumes are devoted to him. It was he who built the
Battery to hold off the Yankee invasion,
though actually their own witch hunting
diverted them from their
expedition.

ernor Risingh

Sweden,

proposed

Then he

declared war on Govof the Colony of New

across the Delaware.

By

treach-

ery Governor Risingh had captured Fort

Casimir. (The earlier writer who
supplied Irving's model for his flowery description of that campaign is unknown.)

The Dutch

eat,

fighters

paused

and the author advised

at

noon

to

his readers to

do the same. Then the battle was resumed, the only casualty being a flock of
geese killed by a wild Swedish volley.
Stuyvesant had

other

troubles,

the Yankees from Connecticut

the

and

"roaring boys of Merryland"

II of England who
gave

Charles

first

later

King

New

territory to his brother, the Duke

of York, and lent him a fleet to conquer
it.
Against the arrival of the British ships

World

the

Dutch

"fortified themselveswith
and burned everything in the
British origin. But their defense

resolution"

colony of

was

futile. Melancholically the whitehaired Knickerbocker narrates the end of

"beloved Island of Manna-hata" on

August 27, 1664.

his

In the 1812 edition of his history

Ir-

ving presents an additional account of his

imaginary author and tells of his return

1579

to

New

now
He was

York,

his death.

a British
colony,

and

buried, "say the old

records," in St. Mark's Cemetery beside
his hero, Peter Stuyvesant.

In the revised 1848 edition

Irving
added an "apology" and an explanation.
In setting
down the amusing
of
C?
O legends
o
New York, he declared, he had not in-

tended offense

to
living descendants of
any of the old families. His purpose had
been to present the history of that remote

and almost forgotten age in the

spirit
imaginative fancy and legend. This
happy blending is his true contribution
in his history,
accepted by those who
have never seen the book or heard of

of

the original

Harmen

Knickerbocker, who

came from Holland about 1674 and

set-

Albany, as well as by those who

have read with smiles and chuckles this
playful but surprisingly accurate
tled in

of the

Dutch

in

New Amsterdam.

history

HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO

of work: History
Author: William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859)

Type

Time: 1519-1525

Mexico

Locale:
First

'puUished: 1843

Principal personages:

DON DIEGO

VELASQUEZ, Governor of Cuba

conqueror of Mexico
PEDRO DE ALVARADO, one of Cortes' lieutenants
MARINA, Cortes' Indian mistress
MONTEZUMA, Emperor of the Aztecs
GUATEMOZIN, Montezuma's nephew and successor

HERNANDO CORTES,

CACAMA, nephew of the emperor

PANFILO DE NARVAEZ, Velasquez'
on Spanish efAztecs betray his
rather marked suspicion of the Catholic
Prescott's observations
to

forts

convert the

Church. His personal biases are less proin other matters. Because Prescott deals with his narrative in dramatic
terms and with an abundance of background material, particularly on the Aztec

nounced

civilization, his

History of the Conquest

Mexico has remained the

of

count of the death of

in

classic ac-

a civilization

which

many ways

rivaled ancient Egypt's.

&/r
TT_
r
i
n
i
I he success or the
Spanish conquest
-

was aided by the Aztec legend of Quetbenevolent god who, once having lived on earth and departed, was ex-

lieutenant

to serve as an inand Marina, a girl from the

mainland whose mother had sold her on
Cozumel. Marina became not only an

Grijalva expedition,
terpreter,

interpreter but Cortes' mistress.

When the Spaniards moved on to the

mainland, landing on Good Friday at
what is now Vera Cruz, they stepped

in a Mexico significantly disMontezuma, Emperor of the Aztecs, was a good warrior and a just ruler,
but he was also superstitious and a lover
of pleasure, with numerous enemies.
There was in addition to this political

ashore

united.

zalcoatl, a

unrest a vague feeling among the people

that the return of Quetzalcoatl was im-

pected to return: tall, white-skinned,

dark-bearded. When the first Spanish

minent:

expeditionary party, led by Juan de Grijalva,

the

made

mainland,

preliminary exploration of
it
encountered an un-

since the days of Columbus,

had been rumors of the Spaniards,
and these rumors had somehow fused

there

with

the

ancient

legend.

Dissension

kingdoms and tribes of

Montezuma's empire and the revival of
the Quetzalcoatl myth were of great

among

the lesser

friendly reception on landing. When the

Aztecs happened to associate the
Spaniards with the
legend of Quetzalcoatl,

value to the Spaniards in their invasion

however, they sent Grijalva away with

rich
gifts. As a result, Velasquez, Governor of Cuba,
immediately organized a
second expedition, to be led by Hernando

to his leadership, Cortes established Vera

Cruz as a civil colony rather than a mili-

Cortes.

armada left Cuba on February

10, 1519, and landed on the island of
Cozumel. At that time he acquired two
Cortes'

valuable aides: a
Spanish soldier named
Aguilar, who had been taken captive
by the natives of Cozumel during the

of Mexico.

Because he sensed mounting resistance

tary base; in this way he made the expedition responsible only to the crown, not
to the governor of Cuba. Later, when

Juan Diaz conspired to turn the expedition back to Cuba, Cortes ordered the
destruction of his

small ship

1S81

left,

the

fleet.

With only one

men had

little to

think

them with pomp and

about but the march forward.

Leaving some

men behind

to

the coastal settlement, Cortes began his

march toward the capital, Tenochtitlan,
now Mexico City. While one of the original purposes of the expedition was the

instigated

emperor. Quauhpopoca, governor of the

conversion of the Indians to Catholicism,

the expedition, once under way, did not

was burned for his

part
and Montezuma,
taken by surprise, was seized and
removed

coastal province,

in

delay for missionary activities. Indeed,

Father Olrnedo, the expedition's priest,
persuaded Cortes not to try to convert all

quarters occupied by the

Although a hostage, Montezuma conducted the business of the country as usual.
*

In

Tlascalan leader, Xicotencatl, continued, however, to threaten and to harass

the invaders. Cortes
forged ahead, his

Cortes' relations

now

plundering as they went, and

with Xicotencatl reconciled to

barring
Tenochtitlan.

the

Spaniards

from

At Cholula, Cortes learned through

Marina that the natives were planning
a conspiracy with Montezuma's
help.
Profiting from former enmity between the

Cholulans and the Tlascalans, Cortes staTlascalans around the city and
proceeded to massacre the treacherous
Cholulans,
tioned

Suspecting

still

further hostility, Cor-

and his men moved on, passing between the mountains named IztaccihuatI
and Popocatepetl. No further resistance
was forthcoming, and the expedition was
shortly at a point where the fertile Valley of Mexico lay before them. Confounded by their advance and awed
by
tes

power, Montezuma at last sent his

nephew Cacama with a message of welcome for the conquistadors. On Novemtheir

ber

8,

1519, Cortes and his

men

with Velasquez had

under the leadership of Panfilo de NarGonzalo de Sandoval, the governor

vaez.

in his policy of sending

but

an-

Spain; the

deteriorated to such an extent that

the governor outfitted a rival
expedition

submission, the Spaniards arrived at

Tlascala itself. In the meantime Monte-

gifts

formally
to

zalcoatl

The

zuma continued

Montezuma

his subservience

nobles concurred, and the

legend of Quetwas revived among the
people.
Though conditions appeared to be stable,
Cortes ordered the
rebuilding of his fleet.

earlier battles

a third, fought on September 5, 1519,

was in effect a victory for the Spaniards.

finally,

1520,

nounced

with the Tlascalans were indecisive, but

forces

disturbances,

Spaniards.

Spaniards took place among the Tlascalans, an agricultural people, but a nation

Two

the

to the fortified

of the heathen along the route.

The first pronounced resistance to the

of warriors as well.

dignity. Although

the Aztecs remained

outwardly friendly,
Cortes continued to be
suspicious of his
host because he had received
reports frorn
Vera Cruz of troubles
bv the

protect

entered

Tenochtitlan, a city built in the middle

of a great lake, and Montezuma greeted

appointed by Cortes

at Villa Rica, maintained a close watch over Narvaez' at-

tempts to establish a settlement, but Cortes felt

compelled to deal with Narvaez
personally. Leaving the capital in the
care of an aide, Pedro de Alvarado, he

marched

to

the coast with a detachment

and Indian allies.

With his band of only 226 men and
five horses, Cortes
surprised Narvaez and

of troops

him prisoner. In Cortes' absence, rebroke out in Tenochtitlan. Alvarado,

plagued by constant fears of conspiracy,
took
volt

had slaughtered several hundred Aztec

nobles during the festival of Huitzilopotchli, the Aztec god of war. Earlier,
Cortes had allowed Montezuma's brother,
Cuitlahua, to act as the imperial representative during

Montezuma's

captivity.

vengeful after the massacre,

Cuitlahua led the Aztecs in a retaliatory

Bitterly

uprising against the Spaniards.

With his own band reinforced

by two
thousand Tlascalans, Cortes returned hurto the
capital. During the first
stages of hostilities following the return
of Cortes, Montezuma
attempted to in-

riedly

1582

embattled Aztecs,
tercede and pacify the
but his people turned on him and he was
wounded. Broken and in despair,
fatally

Montezuma died on June

30, 1520.

the Aztecs had

During the uprising
all bridges on causeways leaddestroyed
ina to the mainland, and the Spanish retreat from the city became chaotic, with

On the plains of Otumba,

heavy losses.
however, the Spaniards and their Tlascalan allies managed to put the Aztecs to
flioht.

The Spaniards

retreated into Tlas-

where they could feel

safe once more. But the troops were restless after their harrowing retreat, and for
a time there seemed to be some chance

calan

territory,

that the Tlascalans

common

might

join the Aztecs

cause against the invaders.

the Tlascalans remained
Fortunately,
in fact, their chief, before he
friendly;
died of smallpox, became a Christian the
first successfully converted heathen.

in

Guatemozin, Montezuma' s nephew and

had sworn to drive the Spaniards from his
country. As Cortes marched
back toward the capital, however, he
gathered from friendly tribes more Indian
successor,

auxiliaries

lead

to

against

the

Aztecs.

Welcomed in Tezcuco by the new prince,

Ixtlilxochitl, an enemy of Montezuma,
Cortes' forces advanced for the final subjugation of the Aztec civilization.
More cohesive than Prescott's com-

panion study on the conquest of Peru,

History of the Conquest of Mexico is
the author's most brilliant work. Though
the book
ical

may

insight,

it

lack profound philosophis a vivid

portrayal of a

fascinating historical fact: the subjugation of a whole people by a mere handful

of

alien

triguers

adventurers

who

cruel, daring inplayed upon the religious

victims.
superstitions of their

THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

of work: History
Author: Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)
Time: 180-1461

Type

Locale: Italy, Persia,

First published:

Gibbon's

and

Fall

The

political

The

Roman Empire
of the Roman
its

the question of causes.

empire
to

its

and physical disintegration.

massive character of the work,

its

The

tes-

com-

assures
Finally,

its

as

urbane,
history,

literature.

the work stands or

on the accuracy and depth of its

of events covering more than
twelve centuries; and in this respect
The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire continues to prevail as the most
authoritative study on this theme ever
written. Later scholars have challenged
o
minor points or added to the material of
the history, but Gibbon's work stands
as the source of all that is most relevant
in the story of Rome's declining years.
The account begins with a critical
description of the age of the Antonines.

Gibbon concentrates on the period from

96 to 180, a time which he describes as
"a happy
period," during the reigns of
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two
first

three chapters are

of the work; they

prefatory to the body

establish the claim that
at the

was

height of

its

Rome was

glory as an

then

Empire-

strong, prosperous, active, with

world-wide influence. After the death of

it

Marcus Aurelius, and with the ascent of

Commodus (180-192),

the

Empire began

long and gradual decline. The body

of Gibbon's work is devoted to a careful

its

is

a lack of

sympathetic understanding of
Christian church. It is clear
Gibbon's narrative and summarv

the early

from

statement, however, that the Christian

contribution to the eventual downfall of

Rome was
and

causes,

Christian
if

the

ing the principal events of the Empire's

history than he was in analyzing events
in an effort to account for the downfall

it

effort

seems unlikely that the

would have succeeded

Roman Empire had

In any case,
Gibbon says as

not already

it

is

much what

not so

of saying it that
has proved irritating. In the first place,
Gibbon writes as if he were located in

Rome;

his

way

view of events

his

is

from the

Roman

perspective, although it does not

always exhibit a Roman bias. Secondly,
his objectivity, when it is achieved, has

been offensive

to

some who

the Christian church

tolerate

that

any discussion of

so cherish

they cannot

its

faults;

it

is

such critics were demanding that

Gibbon maintain historical impartiality
about the Romans but not about the

as if

Christians.

When

interested in recount-

only part of a complex of

been in decline.

recital of the events that followed.

Gibbon was more

Romans."

customary for commentators on

Gibbon to emphasize the reference to the
opposing influences of Christianity and
barbarism; and, in particular, some critics
have been inclined to charge Gibbon with
It

report

The

the

rels of

falls

Antonines.

and

The

use and abuse of the

materials. And, IV. The domestic
quar-

dramatic, polished

eminent place in

hostile attacks of the barbarians

Christians. III.

position by its scholar-author, is the first,

Dut most superficial sign, of its greatness.
style

Turkey

of

the

is

golden age

tifying to the years devoted to

The

Africa, Arabia,

Rome. But he did not entirely ianore

At the close of his
monumental history he reports four principal causes of Rome's decline and fall:
"I. The injuries of time and nature. II.

History of the Decline

of the

definitive history
from the end of
final

Germany, Constantinople, Greece,

1776-1788

peared,

the Decline and Fall

the

chapters

on

first

ap-

Christianity-

Chapters XV and XVI immediately

became the objects of critical attack.
Gibbon seems to have anticipated this

1584

response,

he wrote, "The great law

for

often obliges us to
impartiality
reveal the imperfections of the uninteachers and believers of the Gostoo

of

spired

and,

pel;

faults
faith

to

careless

may seem
which they

observer,

to cast a

their

shade on the

professed." Perhaps this

caution would have pacified

the critics had not Gibbon immediately

word of

his urbane sarcasm,

brought into play
distasteful to the insistently pious:
"The theologian may indulge the pleas-

so

task of describing Religion as she

descended from Heaven, arrayed in her
native purity. A more melancholy duty
the historian. He must disis
imposed on
cover the inevitable mixture of error and
which she contracted in a long
in<7

corruption
residence upon earth, among a weak and
race of beings."
degenerate
Obviously, there is no truly impartial
tone is acceptable, even
judge. Gibbon's
to those who share his skepticism;
proper,
but to others more emotionally involved

a future

life;

but although he admits the

persuasive power of the Christian use of

the claim of
immortality, he speaks with
skeptical condescension of the efforts of

philosophers to support the doctrine of

a future life, and he is sarcastic when

he mentions "the mysterious dis'oensations of Providence" which withheld the

doctrine from the Jews
only to give it to
the Christians. When he
speaks of the
miracles, Gibbon leaves the impression
that the pagans failed to be convinced
because no such events
actually took
place. "The lame walked, the blind saw,
the sick were healed, the dead were
raised," he writes; but he adds that "the
laws of Nature were frequently sus-

pended for the benefit of the church."

Gibbon argues that the emperors were
not as criminal in their treatments of the
Christians as some Christian

apologists

argued. He maintains tiat the

Romans acted only with caution and reluctance after a considerable amount of

have

Gibbon seems cynthe point of gross distortion.

Gibbon asks how the Christian faith
came to achieve its victory over Rome
and the other religions of the world. He

time and provocation, and that

they were
moderate in their use of punishments.

an answer which
rejects as unsatisfactory
attributes Christianity's force to the truth

many cases the Christians sought

dom by provoking the Romans

doctrine and the providence of God.

Five causes of the rapid growth of the
Christian church are then advanced: "I.
The inflexible, and, if we may use the

lence.

in the Christian faith

ical to

of

its

expression,
Christians.

future

the

life.

intolerant

zeal

of

the

The doctrine of a
.III. The miraculous

.II.

powers ascribed to the primitive church.

IV. The pure and austere morals of the
Christians. V- The union and discipline
of

the

Christian republic, which grad-

ually formed
ing
o state in

an independent and
the heart of

the

vio-

tues: the inclusiveness of his survey, the

and his careful

liveliness of his account,

documentation of

bon did not pretend

moral

Gibbon discusses Jewish influences on

the Christian faith and explains how the
Roman religion had failed to be convincing in its mythology and doctrine of

to

Christianity sometimes tends to turn

attention away from the historian's vir-

Roman

five causes

martyr-

Gibbon concludes by casting doubt

on the numbers of those punished by
death, and he insists that the Christians
have inflicted more punishments on one
another than they received from the
Romans.
Discussion of Gibbon's chapters on

increas-

empire.'*

In his comments on these

He offers evidence in support of his claim

that the stories of martyrdom were often
exaggerated or wholly false, and that in

bias,

historical claims.

that

Gib-

he was without

but his judgments of the

tyrannical emperors are defended by references to their acts. It was not enough
for Gibbon to discover, for example, that

Septimus Sevenis was false and insincere,

making of treaties; the

particularly in the

1585

whether Severus ivas forced,

question was
demands of politics, to
the
imperious
by
be deceitful. Gibbon's conclusion was
that there

was no need

as false in his

promises

be
he was; conse-

for Severus to
as

him

quently, he condemns
In similar fashion he reviews the tyrannical behavior of Caracalla, Maximin,
before the barbarian
and other
for his acts.

emperors

invasion of the Germans.

Gibbon names the Franks, the Ale-

been divided under Diocletian and,

consequence

of

his

conversion

to

as a

the

Christian faith, granted tolerance to the

Christians by the Edict of Milan. One
result of the consequent growth of Christianity was a growing emphasis upon the
distinction between temporal and
spiritual

powers; the result was not that Church

and state remained apart from each other,
but that the bishops of the Church came
to

have more and more influence on mat-

manni, the Goths, and the Persians as the

enemies of the Romans during the reigns
of Valerian and Gallienus, when a weakened Empire was vulnerable to attack
both from within and without. Perhaps
the Empire would have wholly disinte-

The date 476 is significant

marking the end of the West Roman
Empire with the ascent to power of Odo-

Valerian and
grated at that time had not
Gallienus been succeeded by Claudius,

the story of the increase of papal influence, the commencement of Byzantine rule, the reign of

Aurelian, Probus, and Diocletian, described as "great princes" by Gibbon and

as "Restorers of the Roman world."

Charlemagne as emperor of the West, the

sacking of Rome by the Arabs, the retirement of the popes to Avignon, the abor-

Several chapters of this massive work

are devoted to a recital and discussion of
the acts and influence of Constantine

who

reunited

the

I,

Empire which had

ters of state.

as

acer, the

barbarian chieftain.

The remainder
of

of Gibbon's classic

Rome's decline

tive efforts of

story

is

Rienzi to restore the gov-

ernment of Rome, the return of the popes

and the great schism, and the final settle-

ment

of the ecclesiastical state.

HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN

WAR

of work: History
Author: Thucydides (455?-c. 400 B.C.)
Time: 43 1-411 B.C.
Locale: Greece and the Mediterranean

Type

431-400 B.C.

First transcribed: c.

Principal personages:

PERICLES, founder of Athenian democracy

THOCYDIDES, an Athenian general and historian

DEMOSTHENES, the famous orator
ALCIBIADES, an Athenian general and turncoat
NICIAS, an Athenian general

ARCHIDAMUS, King

of Sparta

BRASIDAS, a Spartan general

In writing his History of the Pelo'pcmnesian War, Thucydides, content to look

for

human

causes behind results, refused

the gods with responsibility for

the acts of man. Impartially he chronicled the clash of a military and a comto credit

mercial imperialism: the land emoire of

the Spartans confronting the Athenian

maritime league.

him an
such as

Some have

attributed to

of moral indifference,

attitude

revealed in his report of the

is

debate between Athenian and Melian ambassadors, but he wrote

of either moralizing or

He

producing a

cul-

and economic patterns of Athens and

Sparta. Seeing in the modes and ideals of
their cultures an
explanation of their
ways of warfare, he wrote for intelligent
readers rather than the ignorant masses.
The eight books of Thucydides' history,
ters,

divided into short paragraph-chapa few facts about their

provide

author. For

instance, in Book IV, he

himself as "Thucydides, son of
Olorus, who wrote this history." He must
have been wealthy, for,
Brarefers to

discussing

on Amphipolis, he states that

the Spartan "heard that
Thucydides had
the right of
working goldmines in the
neighboring district of Thrace and was
consequently one of the leading men of
sidas' attack

the city."

He

failure as the

tells

frankly of his

commander

of a relief expe-

also

dition to that
city

and of

his

twenty

years'

from Athens

as

punishment. Appar-

describes, thereby increasing the accuracy

of his details. Students of warfare find
that he gives
descriptions of the tricks
and stratagems of both siege and defense.

Not

until 404, after the war had ended,

did he return to Athens. By tradition he
was killed about 400 B.C., either in

Thrace
Athens

for

the gold he carried,

or in

for

publicly writing his opinions,

'Thucydides the Athenian wrote the

with no intention

was a military man

history.
interested in the vastly different
political
tural

exile

ently he spent the years of his exile in

travel
among the sites of the battles he

history of the war in which the Peloponnesians and the Athenians fought against

one another" are the opening words of

this masterpiece of Greek history. "He

began

to write

arms,

believing

when

memorable above

it

all

they

first

would be

took

great

up

and

previous wars/* After

beginning Thucydides drops into the

7
first
person to explain the rivalry of
Athens and Sparta, the two great states of
Hellas then at the height of their power.
He was proud of the advances made by
this

his native

Athens over the ways of the

barbarians.

"In ancient times the Hel-

weapons because their homes

were undefended and intercourse unsafe." But swords, like the old-fashioned
and the custom of
linen undergarments
O
binding the hair in knots, had gone out
lenes carried

of style

by his

time.

was an
Rivalry between the two cities
old story; it had kept Spartans from fightIt took
ing beside Athenians at Marathon.

1587

when

a commercial form, however,

Lacedaemonians
allies,

ket

demanded

that

the

their

the Megarians, be allowed to mar-

their products

orator, statesman,

in

Athens.

Pericles,

and patron of the

arts,

took the first step toward breaking his own

Thirty Years' Truce, agreed upon in 445
B.C. In a fiery oration he declared that
to yield to the
Spartans
to vassals.

would reduce the

Athenians

The

final break,

the

fields

Like

many

around

the

fortified

cities.

primitive peoples, the Greeks

stopped fighting during planting and har-

(The entries frequently

begin
"The following summer, when the

vesting.

with

com was coming

The war was

games, not only the
Olympic games of 428, but the Delian,
Pythian, and Isthmian games as well.
In the summer of the next
into ear/')

also halted for their

year a

according to Thucydides, came later. He dates the year (431)

according to the calendars of the three

plague broke out In Athens and raged

intermittently for three years. Seven

Chrysis had been high

priestess of Argos for forty-eight years;
Aenesias was ephor of Sparta; and Pytho-

scription, "for I

myse

because

troops were afraid to ap-

leading states:

dorus was concluding his archonship in

Athens. In that year Thebes, at the invitation of disgruntled Plataean citizens,

made

surprise attack
Boeotian ally of Athens.

To

on

Plataea,

understand the situation

it

necessary to keep in mind a clash of

political concepts that the historian does
not mention. In 445 B.C., under Peri-

Athens had become a radical democwas to send help to

racy whose policy

any democratically-Inclined community.

Sparta and its allies were just as eager

to

promote their conservative oligarchy.

To both, self-interest was paramount.
Violation of the truce by Thebes,
says
Thucydides, gave Athens an excuse to
prepare for war. Its walled city could be
defeated only by a fleet and
Sparta had
no fleet. On the other hand, landlocked
Sparta could withstand anything except
a full-scale land invasion, and Athens had

no army. The Lacedaemonians

begged
their friends in
Italy and Sicily to collect
and build ships, and Athens sent ambassadors to raise armies and
completely
surround Sparta. Thucydides was honest
enough to admit that public opinion
largely favored the Spartans,
as the liberators of Hellas.

moved

who posed

by invading the
Isthmus of Corinth in 431 B.C. Strife
during the winter and summer of the
Sparta

first

year (as the historian divided his

time) consisted largely of
laying waste

first

Book

Drovide a vivid def was attacked and

witnessed the
suffering of others." The
seriousness of the
plague protected Athens

proach

enemy

its

walls.

The most

II

vivid

part of Thucydides'
the Syracuse cam-

history deals with

paign of 416. An

embassy from

fully,

is

cles,

chapters of

Sicily, sought Athenian

rival
city of Selinus.

The

biades thought this

Egesta,

help against

its

ambitious Alci-

would be

good

ex-

cuse for Athens to annex

Syracuse. With
Alcibiades, Nicias, and Lamachus sharing the command, the best-equipped expeditionary force ever sent from a Greek

with 134 triremes,

5,100 hoplites or heavy-armed infantry,

city sailed for Sicily

480

archers,

and 820

slingers.

Alcibiades had left behind bitter enemies who accused him of defacing sacred
statues on the day the fleet sailed.
Though

there was no evidence against him, he

was ordered home to defend himself.
Fearing treachery, he fled to Sparta,
where he was warmly welcomed. Informed of the Athenian expedition, the
Lacedaemonians sent a military adviser

The

to Syracuse.
a fleet for

fit

Persians offered to outAlcibiades to lead against

His patriotism outweighed his

injured pride, however, and eventually
he returned to Athens and won several
Athens.

victories for the

city before another defeat sent him
again into exile. This oc-

curred, however, after the period covered

by Thucydides'
Meanwhile,

history.
in the

campaign before

Syracuse, Nicias disregarded the advice

1588

Demosthenes and was defeated on both

Hellenic actions
land and sea. "Of all the
"this was
on record," writes Thucydides,
to the victhe greatest, the most glorious
most ruinous to the vantor, and the
Fleet and army vanished from

of

quished.
was saved,
the face of the earth; nothing
and out of the many who went forth,
returned home. This ended the

few

of the expedition practiends Thucydides history. There 'is

another book, but it does not rise to the
dramatic pitch of Book VII. Though he
after these events and
lived eleven

The account

cally

years

years

after

the

Sparta was the supreme power in Hellas.

As Macaulay wrote, Thucydides surpassed all his rivals as the historian of the
ancient world. Perhaps not as colorful as
Herodotus, "the Father of History/' he

was

certainly

more

accurate;

and while

the annals of Tacitus contain excellent

Sicilian expedition."

four

second time, Sparta starved the Athenians into surrender, and with this defeat
their glory faded. For the next thirty years
a

end

of

chronicle

Thucydides did not

stages, perhaps because

the
its

war,
last

they were too

After Alcibiades had been exiled

painful.

character delineation, the Roman's pages

are "cold and poor.'* Thucydides may be

superficial in his observations and shallow

in his interpretation of events, but he

did accumulate facts and dates and he

them in a three-dimensional
of people and places. For this

presented

picture
reason his

work has survived for more

than twenty-three hundred years.

THE HISTORY OF THE PERSIAN WARS

of work: History
Author: Herodotus (484-c. 425 B.C.)
Time: 500-479 B.C.
Locale: Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor

Type

first transcribed: c.

430 B.C.

Principal personages:
CROESUS, King of Lydia

SOLON, an Athenian statesman

CYRUS THE GREAT, King of Persia
DARIUS, Cyrus' cousin
XERXES, Darius' son and successor
LEONIDAS, King of Sparta

"Herodotus, beyng of the citve of Halicarnassus in Greece, wrote

and compiled

an History to the end that nether tract

of time might overwhelme and
bury in
silence the actes of
nor
kind;
humayne
the worthy e and renowned adventures of
the Grecians and Barbarians (as well
others as chiefly those that were done in
warre) might want the due reward of

immonale fame." So did the unknown

"B.R." begin his translation of two of the
nine books of Herodotus, "entitled with
the names of the nine Muses," in 1584.

As

use the word "history,"

Herodotus deserves Cicero's title, "Father
o
History." To be sure, this son of
wealthy upper-class parents did not have
the historian's critical attitude toward his
sources. Interesting anecdotes of the wars
between the Greeks and the Persians of
the fifth
century B.C. found their way
the

first

to

pages whether he could verify

them or not, but he does sometimes
into his

hedge
and tag certain items as
hearsay. From
his
quotations, he must have read widely.

From the details in histhe comments like "this

have visited

and
I saw," he must
most of the places he mendescriptions

The true greatness of Herodotus

in the Fact that he was the first im-

tions.
Lies

portant writer to depart from the verse

of

Homer and others,

first

prose literature.

to

produce Europe's

Some

predecessors

had chronicled the

beginnings of their
small communities or
states, but the
writings of Herodotus embrace a vaster
panorama, not only Greece, but Egypt,

and Babylon

Sardis,

as

well.

And

he

looked for the reasons back of the events.

His aim was to trace the
early rivalries

between
process
tribes,

Greek and barbarian; in the

he recounted the story of
many

described the lands they inhabited,

and reported many of their

interesting
customs. Those who want greater accu-

racy can consult Thucydides (c. 4 5 5-400

B.C.), who wrote a half-century later.

His work

is more
objective, but
the color of Herodotus' account.

it

lacks

The Persians maintained that the

Phoenicians originally started the quarrel

by kidnapping women from Argos. Later

the Hellenes raided the
port of Tyre
and abducted Europa, the king's daughter. The wars
actually started, however,

when
was

his

Croesus, whose magnificent court

by Solon, desired to enlarge

visited

empire by conquering some

of the

Ionian cities of Asia Minor. When he

consulted the oracles, he was persuaded
at
Delphi to gather his allies for an attack on the mainland.
sulted

in

The

stalemate,

invasion

however,

Croesus returned to Lydia, where

re-

and
his

was

surprised and captured by the Persians. Only a rainstorm,

sent by the gods, saved him as he was

capital,

Sardis,

being burned to death. The same miracle

persuaded Cyrus to free his captive after
taking possession of

some

of his vassal

With them, Cyrus went on to cap

ture
Babylon. However the Massagetae,
under Queen Tomyris, were too strong
states.

in their resistance

1590

and

strategy.

Book

I,

ends with the death of Cyrus.

called Euterpe, tells how
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, became king
and planned to march against Egypt. The
rest of the book is a tourist's guide and
of Egypt from its
history
beginnings to
the coronation of Amasis.

Book VII, named

titled Clio,

Book

II,

Book III, called Thalia, tells how Cammarched against Amasis. The Egypbyses
king having died in the meantime,
the mercenary army of his son was no
match for the Persian, who then betrayed
his incipient insanity by
dishonoring his
slain enemies.
tian

Book IV, called Melpomene, introduces Darius, cousin of and successor to

Cambyses, who let the barbarous Scythians outwit him into
making peace with
them.

The next volume,

Terpsichore,

Two

failed.

be

named

Muse

whose

is

begins with a plan that

Paeonian nobles, wishing
O to
over

rulers

brought their beautiful

their
sister

to

people,
Sardis,

where Darius saw her,

carrying water on
her head,
leading a horse,

Anxious

and spinning.

spread such industry throughout his empire, he had the Paeonians sent
throughout Asia Minor. But the book
deals
largely with the revolt in Ionia, the
to

growth of Athens,

and

its

expedition,

encouraged by Aristagoras, against Sardis.

Although the capital was captured and
burned, Darius rallied and defeated the
invaders at Salamis, in
Cyprus.
Erato is the Muse of Book VI,
tells

of

battle

fought

which
between 353
hundred Baby-

Ionian triremes and six

lonian
ships. By dissension among the
enemy rather than by his strength Darius
defeated them and went on to
besiege
and conquer Miletus.
Again Greek bickering helped

him during

his

march

to

Athens, but the Athenians, rallying and

with a few Plataeans,
successfully engaged the forces of Darius at Marathon,

on September 14, 450 B.C. The Persians

were driven back with a loss of 6,400
dead.

The Athenians

the battle.

lost

only

192 in

of the

after

Sublime Hyrnn,

able detail

Polymnia,

tells

how Darius

Muse

in consider-

prepared to reFate delayed him; rebellious

Egypt sidetracked him, and death
ended all his plans. The uncertain Xerxes,

venge

his defeat.

succeeding his father

undertook the Egyptian
a quick
victory, at
thousand soldiers he

to

the

throne,

campaign. After
the head of
twenty

marched on Athens.
took seven days for his
army to cross
the
erected
his enHellespont
It

bridge,
by
gineers, and he, reviewing them, lamented
that none would be alive a hundred
years

hence.

Many Greek

were quick to surHerodotus boasts,

dared confront the host of Xerxes. Therender.

cities

Only Athens,

as

mistocles interpreted the oracle's counsel

to defend the
city with "wooden walls"
as

advice to use the two hundred war-

ships originally

built for

an attack on

Egypt. Nature, however, provided a better defense in an east wind that wrecked
four hundred Persian galleys along with

uncounted transports and provision carriers. However, neither armed forces nor
natural obstacles halted Xerxes' army until it reached the Pass of
Thermopylae.

There, for a day, the Athenians and Spartans checked the Persian host until a
traitor revealed another path to the invader. The next day the Persians were
again on the march, leaving all the defenders and twenty thousand of their own
troops dead behind them.
In Book VIII, titled Urania, there is
an account of Xerxes' march into Athens
and the firing of the Acropolis. But the
"wooden walls" of the Athenian fleet
were victorious at Salamis on September
20, 480 B.C. Winner of the greatest
glory was the Persian queen Artemis, who
used the confusion of battle to get revenge on another Persian by ramming
and sinking his ship. Because Xerxes
thought she was attacking an enemy and
the Athenians believed she had changed

everybody lauded her.

Fearing that the Greeks might

loyalties,

sail

on

to

a
destroy his bridge, Xerxes ordered
From the Asian mainland he sent

retreat.

demands

for a peace treaty, promptly refused by both Athens and Sparta.

Calliope is the Muse presiding over
Book IX. Here the account tells how Mardonios renewed the attack against the

Greeks in the hope of sending word of

victory back to Xerxes in Sardis. Though
temporarily checked by the Thebans, he
again entered Athens, whose citizens had
fled to Salamis to

When

assemble their

allies.

marched back, Mardonios

burned what was left of Athens and rethey

treated.

Except

At Thermopylae, Leonidas, the

Sparking, had been crucified and beheaded by the Persians. Certain Greeks
wanted to dishonor Mardonios in the
same way, but they were told that dishonoring a dead enemy was worthy only
tan

of barbarians.

Some

of the

fleeing Per-

were pursued and killed at Mvcale.

Their defeat ended Xerxes' ambitious
sians

plan to crush the Hellenes.

Modern

rodotus by

historians have honored Heinto

translating his
history

Littlebury's version (1709) is

outstanding in style, but reveals the

English.
for cavalry skirmishes, neither

wanted to engage in battle until the

sacrifices were propitious, but Mardonios'
patience broke first, and he fell into a trap
at Plataea, where he was killed and his
army routed; there were twenty thousand
Persian and Boeotian casualties against
r?

side

ninety-one Spartans and fifty-two Athenians killed.

writer's

imperfect knowledge of Greek.

George Rawlinson translated the work in
1858. The most satisfactory translation
the two-volume work
is
published by
G. C. Macaulay in 1890.

HIZA-KURIGE
Type

of

work: Tales

Author: Jippensha Ikku (1765-1831)

Time: Late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Locale:
First

Japan

published: 1802-1814

Principal characters:
YAJIROBEI (YAJI), a picaresque traveler

KITAHACHI (KiTA),

The
various

companion

which was pubwas titled in

sections,
eight

first

in

lished

his

of this series,

the

common

being
"Knee-chestnutHiza-kurige
(literally,
horse"), usually translated as Shank's
ways,

The

Mare.

publication

part

dates

of

these

sections are

(1) 1802; (2) 1803; (3) in

two volumes, 1803; (4) in two volumes,
1805; (5) in two volumes and a supplement in one volume, 1806; (6) in two
volumes, 1807; (7) in two volumes,
1808; and (8) in three volumes, 1809.
The Prologue, in one volume, was published in 1814.

This work was so popular that it is

to have raised the
price of paper

supposed

in the city of

was

first

tribution
this

Edo,

now Tokyo, where

it

published. Ikku's important conto

Japanese literature through

work was the creation of a

fresh

popular literature the comic

novel. Travel accounts had been written
ever since the tenth century, but these
early models extolled the beauties of natype

of

emphasized poetry, and appealed to

among the educated aristocracy.
Ikku turned this form into a popular one
ture,

readers

commoner.
of two traveling companions
was by no means a new device, but
whereas in previous works they were
merely mechanical and shadowy, Ikku's

for the

The use

two characters are robustly alive. They

axe not even the better educated, more
refined of the commoners living and working in the bustling streets of Edo, but
deliberately chosen stereotypes of the
lower classed Edo-ite: exuberant, emotional,

quick to anger and as quick to

forget, with
to resist

strength of character
temptation, whose wit and skills
little

are untrained, but

yet knowing and
shrewd with a shallow w sdom. By making these two characters fall info predicaments of their own making, Ikku created
a broad humor, often
bawdy but always
good, a humor that was mirth-provoking
;

without the sting

o of satire.
The story line is extremely simple, the
treatment episodic. In downtown Edo
there lived one Yajirobei, called
Yaji for
short.

He had been bom

into a

merchant

family of some means in the town of

Fuchu, in the province of Suruga (Ikku's
own birthplace), but indulgence in

worldly pleasures involving; women and

greatly reduced his circumstances. Taking with him an actor named

wine had

Hana-no-suke (which in modem idiom

might be translated "Schnozzola'O. later

renamed Kitahachi, or Kita for short,

whom he patronized, Yaji had come to

Edo. For a time he sent Kita out

but the poverty of such
circumstances proved boring and anyway, Kita was soon discharged. Yaji then
sold the belongings he still possessed and
with the proceeds set out with Kita on an
extended journey. The route they chose
was the Eastern Sea Circuit (Tokai-do),
live in

in

servitude,

extending from Edo to Kyoto, including

a trip to Japan's holy Great Shrine of Ise,
and ending in the commercial city of
Osaka.
Ikku himself had made the same trip.

Using material from his own experience,

perhaps, he added episodes and occurrences of which he had only heard, and
he was not above using
o material found
in the Kv6en, those comic interludes
performed in programs of the No drama,
some almost in their entirety, others only

1593

thinly

These episodes

disguised.

duce the reader

to

intro-

particular places of
Eastern Sea Circuit,

along the
each ends with

interest

a line or two of
and
humorous verse which greatly points up
the humor, This humor is also expressed
in play on words, puns, and the clever

use of pivotal words joining one phrase

to the next. The work has been translated into French

and

into Engl'sh.

An

English translation by Thomas Satchell

is titled Hizakurige
(Tokaido Circuit')

(Kobe, Chronicle Press, 1929). One section of this translation is included in

Donald Keene's Anthology of Japanese
Literature

The

(New

York, 1955).

twelve pars of the

Zokn Hiza-

kurioe (Shank's Mare, Continued) were

published under various titles, each ap~
pi 'cable to the part

which

it

represented.

Only Parts II and 12 contain the

Zoku Hiza-kurige. Each
part is in
volumes,

with

title

two

the

exception of Part
12, which was published in three volumes. The publication dates were(1)
1810; (2) 1811; (3) 1812; (4) 1813(5) 3834; (6) 1835: (7) and (8) 1816-

(9) 3819; (30) 1820; (11) 1821; and

(12) 1822. This work has not yet been
translated.

In Ikku's sequel, the two

companions
to the island of Shikoku to
worship
at the
Kompira Shrine, back to Honshft

go

to visit
Miyajima, then eastward over the
back way, the K so Road, to
Zenko-ji in
Shinano Province, on to the famous
:

Kusrsu Hot

Springs,

and

finally

back-

Edo. The style and the format of the

continuation remain the same as in the
to

original series.

H.
of -work:

Type

W.

PINAFORE

S.

Comic opera

S. Gilbert

(1836-1911)
Type of plot: Humorous satire
Time of plot: Latter half of the nineteenth century
Locale: Portsmouth harbor, England
First presented: 1878
Author:

Principal characters:
JOSEPHINE, the Captain's

daughter

RALPH, the lowly sailor who loves Josephine

SIR JOSEPH PORTER, First Lord of the Admiralty, and
THE CAPTAIN, Josephine's father
LITTLE BUTTERCUP, who loves the Captain

Josephine's suitor

Critique:

W.

S.

Gilbert shared the honors of this

with his composer-partner, Sir

operetta
Arthur Sullivan. H, M. S. Pinafore; or,

That Loved A Sailor was written to be sung and acted on the stage;
it was not meant to be
published and read
by itself. Gilbert and Sullivan obviously

The

Lass

were poking fun

grand opera, and

at the extravagances of
at the improbable plots

The

in

of

Pinafore,
particular.
plot
which effectively disregards the element
of time, is a successful vehicle of comedy

and

Every song, every scene is full

of mischievous and clever rhymes, adroit
and ingenious dialogue.
satire.

The

Story;

Lying

at

activity,
First Lord

was the scene

Sir Joseph Poiter,

of the Admiralty,

of hectic

K.C.B.,

had

an-

nounced his intention to visit the ship.

The sailors swabbed the decks and were
inspected by the Captain, who was as
content with them as they were with
him.

physical charms not displeasing to him.

Sir Joseph's barge approached, and the
First

Lord was soon on board, accom-

panied by his

sisters, his

cousins,

and

his

aunts. After inspecting the crew, he gave

them instructions for success. His own

formula had been simple enough. He had

close to his
polished door handles, stuck
desk, and never gone to sea. Sir Joseph

then proceeded
visit.

He had

to

the purpose

of his

corne to ask Josephine to

marry him.

Josephine had no intention of marrydisliked. Not

ing Sir Joseph, whom she
an outright refusal, she inable to
give

anchor in Portsmouth har-

bor, the Pinafore

for

that appearances are often deceiving. The

Captain noticed that Little Buttercup had

One member

of the crew, however,

was

far from
happy. Ralph, the lowly
foremast hand, was sunk in gloom and
despair. He loved Josephine, the Cap-

tain's
daughter, but because of his low
rank she repulsed his advances and re-

jected his love.

Before Sir Joseph's arrival, Little Buther trade
came on board,

tercup
as a seller of ribbons

plying

and laces, scissors

and toffee. In a con-

and knives, treacle

versation with the Captain she hinted

formed him that marriage with such a

behigh-ranking officer was impossible
cause she was only a captain's daughter.
Sir Joseph admired her modesty, but
brushed the objection aside. Rank, he

assured her, was absolutely no barrier,

for love leveled all rank. Josephine has-

tened to agree with him, and everyone

a marriage
immediately assumed that
would soon take place.

Giving up

all

hope

of

winning

Jose-

a pistol to his head

phine, Ralph put
and prepared to pull the trigger. At that

moment

Josephine rushed

in,

told

him

not to destroy himself, and proclaimed

her undying love for him. At this turn of

events there was general rejoicing among

with the exception of
Ralph's messmates,

an unsavory character by the name

Dick Dead-eye.

1595

of

The

couple laid plans to steal ashore

the next evening

o to be married. Once
the ceremony was performed, they reasoned, nobody could do anything about
it.
But Dick Dead-eye went to the Cap-

and warned him of the plan. Accordingly, just as the lovers and their
accomplices were quietly tiptoeing away,
tain

appeared. To the astonishment of

everyone, she announced that
she had been a

many

years ago

baby-farmer. Two infants had been

put into her care, one of
lowly birth, the other of high position.
Because she was
very fond of one of
them she had changed them around.
The

Captain was really of low

birth,

and

the Captain entered, enraged at Ralph's

presumption and at the low company in

Ralph was the patrician.

This astounding announcement resulted in a
very odd situation which was
quickly and amicably
The

Attracted by the Captain's swearing,

came rushing up in time to

Captain changed places with Ralph, who

which he found his daughter. Ralph was

thrown into the brig.
Sir Joseph

hear what had happened. The sisters, the

cousins, and the aunts were horribly
shocked. Sir Joseph was equally shocked,

shocked that he administered a very

severe rebuke to the
Captain. In the
midst of the argument, Little Buttercup
so

arranged.

became captain instead. Sir

Joseph announced that he could not
marry Josephine since she was only the dauohter of
a

common

sailor.

Accordingly, Josephine
Ralph; the Captain married
Little
Buttercup, and Sir Joseph had no
one to marry except a well-bom cousin.

married

THE HOLY TERRORS

of work:

Type

Novel

Author: Jean Cocteau (1891- 1963)

of plot: Psychological fantasy

Type
Time

of plot:
Locale: Paris
first

The

present

1929

published:

Principal characters:
PAUL, a sensitive, imaginative boy

ELISABETH,

his sister

GERALD, their friend

AGATHA, Gerard's wife, friend of Paul and Elisabeth
MICHAEL, an American
Critique:

Jean Cocteau, a playwright, stage des

painter,

gner,

been one

has

film

of

director,

the

in the Paris a r t

figures

and

poet,
influential

most
wcrld in

this cen-

In this psychological fantasy (Les

tury.

Enfanis terribles*) he has drawn much on

Freudian imagery, and the book is, like
his films, informed by romantic imagination.

Written with great insight,

it

is

compassionate account of the creativity

and destructiveness of adolescence. The

snow scenes

at

the beginning and the end

of the novel provide an imaae of insulation from the familiar world and of the

of isolation that

results

such alienation

Story:

They

lived as though in a

wo r ld

of

vegetable instinct, dissociated from, adults

by

passivity,
terious rites.

One

imagination, and

secret,

mys-

night,

the quarter

was

trans-

worshiped. Dargelos, who possessed g-eat

charm, was both vicious and beautiful.

mo

toward him, Dargelos,

perhaps accidentally, knocked him down
with a stone-packed snowball. Although
he injured Paul, he escaped immediate

sphere of influence.
The three children went into the

New

Room

where Paul and Elisabeth ate, slept, read,

fought, and played the Game. That Room
was the sole material reality in their lives;

Game,

their inner world.

The Room

and books. Paul left it

and Elisabeth only to
look after their mother or to buy magazines. Essentially the Game was dayclothes, papers,
only for school

an
dreaming, a willed withdrawal to
consciousof
world
submerged
imaginary

-ed

After Elisabeth had sent Gerard away,

she undressed Paul and put him to bed.
Their doctor decided that Paul was unfit

to return to school, a decision

plunged

Paul

into

which
he

until

despair

learned of Dargelos' expulsion. After that

school held no interest for him.
The Roo-n held hidden treasures, the
artifacts

of

their

unconscious

bottles
keys, marbles, aspirin

THE HOLY TERRORS

listers,

Paul's

ness.

when

formed by snow, Paul was wandering

among the snowballing groups in search
of the school hero Dargelos, whom he

As Paul

them when they reached

existed in an established chaos of boxes,

Paul and Elisabeth lived with their

paralyzed mother in an old quarter of
Pans.

with

home. She was then sixteen, two years

older than Paul and utterly absorbed by
him. She was frequently transported by
fury when he appeared to be leaving her

the

may produce.

The

punishment but was later expelled from

the school. Paul was taken home by Gerard who loved him as much for his weakness as Paul loved Dargelos for his
strength. Elisabeth was extremely angry

by Jean Cocteau. Translated by Rosamund

Directions. Copyright, 1957, by Rosamund Lehmann.

1597

minds-

and when

Lehmann. By permission of the pub-

Paul that Dargelos had disappeared,

photograph of him dressed as
Athalie was added to the collection.
The mother died suddenly. When Paul

where she worked Elisabeth met Aoatha

an orphan whose parents, drug addicts,
had committed suicide. For Agatha she

and Elisabeth saw

but the

G6rard

told
a

her,

and

rigid

her chair, staring forward, the

picture haunted them; it was the one
they retained. The mother's nurse, Mafixed in

remained

atha,

been

home

an accepted visitor in the Room,

Gerard was aware of the almost tangible

and

tions,

When

reconciliations,

Once by

the

much

as

sea,

own

his

to

shops

Room.

When

that

in

the

their

means

from the

On

him

of

moment

her, Elisabeth

them

excursions.

dressmaker's

sports

car

few

that Paul realized he

in love with Agatha. Afraid to tell

each other of their love, they each told
Elisabeth. Terrified that Paul might leave

would go into the world. Her

position,
she felt, had become
untenable, and she
subsequently obtained work as a mannequin. This act enraged Paul, who declared that she was
prostituting herself;
she thought the same about his
nightly
the

his

was

tormenting Paul. The first

time she succeeded in
rousing her brother
came when she declared that she too

At

alone in

to the Room that Paul

they gravitated
in the dining hall.
established
finally
Their lives moved slowly to a climax

Paul spent his

evenings wandering
around Montmartre,
girls,
watching
drinking, and finally meeting Gerard and

as a

her

Lonely and disoriented in separate rooms,

relationship.

bringing him home for the night.

these occasions Elisabeth would use

transferred

hours after the wedding.

Elisabeth inherited his fortune and his
Paris house, into which the four moved.

they returned to Paris, Elisabeth

party in

she

anger at learning of it evaporated

discovered that Michael wanted
as he had
marry Elisabeth and not,

driving

Paris

was suddenly aware that Paul had outstripped her and that she had become the
subordinate

Gerard,

subconsciously feared, Agatha. Elisabeth

did marry Michael, but true to Gsrard's
vision of her the marriage was never consummated: Michael was killed while

as possible.

had planned. Their booty formed

imitating

of

when he

tutelage, in part through stealing useless

while on raids
objects from local

a treasure

ex-

dream life to him. Paul was excluded

from this friendship with Michael, but

Paul gained
strength under Elisabeth's

that she

i^

in thrall to Dargelos. Agatha felt at

in the Room, but at the same time

friend

a
they established

like their

star-

'

absorb

the sea. On the

Paul
journey she watched
while he was
sleeping and was disgusted
by the air of weakness which his illness
had accentuated. She decided to remold
him on her own lines.

Room

As they matured, the Game failed to

Paul and Elisabeth completely.
This situation so distressed Elisabeth that
when she met Michael, an American

between the

Paul was well enough, Elisabeth, surprisingly, accepted an invitation

from Gerard's uncle to take a holiday by
two.

revealed a

between Daroelos and Aoand Paul enthralled her as he had

she recognized the strange, dreamlike

istence her friends led.

recrimina-

fights,

Agatha became devoted

likeness
tling
CD

in the

expressed in

time, warm affection;

introduction to the Room
Paul's and Elisabeth'^ defirst

The photograph

to Paul.

Now

tension,

girl's

precipitated
struction when

household, content to care for and love Paul and Elisabeth without
altering them.

riette,

the

for

felt,

trans-

establishment

all

moved

one night

tirelessly

to dissuade

between

them from

told Paul that

marrying. Lying, she

whom

it

was

and told
Agatha loved,
too selfish ever to
was
Paul
that
Agatha
love anyone. She also convinced Gerard
that by friendship he had won Agatha's
love and that it was his duty to marry
her. Elisabeth was so dedicated to the
idea of possessing Paul and so trusted by

G6rard

1598

the others that she succeeded completely

in her

scheme.
short time

after

his

marriage

to

The forAoatha, Girard met Dargelos.

mer schoolmate sent Paul a gift, part of

Paul and Elisadelighted with the present

his collection of poisons.

beth

were

which, to Agatha's horror, was ac'ded to

the treasure.

Weeks
ered

in

later

snow,

when

Paris

Elisabeth

Paul was dead. She

woke

was again
dreamed

covthat

cursed her, she felt

died. After admittin
ousy, she snatched
violent act she

k
i

w^J^

Game,

of

far

f"

Y
1
regam t eir

was abfe?

attention and thus to

more. Elisabeth
back into their world

the

*u

re v fl

Paul

<<*

L^

from Ao^l
less real to him than
side. The two women

A
J

until Paul fell back

to find

Agatha
at the door. Agatha was convinced Paul
had killed himself; she had received a
letter from him thre3tening suicide. They
ran to the Room and found Paul choking
in poison fumes which filled the screenedin corner where he lay. Although he
could barely speak, with Agatha he reconstructed Elisabeth's scheme. When he

ma

,'

against

Rnn^f and
^A u*
Room
let
r

in the

te
destroyed
estroye the
,

enem
j T>
cn
ernv world.
Paul
i

saw visions of snowballerQ

J
^aiiers CTOwdma
^
the
windows, watchino as
I j TI,
ne died.
Theirs
, ^* fV,
f~*j
c
was the traoedy of
i

that they lived on

& for their
fighting
a

THE HONEST WHORE, PART ONE

Type

Drama
Thomas D^kker

of work:

Author:

Type
Time

(c.

1572-1632?) with Thomas Middleton (1580-1627)

of plot: Tragi-comedy
of plot: Sixteenth century

Locale: Milan, Italy

First presented:

604
Principal characters:
GASPARO TREBA.ZZI,

Duke

of

Milan

INFELICE, his daughter

COUNT HIPPOLITO,
MATHEO,

nobleman in love with

Infelice

his friend

CANDIDO, a linen draper

VIOLA, Candido's wife
FUSTIGO, Viola's brother

BELLAFRONT,

a harlot

Critique:

This is a minor play by one of the minor

Elizabethan dramatists. Thomas Dekker

was an extremely

prolific

writer,

men, the hearse was borne

work-

ried to

a passage in HensVwe's
known that Middleton had a

From
is

diary,

it

hand

in

Part One of this play; but

scholars are uncertain as to the precise
amount that he contributed. The main

be seen, has a strangely inverted resemblance to that of Romeo and

plot, as will

while the subplot, although the

scene is lai'd in Milan, gives a realistic

it

Juliet,

glimpse of London shop

Both

plots

are,

life

of that time.

by modern

standards,

exaggerated and improbable. Lamb found

the play "offensively crowded" with diaagainst the harlot's profession; the
reader of today, however, will not be
tribes

shocked. Rather, unless he is a specialist

in Elizabethan drama, he is
likely to be
bored, and he will hardly agree with
Hazlitt that the "contrivance" of the main
plot

The

is

"affecting

and romantic."

daughter of
polito

at

the funeral of Infelice,

Duke Gasparo, Count Hip-

refused to be restrained

In the meantime,
was revealed that

at the ducal palace,

Infelice's death was

only a trick produced by a sleeping-potion administered at her father's command. Duke Gasparo admitted that Hi>
oolito

was

a noble youth

have welcomed as

by

his

friend Matheo, Frantic with grief over

the death of his beloved, he accused her
father of having killed her, After a violent altercation between the two noble-

whom

he wou.d

son-in-law had

it

not

been for a feud between the two families;

he had, however, devised the stratagem
of her supposed death to break up the
love affair between her and the young
count. When Infelice awoke, her father
told her that Hippolito was dead. He
then ordered her to go

Story:

In Milan,

In Milan,

Candido, a linen-draper, and unhappy because her husband was such a

model of patience and good temper. In
order to make Candido angry, Viola proposed to Fustigo whom Candido had
never seen that he pretend to be her
lover, and this plan was agreed upon.

ing often in collaboration with other playwrights.

off.

brother, Fustigo, had returned from sea, to find his sister marViola's

also,

to

Bergamo

in

order that she might recover from her

had gone, the duke's
grief. After she
and
physician offered to poison Hippolito
thus relieve the duke's mind forever of

the fear of a reunion of the lovers.

To

plan the cold-blooded duke assented.

Meanwhile a merry group of Milanese

this

gallants,

planning a trick to try the

of Candido, went to

mous patience

1600

fa-

his

examined his wares, particularly

shop and
a bolt of lawn at eighteen shillings the
When asked the length desired,

yard.

one of them ordered only a pennyworth

and insisted that it be cut from the mid-

dle of the piece, thereby ruining the entire bolt. To this fantastic order Candido

acceded, to the fury of his wife. But the

unruffled Candido served the gallants

with wine and even remained calm

one of them walked off with a

He

when

silver-gilt

quietly sent for the constable,

got his goblet returned, and then invited
the gentlemen to dinner.

beaker.

After the dinner the gentlemen went

to the house of a harlot named Bella-

where they were joined by Hipand Matheo. Count Hippolito had

never visited the house before and, still
in a melancholy mood, he left after a few
moments. When he returned to fetch
Matheo, he found all the gentlemen O
gone
and Bellafront alone. She immediately
fell in love with him, but all she
got in
return was a long diatribe on the evils
front,

polito

of prostitution.
Repulsed,
stab herself but was
polito, whose love
anv cost.

she

tried

to

prevented by Hip-

vowed

she

to

win

at

tt

The

attempts to break the patience of

Candido continued,

as
Fustigo put into
execution the plan of
pretending to be
Viola's lover. But the trick miscarried:
Candido refused to be offended by his

wife's

not

behavior.

His loyal apprentices,

knowing the true

situation, gave
Fustigo a thorough drubbing. Next, the
baffled Viola locked
up his formal gown,

so

when he was summoned

that,

to

meeting of the city Senate, he lacked

the proper clothes to wear. But the imperturbable Candido
out of a tablecloth.

fashioned a

Wearing

gown

this

and

with a nightcap on his head, he went

to the meeting.
o
Meanwhile Bellafront, chastened by
her love for
Hippolito, had resolved to
give

Her

to

Bellafront gained
entrance to his house in the
disguise of a
page. There she found the count gazing
at a
dead Inpicture of the

supposedly

When

felice.

identity,

Bellafront

her

revealed

he rudely repulsed her

again,

and she resolved

to leave Milan. As she

the house,
Hippolito received a note
from the duke's physician
asking for an

left

interview.

During these events, the drubbed Fushad hired two bullies to take

tigo

revenge

upon Candido's
ordered one

apprentices. Viola
apprentice to dress in

had
his

master's clothes, but

again Candido, who
returned still wearing the tablecloth, refused to take offense and
changed
his

own

merely

clothes for those of an

appren-

Just as his wife was declaring him

insane, the two bullies entered;
seeing
Candido in the distinctive garb of an
aptice.

prentice, they started to beat the poor

old man. Again the faithful
apprentices
came to the rescue, but Candido would

not

let

them hurt

his

assailants.

How-

ever, Viola entered with

two officers and,

under the pretext that Candido was mad,
had him bound and carried off to Bethlem Monastery that is, to the London insane asvlum. He meekly submitted.
In the meantime the physician

in-

formed Duke Gasparo that he had poisoned Hippolito, but he also warned his
master that, having done this deed for
gold, he might well be hired to poison
the duke.

ished

Duke Gasparo

him with the

rulers often hate the

plots are carried out.

instantly bancurt statement that

man by whom
As soon

as

their

he was

alone the doctor revealed the true situation: he had not

poisoned Count Hippolito.

He

also

informed the count of In-

feigned death and promised to

bring the lovers together in the chapel of
Bethlem Monastery, where they could
felice's

be married.

Viola, beginning to feel that she had

gone too far in her efforts to vex her
Husband, had repaired to Duke Gas-

an honest whore

paro's palace to seek a warrant releasing

life,

and

so

had

all

first

determined

Still

love,

the gallants out of her house.

seducer had been Matheo, who

up her shameless

turned

an impossibility.

is

win Hippolito's

ironically told her that

1601

Candido from the madhouse. Unfortunately, just as the duke was about to sign

They were

the order for the linen-draper's release, a

courier brought the news that
Hippolito

situation

was not dead and that he and Infelice

were to meet at the monastery that afternoon for their marriage. Matheo had

carelessly revealed the secret. In a desperate attempt to foil the lovers, Duke

Gasparo and
guise

to

his

courtiers

rode in

dis-

the monastery, leaving Viola's

warrant unsigned.
Hippolito and

Infelice had
already
arrived at the monastery and were planto be married that evening.
ning
CJ
O
Matheo arrived with the news that the

When

duke had learned of their intention and

was on his way to prevent the wedding,
the friar who was to
marry them promised
to
perform the ceremony and to get them
out of the building disguised as monks.

the duke

hurried out of
sight

and his followers

became one of

Bellatront

entered, having come to the

in the
under

The

also carne into the

room

as

The

great confusion

monastery earlier
text of madness.
was,

just as

arrived

did

day

pre-

disguised lovers
where the duke

Viola, her servant,

the various

and

Candido. When
disguises had
been thrown off, the duke
suddenly relented,

forgave Infelice and Hippolito,

permitted their marriage, and gave
justice to Bellafront
by marrying her to
Matheo, the man who had first

seduced
knelt to ask Candido's
foroiveness for the vexations that she
had
her.

Even Viola

subjected him to. Patient to the end, he

fo-gave her and then delivered to 'the
assembly a long harangue on patience as
the greatest of all virtues.

THE HONEST WHORE, PART TWO

Type

Drama
Thomas Dskker

of ^vork:

Author:

(c.

1572-1632?)

Type of 'plot: Tragi comedy

Time of plot: Sixteenth century
Locale: Milan, Italy
Pirst presented: c,

1605

Principal characters:

GASPARO TREBAZZI, Duke of Milan

INFELICE, his daughter
COUNT HIPPOLTTO, a nobleman, Infelice's husband
BELLAFRONT, a former harlot

ORLANDO FRISCOBALDO, Bellafront's

MATHEO, Bellafront's husband

father

CANDIDO, a linen-draper
CANDIDO'S BRIDE
Critique:

Part

One

of

The Honest Whore must

have been successful on the stage, for

Dekker very quickly followed it with a

written entirely by himself. He

sequel,
was obviously endeavoring to capitalize
on features of the first play, since in the
second part he used all the principal
characters save one and continued the
subplot of the patient Candido. He
ended with a scene in Bridewell, a London prison of his time, to balance the
Bethlem Scene in Part One. He also
continued the high moral tone of the
earlier play, this time, however, making
as well as prostitution the ob-

gambling

ject of his strictures.

of Friscobaldo,

inwardly
agantly

The new

character

the outwardly stern yet

forgiving father, was extravadmired by Hazlitt, and both

he and Ernest Rhys considered Part Two

superior to Part One. The modern reader
will perhaps find that some of the freshness of Part One has worn off and feel
that Dekker tried to carry a good thing a
bit too far.

The Story:
One day Bellafront, a former prostitute now married to Matheo, the former
friend of

Count Hippolito,

arrived at that

nobleman's house with a petition. Her

husband had killed a man, but it was in
fair

fight

and the man a notorious

villain.

Still,

Matheo has been condemned

to

death. Hippolito, who was about to ride

out with his wife Infelice, stayed behind
to hear the
petition. He took the opportunity to remind Bellafront of their old
relationship and promised to help Matheo
to a
pardon and, if possible, to reconcile

her with her unforgiving father. But it

was significant that Count Hippolito

showed much more

interest in Bellafront

than she in him.

Meanwhile,

at

the

palace

of

Duke

Gasparo, father of Infelice, the courtiers

were talking of the marriage of Candido,
an old linen-draper still fa-nous in Milan
for his patience. Viola had died, and, to
the mystification of the gallants, Candido
was
a young girl. Just as they

marrying

had decided

to attend the

Hippolito entered,

Orlando

wedding

feast,

followed shortly by

Friscobaldo,

Bellafront's

es-

tranged father. Their meeting gave Hip

to ask the old man
polito an opportunity
Friscobaldo declared
about his daughter.
o
that he had not seen her for seventeen
her disgrace had been so great
years, that
that he no longer considered her his child.

But when Hippolito had left, with the

Bellafront was in
parting remark that
dire poverty, the father relented and re-

solved to rescue his daughter. To this

end, he put on the livery of a servant
and, thus disguised, went to find his

1603

from

offspring.

went

At the same time, the wedding of the

widowed Candido was taking place, attended by some of the gallants of the
who wished to see what sort of bride
city
the old man had chosen. The first imwhen the bride
pression was unfavorable:
was handed the wedding goblet, she
broke the glass and refused to drink.
Candido was as -patient as ever, but he
did consent to al.ow a nobleman to disguise himself
the disguised

an

as

to Infelice her husband's

infidelity, surrendering to her the gifts sent to Bellafront.

having committed adultery with a

The enraged husband delivered
on unfaithful wives, thus
giving

apprentice so that
to cure the
try

man might

his

wife to reunconvincingly, promised his

form and give up gambling. When Friscobaldo arrived, disguised as a servant,
he pretended to be an old family retainer

to

be his

His

safe-keeping,
life's

was

offer

nothing, he pawned his wife's clothes

and hinted strongly that he would be
pleased

what he claimed

twenty pounds.
accepted
took the opportunity to

The

she would return

money and

enthusiastically

abuse his father-in-law.

if

to

her former

as to gain a few ducats. He

profession so
was, however, temporarily rescued by a
friend, who promised to give him both

savings:

by Matheo, who

passion.

to

He

discharged by Bellafront's
asked Matheo for a place in his household and insisted on turning over to the
latter, for

illicit

In the household of Matheo, affairs

were going from bad to worse. That unlucky gamester had lost everything at
dice, including the money entrusted to
him by his feigned servant; so reduced

Matheo had been

and had, somewhat

father.

Infelice

proaches succeeded only in makino her

husband the more determined to pursue

Hippolito,

released from prison

servant.
a tirade

the opportunity to turn his own words

against him as she displayed the gifts he
had sent Bellafront. But her just re-

another shrew.
to

When

Hippolito returned, Infelice

able to play a neat trick
upon him.
Kneeling, she made a mock confession of

was

bride of her peevishness. The courtiers

did not wish to see Candido saddled with

Thanks

Hippolito's advances, Friscobaldo

the count's house and revealed

to

clothes

fashionable

gentleman.

Can dido's

outburst was

troubles,

Two

also,

for

were

con-

interrupted by the arrival of Hippolito,

corne ostensibly to congratulate Matheo
to pursue his wooing of
but in

disreputable characters,
Mrs. Horseleech, a bawd, and Botts, a
pander, had designs upon his new wife

already sent her gifts;

her a purse. To the delight
of her disguised father who was to con-

customers; but the plot broke against her

honesty. While these events were taking

reality

Bellafront.

he now

He had

left

vey the purse

she rejected

all

and resolved to remain honest.

Meanwhile, a rather labored
being played at

Can dido's

the gifts
trick

shop.

was

The

noblernan, disguised as an apprentice, arrived as if looking for work. The bride

refused to prepare a room for him, whereupon Candido took the unusual step of

tame her. He picked up a

vowing
yardstick; she armed herself with the
longer ell-wand; but before they could
to

come

the bride asked forgiveness and delivered a speech on the proper

to blows,

obedience of wives.
In the interest of saving his daughter

tinuing.

and

tried to

place,
clothes
to his

seduce her for one of their

received his new

and was happily showing them

Matheo had

wife. In the midst of Matheo's

dis-

play old Friscobaldo appeared, this time

in his own person, to be recognized by

Bellafront, who asked his forgiveness.

The father startled Matheo by his knowl-

and
edge of the latter's shady dealings
then left in pretended anger, vowing that
he would let the couple starve. While
Bellafront

and Matheo were

quarreling,

the father returned in his servant's

guise to hear

Matheo's very garbled

dis-

ac-

count of what had just happened and

his proposal that they rob Friscobaldo' s

1604

house.

The

disguised old

the plan.

had

After they

left

man

agreed to

the house, Bella-

with Hippolito, who was

A long debate
still intent on his wooing.
ensued between them, Hippolito urging
his suit and Bellafront describing the
front

appeared

When

miseries of a harlot's life.

she

re-

advances, he swore to continue

pulsed
until he had succeeded. In the meantime,
his

Friscobaldo

had been revealing to Duke

of Matheo. The

Gasparo the villainy

duke agreed to aid the plot of catching
Matheo in the robbery and also resolved

cure Hippolito by purging Milan of

harlots
imposing such strict laws that
to

by

Hippolito
prostitute,

would be afraid to approach a

no matter how fair she might

The young Milanese

gallants,

tired

of trying to vex the patient

dido,

met

at

other trick.

Matheo's house

Can-

plan an-

to

Matheo suggested

never

that,

as a

Candido
some lawn, thus accomplishing two purat once, for he had stolen the lawn
poses

bait,

from

he should

two

offer

supposed

to

sell

peddlers

actually

by Friscobaldo. Candido arrived and was persuaded to drink a glass

of wine. At that moment the constable

men

hired

Matheo for theft and

Candido for receiving stolen goods. Both
we^e taken to Bridewell prison,
along

entered to arrest

Horseleech and Botts, who

had been present during the episode.
Duke Gasparo, attended by his court,

with Mrs.

arrived at the prison to administer jus-

Hippolito came also, having heard

had been arrested in the
wholesale sweep of the harlots of Milan.
tice.

that Bellafront

At the

trial

Matheo's

real

baseness was

revealed; he boldly admitted the robbery

but claimed that his wife had inspired it;

when this charge was disproved bv the

disguised Friscobaldo, he accused Bellafront of being a whore and swore that
he had found her

To

in

bed with Hiprolito.

this accusation, Infelice, in order to

prolong the stratagem, added that Bellafront had accepted presents from Hippolito. In the midst of these charges and
countercharges Friscobaldo at last threw

and proclaimed his daughinnocence and Matheo's villainy. All

off his disguise

ter's

ended happily when, at Bellafront's petition, her unworthy husband was pardoned, Hippolito and his wife were reconciled, and Candido was shown to have
been the victim of a cruel joke.

HONEY
Type of work: Novel
Author: H. L. Davis (1896-

IN THE

HORN

Type of 'plot: Regional romance

Time of plot: 1906-1908
Locale:

Oregon

ul) Us hed:

First

1935
Principal characters:

CLAY CALVERT,

a migrant worker
SHIVELEY, Iiis stepfather
UNCLE PRESS SHIVELEY, Wade's father
LUCE, Gay's woman

WADE

THE HORSE TRADER,

Luce's father

Critique:

The

story

told in

this

novel

is

On

less

important than the character studies of

some people who settled Oregon in the
early part of this century. In his introduction the author states that he is

homes

who were

always seeking

in better lands.

The

new

Clay suspected that

be telling the truth.

story itself

Story:

Wade

Shiveley

had

killed

his

own

squaw and had

murdered and robbed old man Howell.
Now he had been captured. The officers
wanted Uncle Press Shiveley, Wade's
father, to try to get Wade to say where
he had hidden the money. But Uncle
Press had threatened to shoot Wade if
he ever laid eyes on him again, and so
in his place he sent
Clay Calvert, the
son of one of Wade's wives. Clay did
not want to go because he also hated
Wade, Uncle Press gave Clay a gun

brother in a fight over a

to

Wade

in the jail.
Having
gun with blank cartridges,
he hoped Wade would use the worthless
gun to attempt an escape and thus be
to

slip

loadec

shot

the

down by the
IN THE HORN

HONEY

right, 193 S,

officers.

by H. L. Davis. By permission

07 Harper & Brothers.

jail,

Clay met a

this time

he might

Clay left town to hide in Wade's

abandoned shack until after Wade had
been killed and buried. Later Uncle
Press sent a half-breed Indian to tell him
that Wade had escaped and that the
sheriff was now looking for Clay as an

excellent,

The

to the

Howell, that Howell was killed

by a bullet that split when it was fired
and that such a bullet did not fit his own
gun. Wade had always been a liar, but

however fast-moving and

There have been
interestingly told.
many novels of pioneers and early settlers
during the last two decades, but few
surpass Honey in the Horn.

is

way

killed

neither criticizing any social group nor

suggesting reforms; rather, he attempts
to
give an accurate picture of the

migrants

the

horse trader and his wife and

daughter.
When Clay slipped the gun to Wade
in the jail, Wade said that he had not

accomplice. Clay left the shack with

the Indian, taking with him Wade's
rifle

he had found

there,

and

after travel-

ing awhile they met the horse trader and

his women again. Clay learned that the

was called Luce and that she traveled

around with her father and stepmother,
trading horses, racing them, anc picking
hops in season. Since he wanted to get
out of the immediate territory and because he was strongly attracted to Luce,
Clay decided to travel with the horse
trader's family. The Indian stole Wade's
rifle from
Clay and ran away.

girl

Clay and the horse trader's family

worked for a time in the hop fields. The
trader was a weak man who lost all he
and his family earned by gambling, and
Luce took the responsibility for the

of the author.

1606

Published by Harper & Brother. Copy-

her shoulders,
family on
liked

Clay and Luce

each other very much, "but they

and one day Clay

quarreled frequently,
moved away from the wagon. When the
sheriff appeared at the field one day,
and left hurriedClay became frightened
toward the coast,
traveling
ly,
Luce and her folks found him after
awhile, and Luce and Clay decided to
There was no place for
stay together.
them to get married. They spent the
winter in a little settlement on the coast,
in a cabin apart from the horse trader's.
Luce rescued some bags of flour which
had floated to shore from a wrecked
and with money earned by selling
ship,
the flour to the Indians she and Clay
were able to buy a wagon and
their own.
Clay and Luce

left for eastern

start

on

Oregon,

but Clay refused to let her father and

stepmother go with them, for he could

not stand the sight of the weak horse
trader.

traveled

They

and

mountains

into

across

Looking

the

Glass

Valley, where they joined another group

of settlers led by Clark Burdon. Burdon

who was
and Clay knew the
man was Wade. Clay liked Burdon and
told him the story of Wade and his
Burdon promised
killings and escape.
to help him
get rid of Wade. That night
Clay shot a man he thought was Wade,

described to Clay a stranger

looking

for

him,

but the dead prowler turned out to be

the son of one of the settlers. When

Burdon and Clay declared that Wade

had shot the boy, the men formed a
posse and captured Wade. After Wade
tried to kill

the outlaw
testifying

Clay, the

was trying
against

men
to

him;

believed that

keep Clay from

and.

the

posse

vowed to hang Wade. Clay felt guilty,

for he doubted that Wade had killed
Howell and he knew that he himself
had shot the prowler. But it was his
life or Wade's, and so he
kept silent.
He felt dirty and sick when he saw

Wade

The

hanged.
settlers

traveled eastward, Clay

Luce with them. Luce had a misShe would not let

Clay go for
a doctor, for she was terrified that he
would leave her and never come back.
The rest of the caravan had gone on
and they were alone. Clay
finally left
and?

carriage.

Luce, promising
soon as possible.

to

return with help as

carne back with an

He

Indian midwife, to find that Luce had

gone away in the wagon. There were
two sets of wagon wheels, and Clay
knew instinctively that her father had
come by and that Luce had left with
him. Angry and hurt by her desertion,
Clay decided to go on alone.

He

rode his horse into the threshing

and worked with a mowing

There he met the half-breed from
the Shiveley ranch and told the Indian
to be on the lookout for Luce and her
father. The Indian did meet the horse
trader and made a large wager on a
country

crew.

him. The horse trader lost

the race and the Indian collected the
money. Next day the Indian was found.
race with

with a bullet in the back of his head

and no money in his clothing, and the

horse trader and Luce had disappeared.

Clay helped bury the Indian, but before
the burial he shot Wade's rifle, which

the Indian had stolen. The bullet did

not split. Clay knew then that Wade
had been telling the truth about not
He suspected that Luce's
killing Howell.
father had killed and robbed both Howell
and the Indian.
Clay joined a party moving on .to a
railroad

construction

camp.

On

their

there was an accident, and one of

the horses had to be killed. When Clay

way

saw the horse, he recognized it as one

belonging to Luce's father, and he knew
that she was in the group. He volunteered to shoot the horse, but first he
found Luce and asked for her rifle. With
it he killed the animal and later, ex-

he saw that it was

he told her that the trader
had murdered Howell and the Indian,
she claimed she had done the killings.
amining the
split.

1607

When

bullet,

She

said that her father,

who was now

dead, had lost a lot of money to

and that her stepmother and

Howell
Howell

had fought. Luce had shot the old man

during the fight and had taken the
money her father had lost to him. Later
she killed the Indian because he had

won
race.

her father's

money

in

the

horse

Clay suspected that Luce was

her dead father.

to protect
still

wanted

her.

He

trying
Besides, he

climbed

wagon and they joined

settlers

who were

still

the

into' her

long line

scekinga

where they could make real

Whatever
their
past,
they
always go on together.

of

place

homes.

would

THE HOOSIER SCHOOLMASTER

Novel
Edward Eggleston (1837-1902)

of work:

Type

Author:

Type
Time

Regional romance
1850

of plot:

of plot: About
Locale: Indiana
First

published:

1871
Principal characters:

RALPH HARTSOOK, a young schoolmaster

BUD MEANS, Ralph's pupil and friend

HANNAH THOMSON,

the Means' bound-girl

DR. SMALL, Ralph's enemy

PETE JONES, Dr.

Small's partner in crime

WALTER JOHNSON, Ralph's cousin, one of the

MARTHA HAWKINS, Bud Means' sweetheart

robbers

SHOCKY, Hannah's brother

Critique:

wrote The Hoosier SchoolEsgleston

OO
master as a regional study. In it he caught
the Hoosiers of his day, with their sin-

gular

twists

of

frontier conduct.

their

phrasing,

His simple

rough

plots, stock

and thinly-disguised morality

subordinate to his main purpose.

characters

were

all

The Hoosier Schoolmaster

is not a
not to be overcertainly
great book,
looked, for its author faithfully recorded

If

is

it

the place

The

and time he wished

to describe.

Story:

Hartsook had not thought

schoolteachers were judged by their mus-

Ralph

cular

ability

when he

applied for the

job as schoolmaster of Flat Creek, Indiana. Before long, however, he learned

competence would be judged by his

power to keep his pupils from driving
him out of the schoolhouse. His first step
was to make friends with Bud and Bill
his

Means, sons of the school trustee, in

whose house he was to board for a time.
He was tired from the ten miles he had
trudged to apply for his job, but he
walked almost the same distance that
evening when he went coon hunting
with the boys,
Ralph Hartsook held his

Finding himself strongly attracted to

the girl, he escorted her home after the
spelling-bee.

Kept awake by

against
the pranks and challenges of his pupils
until the night of the big spelling-bee.
Then before most of the people in Flat

Creek he was defeated by the Means'

curiosity about

Han-

nah's past, Ralph had trouble sleeping

that night. At two in the morning he

got up, restless, and strolled down the

Three
road toward the schoolhouse.

horsemen passed him

in the darkness, one

white
markings.
a
with
horse
riding
O
O
few minutes later Dr. Small rode by,

returning, Ralph supposed, from a night

call. He went back to Pete Jones' house,
where he was staying at the time. The

next morning he discovered that the

horse with the white markings stood in
Pete's stable, and he learned from Shocky

Thomson, Hannah's young brother, that

there had been a robbery the night before.

He decided not to tell what he knew.

He had no proof that Pete Jones was

connected with the housebreaking and

would have been awkward to explain
his own ramblings at an early hour. To
it

add to his misery that day, Mirandy

Means, who had been casting sheep's eyes
at

own

Hannah Thomson.

bound-girl,

him, informed him that her brother

of Hannah.
Hawkins invited Ralph to
weekend with him. Walking

Bud was fond

Squire

spend the
toward the

who

1609

squire's

house with Shocky,

home from

took the same direction

he learned from the boy that his

was dead and his blind mother
in the poorhouse. When Hannah went
to live with the Means, he himself had
been taken in by Mr. Pearson, a basketschool,

benefactor.

father

Hoping to protect
Means started toward

maker.

That evening Ralph was surprised

to

Dr. Small's horse tied in front of

see

Granny Sander's

cabin.

tation as a witch

Flat

Creek,

gossip.

She had

among

a repu-

the people of

and she was a ma]icious

Ralph did not know that the

doctor was busy planting the seeds of

rumors in Granny Sander's mind, rumors
that Ralph had been a philanderer at
home, and that he was somehow implicated in the robbery.
Small disliked
Ralph, though Ralph had never been
able to find any reason for it. Rumor had
done its ugly work by Sunday morning.
At church Ralph's neighbors had little
to

say to him.

On the way he met Jones to whom he

gave a sound drubbing.
That night Bud helped Pearson to
escape

Christmas Day, which carne the

following week, the boys did not follow
the custom of asking the teacher for a

holiday. Instead Bud and others of the

older pupils barricaded themselves in the

schoolhouse to keep Ralph from

entering
and had to be forced out by sulphur
thrown down the chimney. Later Bud
threatened to thrash Ralph because the
schoolmaster had taken the squire's niece,

Martha, to church the Sunday before.

Bud was jealous. Ralph immediately declared he was
really inclined toward Hannah, but had avoided seeing her because
of Mirandy's statement,

He

and Ralph

quickly became fast friends. Now, the

schoolmaster felt, he had a clear field for
courting.

Bud and Ralph finished their

Shocky burst into the schoolhouse
with the news that Mr. Pearson was
about to be tarred and feathered
by the
Before

had seen three men

riding by on the
night of the robbery, and Jones had decided the best

way

to divert
suspicion

from himself would be to accuse

Shocky 's

To

in the next

thwart Pete Jones'

efforts

have Shocky Thomson bound out

by

to

declaring the Pearsons paupers, Ralph

took the boy to stay with his
friend,

Miss Nancy Sawyer, in his home town

of Lewisburg. His aunt, Mrs. Matilda
White, refused to have Shocky 's mother
in her house because she was a
pauper,
and so, at Miss Sawyer's own
suggestion,
Mrs. Thomson was brought to the Sawyer home to spend the weekend with
her son. Through Miss
Sawyer's efforts,
a collection was taken
up at church that
Sunday afternoon, and with that dona-

and the money she earned

Mrs. Thompson was able

socks,

home

own

of her

for

knitting
to

make

Shocky.

That same Sunday Bud, intending to

Martha to marry him, visited Squire

ask

Hawkins' house.

Suddenly bashful, he
only of the spelling-bee to take
place at the schoolhouse on Tuesday
night. Shortly afterward the squire retold her

ceived an

Kim with

anonymous

letter,

threatening

burning of his barn if

Martha associated with Bud, the implication being that Bud was incriminated in
the robbery. The squire persuaded Martha to ignore Bud.
Chagrined by her rethe

fusal to let him escort her home from

the spelling-bee, Bud began to cultivate
Pete Jones and his friends, among them
Dr. Small and Walter Johnson, Ralph's

cousin.

talk,

people of Flat Creek, who had been led

by Pete Jones to believe the basket-maker
was guilty of the robbery. Pearson, too,

home

to his brother's

county.

tion

On

the old man, Bud

the Pearson home.

Bud soon proved he was still Ralph's

One day Hannah brought Ralph
letter Bud had sent warning him that

friend.

he was suspected of the robbery and

that there was a
plan afoot to tar and
feather

him

that

himself from the

night.

mob by

Ralph saved
going to a

nearby town and giving himself up to

the authorities there. His trial was held
the next day.

1610

All of Flat

Creek was present

the schoolmaster convicted.

to see

eternal

Mrs. Means

moned

and Pete Jones, particularly, were willing

testimony, the former
to offer

damaging
because Ralph had spurned Mirandy's
attentions. It was Dr. Small who vindicated Ralph, however, by overshooting
the mark in his anxiety to clear himself
of

that the doctor

Ralph's testimony

had

been out on the night of the robbery.

Small had Walter Johnson called to
the stand to testify they had spent the
office.
together in the physician's

evening
But Johnson, at a prayer meeting he had
attended with Bucl, had been deeply impressed

by

the

minister's

warning of

damnation

for

sinners.

Sum-

before the court, he gave way to

his guilty conscience and declared that

and Pete's brother

had committed the robbery, and that
Ralph and Mr. Pearson were innocent.
Walter Johnson went free because of
his testimony, but Dr. Small, who had
been the ringleader of the band, was
hanged. Jones and his brother were given
he, Small, Pete Jones,

prison sentences.

Ralph Hartsook returned to Lewisburg

new academy there. Shortly
afterward he married Hannah. At Ralph's
wedding Bud found his courage at last
and proposed to Maitha.
to teach in a

HORACE
of ivork;

Type

Drama

Author: Pierre Corncille (1 606- 1 684)

of plot; Neo-classical tragedy
of plot: Remote antiquity
Locale: Rome

Type
Time

First presented:

1640
Principal characters:
HORACE, the most courageous of the

Roman soldiers

SABINE, his Alban wife

OLD HORACE,

his father, formerly a soldier

CAMILLE, Horace's sister

CURTACE, Sabine's brother, in love with Carnille
VALERE, a Roman soldier in love with Camille
JULIE, confidante of both Sabine and Camille
TOLLE, the ruler of Rome
Critique:

minent horror.

After the controversy which raged over

Tine Cid (1636), an extravagant heroic
drama, Corneille turned to Livy for his
inspiration.

In

Horace,

tightly

The battle postponed, Curiace visited

Camille at the home of Old Horace, her

con-

father.

which rigorously followed

dramatic precepts, he succeeded in producing a patriotic drama both popular
with the audience and acceptable to the

structed play

critics.

come

The

ties

of

patriotism and blood, for Alba was the

birthplace of the founders of Rome, Rom-

still lived, and the

city of her
famous warrior-husband. The battle was
to be decided by armed combat between
three heroes from each s de. Sabine drew
little comfort from the resolution, which
meant the defeat either of her kinsman
or of her husband. Cam'lle, the betrothed of Curiace, the Alban warrior-

brothers

brother of Sabine, felt her loyalties divided between her loved one and her
oracles

had been favorable toward her coming

marriage, her dreams envisioned the im-

the

stressed

and

his two
Romans.

trial

by combat.

Curiace,

brothers,

were

He was

to represent

Horace wanted no sympathy from Cuthough he bore him no ill will.

Curiace saw love of wife and family as
paramount over Horace's kind of patriot-

riace,

sm.

Horace then gave the

lovers a

moment

honor was to
together before the debt of
be paid. Camille, mindful of the fact that
she was the daughter and the sister of

famous warriors, denounced the patriotism that could make her choose between
love of family and of her future husband.
She begged Curiace to avoid a battle

HORACE
By

for

even more oppressed

in spirit when a messenger announced
that he and his two brothers were to defend the honor of Alba.

Horace, was divided in her loyalties between the city of her birth, where her

Even though the

of

who

the

ulus and Remus, the cities of Rome and

Alba were at war. Sabine, the wife of

brother Horace.

declared his abiding love

the need for peaceful understanding, was dismayed to hear that

his prospective brothers-in-law, Horace

Story:

Although formerlv united by

He

though he remained an Alban patriot, loyal to his city. They commented

on the oracles and wished for a lasting
peace. When the two warriors met, however, Horace was insistent on the out-

her,

by Pierre Coraeille, from CHIEF PLAYS OF CORNEILLE. Translated by Lacy Lockert.

permission of the publishers, Princeton University Press. Copyright, 1952, 1957, by Princeton Uni-

versity Press,

1612

which could only end in tragedy, no matHis first duty,

ter what the outcome.
however, was to his country, and he
and Cabrutally asserted this fact. Sabine

was content that her husband

Old Horace could share none
of thess sentiments; his
loyalties were
Sabine

ivas alive.

for honor, country, manliness.

of
begged the cause of love
and
Horace
while
and
home
family,
Curiace defended honor and patriotism.
The women were unsuccessful In their
comforted them as
suit, and Old Horace

mille then

the

young

men went

the combat.
:

s ster

and

off to prepare for

Horace,
loving to his
Young
kind to his ased parent,

sought glory in battle; Curiace, no

patriotic,
ers,

felt that

he had

less

lost wife, broth-

and brothers-in-law by a grim turn of

fate.

Sabine, given at

confusion and

first to

lamented her sad

Valere, dispatched by Tulle to bring

O
^
to Old Horace, told of the outcome of the battle. He said that Horace
*

comfort

had

retreated as a ruse in order to attack

the Albans at a d'sadvantage and that he
O
had killed all three. The old man, his

family honor vindicated, rejoiced in the

face of Camille's great sorrow. Left alone,
she lamented the death of her two brothers

and her lover and

reviled

Rome

as

the symbol of patriotic infamy.

Into this scene of unrestrained grief
came the victorious warrior accompanied
Iby his faithful soldier-in-arms

could find solace for

bearing the
swords of the vanquished brothers. Displaying the arms, now the spoils of war,
which had killed their brothers, he
taunted Camille with the glory of Rome
while she declared his deed murder,
When he accused her of d'sloyaltv, her
to murder, and with
replies inflamed him
the sword of Curiace he killed his sister,
a deed which he defended as an act of
justice. Sabine, shocked by her husband's
bloody deed, was comforted crudely by
her husband, who felt that he had performed an act of patriotism justified by
the insult to his country. The deeds of

their anxiety and grief. Sabine declared

that a wife was the most bereaved, to

heroism he recounted only heightened

the despair of his wife, who declared her

which Camille replied that her s ster-inlaw had never been in love. For the moment the controversy was resolved by Old

onlv w'sh was

later to bitterness,

tion as the sister of the

posi-

Alban warriors

and the wife of their adversary. When

she inquired of her friend Julie whether
her husband or her brothers had been
vanquished, she was told that no resolution had been reached; the king had
the combatants and
just then arranged

charged them to fight to the death, that

the fate of the two principalities miqht
be determined. Camille, wearied by her
solitary

wonderings and fears, joined the

She renounced the deceptive
and neither the wife nor the

discussion.
oracle,

prospective bride

Horace,
most;

who

all

declared that

else

was

Rome

in the

suffered

hands of the

gods.
Julie then brought word that the Alban brothers had been victorious, that
two of Old Horace's sons were dead, and
that Horace had fled the battlefield. The
old man was appalled that his son could

see his brothers die without

drawing new

courage from such defeat and either go

down to death or glory. Camille felt
some relief that both her lover and
brother were for the moment spared, and

to die.

Old Horace, proud

of his son's achieve-

ments but saddened by his vindictiveness,

was distressed over the sudden turn of
events which might now deprive him of
his last offspring. The fate of his son he

must now leave

to his king. Tulle, in realthe

eloquent plea by Valere,
sponse
lowed Horace to speak for himself. The
hero and murderer wanted most to die,
to

knowing that his past glory had "been

dimmed by the murder of his own sister.
Sabine begged the king to kill her that
her husband might live; Old Horace
wished the king
sons. Tulle, after

1613

to save

the last of his

all the

he had heard

fate rested with

pleas, felt that Horace's
the gods, that a king could only pardon

that

which he could not condone

THE HORSE'S MOUTH

of work:

Type

Novel

)
Author: Joyce Gary (1888Type of plot: Picaresque romance
The 1930's
Time
plot:
of
Locale: London
First

published:

1944
Principal characters:

GULLEY JIMSON, an unconventional

SARA MONDAY, his one-time model

artist

COKER, a barmaid
NOSY, an aspiring artist
MR. HICKSON, an art collector
PROFESSOR ALABASTER, a critic
SIR

WILLIAM BEEDER,

Jimson's benefactor

Critique:

The Horses Mouth

artist

Gulley Jimson,

Told
is

in the first

is

the life

novels depicting

one of several
and times of

and

rebel.

social

person singular, the story

combination of humor,

delightful
and clown-to-earth

philosophy.

pathos,

Whether Gulley was a genius or the

in modern art circles is a
greatest rogue
the writer makes no atwhich
question
tempt to settle, but there is no doubt that
Gulley
ures in

is

one of the most fascinating

modern

literature.

miliar picaresque

Here

is

fig-

the fa-

romance brought up

to

date and enlivened by the supple, witty

of Mr. Gary's style.
qualities

The
up

at the
Eagle,

Coker wanted him

to

press a lawsuit over some of his paintings, for if Gulley collected Coker would
collect

from him. At

last

Gulley man-

get away from her and return to

his studio in an old boat shed.

aged

to

The

shack roof leaked and the walls

sagged. His paints and brushes had either

been stolen or ruined bv rain and rats,

but the Fall was there.

ing

Adam and Eve

THE HORSED MOUTH

in

The

Fall, depict-

their

fall

from

his masterpiece.

Gulley had a questionable reputation

as an artist. Several years back be bad
painted some nudes of Sara Monday,
startling portraits of a lovely girl in her
bath. Sara had lived with Gulley as his

When

wife.

the breakup

came she had

stolen the pictures and sold most of them

to a collector named Hickson. One or two

she kept for herself. Gulley, past sixty

now, had done nothing since the Sara

nudes to add to his reputation, but he

still had faithful followers of tramps, begto
gars, and young Nosy. Nosy, wanting
be an artist, worshiped art and Gulley
Jimson.

To

Story:

Just out of prison, Gulley Jimson looked

his old friend Coker, the ugly bar-

maid

would be

grace,

Fall, Gulley needed

and
brushes.
In
older to get Gulpaints
and secure evi"ey to see Sara Monday
dence for a lawsuit to compel Hickson
to return the Sara nudes, Coker bought
him some paints and brushes. Off and on
he worked on the Fall, driven sometimes

complete the

by compulsion
sire for a

to paint,

sometimes by de-

beer or two.

When

Coker pinned him down and

Gulley was stunned
to find her an old hag to whom he felt
drawn even while he pitied and despised
took

her.

him

to see Sara,

Sara willingly signed a statement

had given the stolen pictures to

that she

by Joyce Gary. By permission of the publishers, Harper

1944, by Joyce Gary.

1615

&

Brothers. Copyright,

Hickson; then she tried to renew her afwith Gullcy. Sara had been badly

decided there was no use in

gettino n i s
temper up and doing something foolish;
then he would land back in
jail before he
could do another
masterpiece or make

fair

treated

a succession of

by

Gulley,

men, but, like

few complaints. Both

she had

and

that the

now

a sale to Sir William, Besides, he

suddenly realized that he was tired of the Fall.

Gulley, working intermittently on the

Fall, frequently had to trick Coker into

In the meantime, if Sir William wanted a Sara nude, perhaps

Gulley could persuade old Sara to give him one of the

short-lived prosperity
times
they had enjoyed were
good

felt

'

for.

being paid

buying him paints. Once she forced him

to
go with her to Hickson, to try to get
the pictures or a settlement for them.
When Hickson was ready to settle a small
sum on Gulley, even though he had le-

had kept. But Sara, still

vain, loved to take out the portraits of

small ones she

her lovely youth and dream over them.

Gulley tried every trick he could think

When

snuffboxes in his pocket and was caught

by Hickson and the police. Although thaibit of foolishness cost

him

six

months, he

bore no malice toward Hickson.

Gulley received a letter from

Professor Alabaster, who planned to write
a life history of the painter of the Sara
In

jail,

Monday

pictures.

Gulley

thought

the

he decided there
might be money in it. He had had another idea for another masterpiece, and

idea ridiculous, until

after his release

boat shed

he hurried back

to finish

ed on his

to the

the Fall and get start-

new work. He found Coker

pregnant and in possession of the shed.

Betrayed by her latest lover, her job at
the pub lost, she had moved to the shed
with her mother. Gulley had to find some
way to get the Fall out. Before he had

made any
baster.

Alabaster

write Gulley's
to sell

he met Professor Ala-

plans,

some

not

only

wanted

to

history but also hoped

of
Gulley's work to Sir Willife

liam Beeder, a collector who admired

the paintings possessed
by Hickson. Gulley tried to interest Alabaster and Sir

William in one
he was going to

of the

do,

new

but

Sir

without success.

of,

gitimately taken the pictures in return

for a debt, Gulley slipped some valuable

masterpieces

William had
nudes

a great desire for one of the Sara

or something similar.

Gulley still hoped to interest Sir William

in the Fall, but when he went
again to
the boat shed he found thatCoker's mother had cut it
up to mend the roof.

Gulley

Sir William left London, Gulwheedled Alabaster into giving him

ley

the

to

key

Sir

William's

apartment.

Needing canvas and paints, he pawned

the furniture and art collections, and
even grudgingly let a sculptor rent one
end of the drawing-room to chip
away
on a piece of marble. Gulley
honestly
kept the pawn tickets so that Sir William
could redeem his possessions. He used
one wall for a weird painting he was
sure would please Sir William. But when

owner returned unexpectedly, Gulley

decided to talk to him from a distance
and ducked out before his benefactor
found him.
the

With

faithful Nosy, Gulley

went

to

the country for a time. There he worked

a new scheme to get money, but another
crook beat him up and sent him to the

While recuperating, Gulley had

another vision for a masterpiece and
wrote Sir William about his idea. Ala-

hospital.

baster replied for Sir William,

insisted

who

still

on a nude and thanked Gulley

for caring for his furniture.

By

the time Gulley got back to the

boat shed, Coker

was firmly

had had her baby and

moved

installed there. Gulley

another empty building and set

about preparing the wall for a painting
of the Creation. He was aided by Nosy
and several young art students he had

into

shanghaied.

He

from old Sara.

gave the

1616

nude
Hickson died and

tried again to get a

When

Sara pictures to

the

nation,

Gulley was famous. Alabaster found a

backer for the life history, and distincitizens called

on

Gulley to see
guished
about buying more pictures from him.
Gulley had, in the meantime, copied one
of his old pictures of Sara from the original in the Tate Gallery and had sold it

on approval to Sir William for an advance payment of fifty pounds.

He made

from Sara.
her

down

one

try to get a picture

she refused, he pushed
the cellar stairs and broke her
last

When

back.

the police would soon Be

to the Creation
and painted like a
madman, trying to
finish the
picture before his arrest. He
never completed the
painting; his spiteful landlord tore the
building down over
his head. Thrown from his
lie
after

came

Knowing

him, he raced back

scaffold,

to

in

police ambulance and

learned that he had suffered a stroke. He

did not grieve. Rather, he

laughed at all
the jokes life had
played on him, and
the jokes he had
on life.

played

HORSESHOE
of work: Novel
Author: John P. Kennedy (1795-1870)

Type

Type
Time

of

-plot:

Historical

romance

of plot: 1780
Locale: The Carolinas

First published:

1835
Principal characters:

SERGEANT HORSESHOE ROBINSON,

MAJOR ARTHUR BUTLER,

MR. LINDSAY,

a colonial patriot

his friend

a Loyalist

MILDRED, Lindsay's daughter

Lindsay's son

HENRY,

WAT ADAIR,
TYRREL,

Tory

a British officer

MARY MUSGROVE, a patriot

JOHN RAMSAY, Mary's sweetheart
Critique:

Horseshoe Robinson,

Tale of the

stop

the people of the Carolinas, the novel

is

unspoiled by flag-waving sentimentality.

Horseshoe Robinson

woodsman with a
that of our
tion

cause of financial interests in England,

much

but his son Henry was sympathetic to the

American cause.
Mildred,
Lindsay's
daughter, was in love with Arthur Butler, but because of the major's connections with the colonial army Mr. Lindsay

like

story-book concep-

American pioneers.

The

important in this novel, but

it is trivial
compared to the importance
of the war itself. From a historical point
of view, the book makes a valuable con-

love story

is

tribution with

its

portrayal of the con-

caused by divided loyalties between England and the Colonies.

fusion

The

Story:

In the secluded back country of South

Carolina two men in the service of the
revolutionary colonial forces were travel-

ing together. They were Major Arthur

Butler and his shrewd sergeant, a man

known

throughout the region as Horseshoe Robinson, because of his former

occupation as a blacksmith. Although
they passed as chance travelers, they were

on a secret mission to trace the movements of the enemy and to enlist aid for
the cause of colonial independence,
Before setting out on their dangerous
journey,

the residence of

hunter and a

personality

common

of early

is

near Dove-Cote,

Mr. Lindsay, a Loyalist gentleman who

had come to this territory to live because
he wished to avoid the conflict between
the colonists and the British government.
He himself was loyal to the crown be-

Tory Ascendency is a love story and a

war story. A good narrative description of
the effect of the American Revolution on

Arthur Butler was moved to

had forbidden her to see Butler. For

this reason they met secretly in a grove
not far from Dove-Cote. After the meeting she returned unseen to Mr. Lindsay's
house, and Butler and Horseshoe Robinson went to the inn of Mistress Dimock,
not far away.
That nignt at the inn Horseshoe encountered a Tory spy named James

who was passing

Curry, a stealthy rascal
as the servant of Mr. Tyrrel, a guest at
Dove-Cote. Tyrrel, a disguised British
officer,

was often

at

Mr. Lindsay's home,

aid
ostensibly to secure that gentleman's
Jbr the Loyalists, but in reality to court

Mildred,

who

thing he stood

despised
for.

him and

Seeing Curry

everyat the

Horseshoe knew that Tyrrel was

he
again visiting Dove-Cote. Although
let the fellow escape, he was afraid that
trouble for
Tyrrel and Curry might cause

inn,

1618

and himself on

Butler

South Carolina.
had
Major Butler
Gates on
eral

their trip through

gone

been sent by General

With Horseshoe

as a

old friend

home

whom he

of

was confident she could prove that Butler could never have had
designs on the
father of the girl he loved. Accompanied
by Henry Lindsay and Horseshoe Robin-

Wat

thought

Adair, an
to the
loyal

However, Wat was not a

friend.
true
Having been bought off by
to
the Tories, he planned that night
to an amHorseshoe
and
Butler
direct
bush in the forest. But a relative of Wat,

son,

cause.

rebel

Wat
Mary Musgrove, overheard

charges
'

the major felt certain that

companion,
he could complete his undertaking. On
forest Horseshoe
their first night in the
led Butler to the

the

against Butler, Mildred resolved to go to

Cornwallis, the English
general, and
O
o
plead with him for Butler's life. Mildred

mission to another rebel gen-

in Georgia.

with Tyrrel to a meeting o

Having heard

off

Loyalists in a nearby town.

Horseshoe's account
of

she set out for Cornwallis' head-

quarters.

John Ramsay and Mary were able to

Butler's escape from the camp
where he was held prisoner, but John
was killed before they reached a place of
effect

plotting

to
with another Tory, and being loyal
the
Butler
to
she
rebels
the
whispered
she had learned.

Grief-stricken

safety.

sweetheart,

by the

Mary attended

loss of

her

the funeral

which were conducted by her

Musgrove. While the services were going on, they were interrupted
some British troops, and Buder was

services,

plans

and
Through her warning Horseshoe
into
Butler avoided one trap, only to fall

father, Allen

an ambush of some rough Tories, among

them Curry. Fearing that the drunken
crew planned to murder Butler and him-

by
once again taken prisoner.
When Mildred and her two companions succeeded in getting an interview

self,

Horseshoe escaped, hoping

Buder

The

to rescue

with Cornwallis, the courdy general gave

Mildred his promise that no harm would
While the general was
befall Buder.
with
Mildred, he received a
speaking
Milmessage that Buder had escaped.
dred set out for Dove-Cote with Horse-

later.

family of

Mary Musgrove was

to
rebel family, and Horseshoe proceeded
In
their home to get help in his plan.

the family of Mary's sweetJohn Ramsay, was a rebel family.

addition,
heart,

and the Musgroves,

Horseshoe planned to engage the enemy
and bring Butler to safety. Mary, prea vendor of fruit, was to
tending to be
was
the
enter
Tory camp where Butler
siie was to communiThere
held.
being
cate with the major and give him word

With

the Rarnsays

of his rescuers' plans.

Buder with
James Curry had charged
to murder Mr. Lindsay, a
conspiring

In order to disthis charge, Horseshoe returned

prove
the
to Dove-Cote. Mildred's distress at
news of her lover's arrest had caused her

of the king.
loyal subject

his
father great grief, and he relented
stern stand against Butler and assured
Mildred that he would not punish her for

her concern over the major. When

Horseshoe found Mildred and her brother
Mr. Lindsay had
Henry at Dove-Cote,

shoe and her brother. On their way they

met Mary Musgrove, her family, and the
told them of Butler's secRamsays, who

British troops from a

resolved
Again Mildred
to intercede on behalf of her lover, and
to accomHenry and Horseshoe agreed

ond capture by
nearby camp.

pany her.
While Mildred awaited an opportunity
Buder, the forces of the Loyalists
rebels were engaging in the
Mountain. During the
of

to seek

and the
battle

fighting

brought

King's

Horseshoe rescued Buder and

him safely back to Mildred. Then

had
the two lovers revealed that they
been married for over a year, in a secret
witnessed by Mistress Dimock
ceremony
and Henry Lindsay.
Wat Adair was captured, and Horseshoe saw to it that he received just pun-

1619

ishment
friends.

for

Wat

betraying
told

his

American

Horseshoe that Tyrrel

an English general who had

bribed Wat to lead Butler and Horse-

was

really

who had parfound TyrrePs

body lying among the dead and wounded.
James Curry was captured by rebel
forces. It seemed certain that the
Tory
ascendency in South Carolina was at an
shoe into a

ticipated in

trap.

the

Henry,

battle,

end.

But the happy reunion of the lovers

was clouded by the death of Mr. Lindsay.
When he learned that Mildred had gone

to see Cornwallis, he set out to

find her
before the battle
began.

Following Tyrrel
toward the scene of the
fighting, Mr.
Lindsay was fatally wounded andTynei
killed. Mildred and
Henry were able to
speak with their father before he died
however, and he lived long
enough to
take the hands of Mildred and
Butler

and forgive them

him.

He

for

having disobeyed
died shortly afterward in a de-

lirium brought on
by his fever.
Mildred and Butler returned to DoveCo te to live a long and
prosperous life
together.

HOUSE BY THE CHURCHYARD

Type of work: Novel

Author: Joseph Sheridan

Type
Time

of plot:

Le Fanu (1814-1873)

Mystery romance

of plot: Late eighteenth century

Locale: Chapelizod, a suburb of Dublin

published:

1863

Principal characters:
MR. MEBVYN, son of Lord

LORD DUNORAN, an

Dunoran

murdering one
Mr. Beauclerc
PAUL DANGERFIELD, the real murderer of Mr. Beauclerc
ZEKIEL IRONS, Dangerfield's accomplice in the murder
DR. BARNABY STURK, a witness to the murder
Irish peer convicted of

Critique:

Le Fanu's career as a novelist dated

from the publication of this book, which
he began
writing
o after the death of his
o
wife in 1858.

He

withdrew from

society

time of her death and wrote to

himself
occupied. Le Fanu's novels,
keep
including this one, are novels of lush
at the

life

tery,

and something more. Death, mysand the supernatural are the grim

twilight materials of his fiction. Constant

on death and the supernatenabled him to communicate a spec-

speculation
ural

atmosphere to his novels. A master

Le Fanu has been favorably
compared in the past with such other
masters of the supernatural as Wilkie
tral

of terror,

Collins

and Poe. This novel

regarded

Uncle

his

as

Silas

is

masterpiece,

hoped that in the neighborhood he might

pick up some clues that would lead him
the true murderer of Beauclerc, for
the young man still believed his father
innocent of the crime for which he had
to

died years before.

About the same time

vyn took up residence

ing a man named Beauclerc in London.

In addition, his estates were declared
family was

crown, and his

shadow. Eighteen years after
his death, his son, who went under the
name of Mr. Mervyn, took the body
back to Ireland and buried it in the famchurch in Chapily vault in the Anglican
elizod, a suburb of Dublin. Following
a

Mervyn moved

was reputed

to

young Mer-

in the

haunted

Louse, another stranger came to Chapelizod, a man named Paul Dangerfield, who
was looking after the affairs of a local
nobleman. Dangerfield was a very rich
man, and before long he had ingratiated
his apparent

ality.

into an old
be haunted;

good sense and his

Of young Mervyn, on

liber-

the other

hand, the villagers were very suspicious,

for he kept to himself, and only a few
people

Irish peer, had been

executed after his conviction for murder-

the burial,
house that

that

by

Story:

under

it

although

Lord Dunoran, an

left

of

himself in the hearts of the local people

was the most popular during

forfeit to the

had moved out

families

having seen strange apparitions and

heard strange noises at night. Mervyn
after

generally

his vogue.

The

several

knew

his real identity.

The

appearance of Paul Dangerfield

caused fears and apprehensions in the
minds of two men who lived in Chapelizod.

The two were

Zekiel Irons,

the

clerk at the Anglican church, and Dr.

the garrison
Barnaby Sturk, a surgeon at
Irish Artillery. Irons had
of the

Royal
been the accomplice of the man who had
the murder of which
actually committed
Lord Dunoran had been convicted. Dr.
Sturk had been a witness to the murder.

They both
to

1621

recognized Paul Dangerfield

be a man named Charles Archer, a

ruthless

who would

wretch

of taking their lives as

taking those of others.

little

think

as

he had of

Zekiel Irons, who wanted to live without fear, resolved to help young Mervyri
discover the O
guilt of Archer-Danecrfield,
O
for Irons knew that he could never live
'

securely until the man was in prison or

dead. Irons had been present also when

had killed his other accomDangerfield

O
plice, who had tried to blackmail Danger-

On

lived for several

days, during
he made depositions to the

which

time

magistrates
of his attacker

concerning the identity

and the fact that
Dangerfield had murdered another man
years before. These

moved Zekiel Irons to

go also to
the magistrates and tell what he
knew
about the real identity of Paul Dano erfield and the
part he himself had played
in the murder of Beauclerc. Even in

events

the

face

of

that

evidence, the
difficult to believe

magistrates

two occasions Irons visited

and
Mervyn
imparted a portion of what
he knew; on both occasions he warned

found

Mervyn not

Mrs. Sturk, as well as the

disappearance of Charles Nutter, left them in

field.

to

be

his informant

Dr.

tell

Sturk,,

anyone

at

all,

lest

killed.

meanwhile,

also

recog-

nized Dangerfield as Charles Archer, the

man he had seen commit a murder. Dr.
Sturk, pressed for money, was trying to
become an agent for Lord Castlemallard,
who was represented by Dangerfield. Dr.

Sturk

made

the

mistake,

however,

of

threatening Dangerfield with exposure

If the
agency were not forthcoming. Dr.

Sturk was found terribly beaten about

the head one night. Since he was in a

deep coma, no one knew who had tried

to kill him. Evidence
pointed, however,
to Charles Nutter, the man Dr. Sturk
was trying to replace as the nobleman's
agent in Chapelizod, for Nutter had disappeared on the same night that Dr.
Sturk was attacked. There was no evidence to indicate that Dangerfield had
been the attacker. He had been so
helpful to Dr. Sturk that he was under no
suspicion.

Dr. Sturk lingered on, and for a time

it

seemed

as

if

he might recover. Danger-

arranged for a surgeon to come, at

a high fee, to
operate on the doctor.
Dangerfield had convinced Mrs. Sturk
that the operation was the
only chance
her husband had for life, but
field

actually

Dangerfield hoped the operation would

be a failure and that Dr. Sturk would
die without
revealing the identity of his
attacker. But the
operation was a partial
success. Dr. Sturk
regained his mind and

it

guilty, The
paid for the

to

fact

that

Dangerfield
Dangerfiefd had

operation and had lent money

doubt.

But Charles Nutter,

apprehended in
Dublin within one day of
Dangerfield's
arrest, was able to prove that he had
been away on other business at the
time of the attack on Dr. Sturk. He
had,
however, gone so close to the scene of
the crime that he had
frightened off
Dangerfield before he could finish the
murder.
Nutter had not run
away; he had
simply been to England and Scotland
trying to straighten out his domestic af-

A woman had attempted to prove

he was a bigamist because he had married
fairs.

her several years before his

marriage to
the woman the
people in Chapelizod
knew as his wife. He had married the
woman, but she herself was a bigamist,

having been already married to another

man. Nutter had been off to find the true

husband,
the
all.

to

prove that his marriage

to

woman was really no marriage at

He had been compelled to leave

secretly lest he be arrested as a bigamist

before he could
gather evidence to clear

his

name.

In another quarter of the village the

apprehension of Dangerfield had great
to
implications. He had been engaged
O O
the daughter of the
commanding general of the
Royal Irish Artillery, even
though he was many years older than the
girl. Because of his wealth, the general

IT

1622

was quite anxious to have his daughter

The girl, however,
marry Dangerfield.
was in love with Mervyn and secretly
to him. Dangerfield's arrest preengaged
vented the general from marrying his
to a man she did not love,
daughter
So far as

Mervyn was concerned,

of

the

did more

Dangerfield
for his marriage to
the general's daughter. The information
which Dr. Sturk and Zekiel Irons gave
of Beauclerc
concerning the murder
apprehension
than open the

cleared

When

way

Dunoran.
Mervyn's father, Lord

Parliament met again,

it

returned

to

Mervyn

his good

name,

his tide,

and

the estates forfeited at the time of his

father's conviction.

Paul Dangerfield,

alias

Charles Archer,

was never

by

convicted, nor was he tried

a court. He died mysteriously in his

county gaol in Dublin while

thus cheating the state
of executing him for murder. Not long
afterward, the new Lord Dunoran and

cell in the

awaiting

trial,

of the C
the daughter
general commanding
LJ
O
the Royal Irish Artillery were married
1

in a great ceremony at Chapelizod.

THE HOUSE BY
of work: Novel
Author: Giovanni Verga

Type

(1

840-1922)

Type of plot: Impressionistic realism

Time of plot: Mid-nineteenth century
Locals: Sicily
First 'published:

1881
Principal characters:

PADRON 'NTONI, head

of the Malavoglia

BASTIANAZZO, his son

LA LONGA,
'NTONI,

LUCA,

Bastianazzo's wife

their oldest

son

their second son

MENA,

their oldest daughter

ALESSIO, their youngest son
LIA, their youngest daughter

UNCLE CRUCIFIX DUMBBELL,

a local

GOOSEFOOT, his assistant

DON MICHELE, brigadier o die

coast

usurer

guard

Critique:

This novel, translated

title

The

Malavoglia,

is

interesting
o contributions o

tare to

modern

Padron 'Ntoni had to arrange a loan with

Uncle Crucifix Dumbbell to buy a shipment of coarse black beans on credit from
him. The beans were to be resold at

also under the

one of the most

Italian litera-

realism. Its characters are

poor, simple people who can never

irrom their struggle to keep alive. The message of the novel is that man is continually

Riposto by Padron's son, Bastianazzo. Although La Longa, Bastianazzo's wife was

rest

his

own

as beskeptical of this deal, she kept quiet,

fitted a woman. Soon afterward, Bas-

forces, so

being pulled apart by

that only by working together with his
fellow men can he hope to survive.
Written in a completely realistic fashion,
with no intrusion from the author, this

tianazzo sailed

spoiled, that

the Provvidenza

Uncle Crucifix had cheated

the Malavoglia. It was well known that

Uncle Crucifix was an old fox in all

novel bridges the gap between realism and

naturalism.

The

away on

with the cargo o beans aboard. All the

the beans were
villagers whispered that

matters.
Nevertheless, if the beans were sold,
Padron 'Ntoni's family would be well off.
The man whose son was to marry Mena
Malavoglia rubbed his hands in anticipa-

money
Story:

In the village of Trezza, on the island

of Sicily, the Malavoglia family had once
been great.
the only Malavoglia left

Now

were Padron 'Ntoni and his little brood

in the house by the medlar tree. But
they
were happy and prosperous, living well on
the income brought in
by their boat, the
Prcrvvidenza.

When

the oldest grandson, 'Ntoni, was

conscripted, the first sadness fell on the
household. In that same year other

went badly, and the market

With

things

for fish

was

'Ntoni gone, the money that

came in had to be divided with extra help
that Padron was forced to hire.
Eventually

poor.

tion of his boy's good fortune. The women

of the village, and others too, agreed that
a
should be. But
Mena was

everything girl
luck went against the Malavoglia family.
In the early evening a huge storm came
up. Down at the tavern Don Michele,
the brigadier of the coast guard, predicted
the doom of the Provvidenza. When word
came that the boat had been lost, Bastianazzo

with her,

Malavoglia family.
bles,

1624

grief

To

add

Uncle Crucifix began

engulfed

the

to their trou-

to

demand

his

the neighbors who brought

money. All
to the house by the
condolence
of
gifts
the premises as
about
looked
tree
medlar

When

'Ntoni and his famStubbornly Padron

the loan. It was
set to work to repay
ily
as soon
decided to have Mena married
Alfio Mosca, who drove a
possible.

to talk

the

girl,

refused to be

needed

with

one day the Provvidenza, battered but

was towed into

usable,

ofing marriage of his granddaughter,

fered Goosefoot part of the money on the
loan. But Goosefoot, demanding all o it,

and often lingered

was grieved at the news. Then

donkeycart

port.

The Mala-

to pretend to sell his debt to his assistant,

Goosefoot; then, when officers were sent
could
to Padron 'Ntoni's house, people
not say that a usurer or the devil's money
had been involved in their troubles.

stamped paper was

Uncle Crucifix could do

because the house was
them
nothing
in the name of the daughter-in-law, and
that

longer

grief-stricken

she had not signed the papers in the deal

of beans. Padron 'Ntoni felt guilty, howand it
ever; he had borrowed the money
must be paid back. When he asked advice
from the communal secretary, that official

cholera and

gave

sisted that they too

their

taxes

were poor and needed

returned to his

young 'Ntoni
home with no fortune and clothing more

ac-

were put on pitch and

and persalt, two necessary commodities,
sonal relations between Goosefoot and the
he and young
family were strained when
'Ntoni came to blows over a girl. In the
was talk of smugglers, and
village there
the rumors involved two of 'Ntoni's close

New

by her

money.

When

that
Although Goosefoot protested

cepted a mortgage.
As the family began to gather money to
went against
repay the loan, luck again

them.

called off

betrothed's father. Everything was against

the Malavoglia. Goosefoot and Uncle
the family no rest, but inCrucifix

must

he wanted his money, he nevertheless

by

been
engagement had

on the house to Goosegive dower rights

of the
foot, who was now the legal owner
note.

family. His mother,

his departure, contracted
soon died. Meanwhile Mena's

of his debt-ridden

to

that the daughter-in-law

Goosefoot

Padron 'Ntoni was injured by a

blow from the falling mast, young 'Ntoni
had to bring the boat in alone. After the
old man had recovered, 'Ntoni announced
his decision to leave home; he could no
stand the backbreaking, dull work

they

him

killed in the war,

When

served on the Malavoglia family. Frightwent to a city lawyer who told

ened,

told

Mena

top of these troubles

dowry.
family learned that Luca

cursion, the Provvidenza ran into a storm.

them

the fact that

On

began again to send stamped papers.

When Padron 'Ntoni appealed to the lawhe was told that he had been a fool
yer,
to let La Longa give up her dower rights
on the house but that nothing could be
done about the matter now. So the family
had to leave the house by the medlar tree
and move into a rented hovel.
Somewhat repaired and on a fishing ex-

enough
Meanwhile Uncle Crucifix was fiercely
his demands. At last he decided
repeating

moved by

the Malavoglia

At the same time 'Ntoni

time later

had been

still

voglia rejoiced.
was
arrived home. Luca, the second son,
slaved
drafted. Each member of the family
to make
money to repay the debt.

short

an-

to

nounced, Alfio Mosca sadly left town.

Padron 'Ntoni, happy over the approach-

session.

as

Don

watch 'Ntoni closely.

Mena's betrothal was

Michele

Uncle Crucifix already in posthey saw

if

friends. Goosefoot enlisted the aid of

the villagers laughed

ragged than ever,
with derision. Alessio, the youngest son,
to help with the work, and he
now

began

and 'Ntoni were able to earn a little

debt. 'Ntoni,
money to apply on the family
drunk
often
was
coming
still discontented,

home from

Don

the tavern.

Michele told the bo/s young

sis-

admired, that
ter Lia, whom he secretly
their eyes on
she and Mena must keep

1625

'Ntoni because

lie

was involved with the

the frightened girls

smugglers. Although
their brother, he
tried to remonstrate with
One night
their
to
listen
to
pleas.
refused
knocked at Ida's door and

Don Michele

her brother,
told her that she must find
to ambush
for the police were planning
too
the smugglers. His warning came
for

the

caught

sisters

after

to

act,

late

and 'Ntoni was

Don Michele

he had stabbed

in a scuffle during the raid.

Padron 'Ntoni spent

all his

cause he had learned of an affair between

the soldier and Lia. The old man was so

by this news that he suffered a

from which he never completely re-

horrified

stroke

covered. Lia left

facts of the case,

an attempt to rescue his grandson. Then

he was told a false version of the incident,
bethat 'Ntoni had stabbed Don Michele

and young 'Ntoni was

sent to the galleys for five years.

the direction of the
Gradually, under

the
youngest son, Alessio,

affairs of the

mend. Uncle

Crucifix and
family began
Goosefoot finally got their money, and
Alessio and his bride regained possession
of the house by the medlar tree.
to

savings in

home immediately, withmake known the true

out attempting to

THE HOUSE IN PARIS

Type

of work:

Novel

Author: Elizabeth

Type
Time

Bowen (1899-

of plot: After
Locale: France and
First

of plot: Psychological realism

World War

England
published; 1936
Principal characters:

HENRIETTA MOUNTJOY, a brief visitor in Paris, eleven

LEOPOLD MOODY, another visitor, nine years of age
Miss NAOMI FISHER, their
MADAME FISHER, Naomi's

KAREN MICHAELIS,

MAX

hostess for a day

invalid mother

friend of

EBHART, a young

years of age

Naomi, former pupil of her mother

and intellectual

Parisian, attractive

Critique:

Her

in creating suspense would

Elizabeth Bowen in good

facility

have

stood

stead

had she chosen

to write detective

The House in Paris gradually

unravels a human secret which not only
novels.

the readers but also the characters of the

novel find both absorbing and oppressive.

The author's method, however, is not
to
to

emphasize physical action but rather

unfold complex relationships of peo-

ple,

that

evolving slowly
is

There
books,

into

conclusion

logical but necessarily incomplete*

are no pat endings to Miss Bowen's

no perfect dovetailing of

and

fulfillment;

she

convincingly

desire

as long as people live,

and

calmly implies,
there are questions that will be only parbe only
tially answered, wishes that will
partially granted. In this book she presents the situation that a child creates

by

merely existing: an inadvertent love and

an inadvertent begetting that become a
1

to several people. It

in short,

is,
problem
the problem of an illegitimate boy, and
it has
keenrarely been traced with more

ness

and candor.

The

Story:

Henrietta arrived at the Gate du

Nord

uncomfortably early in the morning. She

had never been in Paris before; and she
was not to be there long this time, for
one day only, between two night trains.

THE HOUSE IN PARIS

by Elizabeth Bowen.
Copyright, 1935, by Elizabeth D. C. Cameron.

By

By

a previous arrangement, the elevenwas met at the station by

year-old girl

Miss Naomi Fisher, an acquaintance of

Henrietta's grandmother,

who would

look

after her during her

day in Paris.
Clutching her plush toy monkey while
the taxi bumped through gray Paris
streets, Henrietta drowsily absorbed Miss
Fisher's nervous chatter. The flow of
comments, however, was not entirely

pointless: Henrietta was presently made

to comprehend that her stopover would

be affected by some rather unusual developments at Miss Fisher's house. For

one thing, Miss Fisher's mother was ill,

though today she was feeling better and
Miss Fisher could still hope to take Hen-

out for a short sightseeing expediA more important comto be the presence of
plication seemed
rietta

tion after lunch.

Leopold.

with
Leopold, Miss Fisher explained
obvious agitation, was an added responshe had not foreseen when
sibility which
she agreed to meet Henrietta. He was
nine years old, and he had come from
see his mother, who was a very
Italy to

dear friend of Miss Fisher. Apparently,

Henrietta gathered, he had never seen
his mother before, a fact which struck
as being quite odd and mysgirl
Miss Fisher agreed that the circumstances were rather unusual, but she

the

little

terious.

A. Knopf, Inc.
permission of the publishers, Alfred

1627

evaded a more direct explanation. Leoshe was careful to bring out, was
pold,
and anxious; Henrietta
naturally excited
with
him, if she liked but
might play
she must not question him about his

was spending

a few

Karen and Naomi had been intimate

ever since Karen, an English
schooloir!
Cj
^^
had spent a year under the roof of MaJ

dame Fisher in Paris. There she had been

housed, perfected in French, and given
Madame's keen-eyed supervision, alona
with other English and American
girls
who were accepted into the establishment
from time to time. There, too, she had
first become conscious of Max
Ebhart,

After arriving at the house in Paris,

Henrietta had breakfast and a nap on
the sofa before she awoke to find Leopold

and gazing at
standing across the salon
her curiously. The children made wary

and tenapproaches to acquaintanceship

notes

Fisher

days in London.

mother.

tatively compared
tive journeys. In spite

Naomi

her;

a dark, taut, brilliant young man whose

conversation and intellect Madame Fish-

on their respecof Miss Fisher's

found stimulating. Rather unaccountMax had now become engaged to

the unassuming Naomi and had accom-

er

to learn
injunction, Henrietta managed
that Leopold lived at Spezia with his
foster parents. Before she could find out

ably,

more about him, she was summoned up

stairs to meet the ill Madame Fisher.
The latter seemed a queer person to
Henrietta; her manner was ironic and

panied her to England to aid in the settlement of an aunt's estate. Karen wel-

to her daughter's dispenetrating, and,

tress, she insisted on discussing Leopold's
father. Once, Madame Fisher intimated,
he had broken her daughter's heart.

Max, whose strong self-possession and

penetrating mind had always affected her

he was dead.

ever,

Left alone below, Leopold rummaged

through Miss Fisher's purse in a vain
search for information about his mother.
After Henrietta rejoined him, the children had lunch and played aimlessly at
cards. While they were thus occupied,

in

comed
she

strangely.

Now

Naomi's persistence prevailed, howand on the final day of her stay

London she succeeded in getting Max

and Karen together. While Naomi prepared tea inside the almost-emptied
house of her dead aunt, Max and Karen
sat outside on the lawn. Little was said,
but both were conscious of the tension

the doorbell rang, and Miss Fisher was

few minutes
heard to go to the door.

that their presence

room, her face suffused with regret and pity. Leopold struggled manfully to affect nonchalance as
she told him that, after all, his mother

was not coming she could not come.

Leopold had no way of knowing that
his mother was Karen Michaelis, now
to

Ray

Forrestier.

More than

together always in-

spired. That night, as Karen said goodbye at the station, she looked at Max, and

later she entered the

married

the opportunity to see Naomi, but

reluctance to encounter

expressed

ten

engagement to Ray had

just been announced, and their friends
rejoiced in what seemed an ideal match.
The marriage was to be delayed, howyears earlier, her

ever, until Ray's completion of a diplomatic mission in the East. Shortly after

his departure from

England, Karen visited her aunt in Ireland. Returning home,

she found a pleasant surprise awaiting

their eyes exchanged the mutual admission that they were in love.

A month

later the

Michaelis telephone

was Max, in Paris, asking Karen

rang.
to meet him in
Boulogne the following
There
Sunday.
they walked and talked,
It

the thought of

Naomi shadowing

their

conversation. Before they parted they arranged to meet again, at Hythe, the next

Saturday. They spent the night together

and decided that they must marry, in
Naspite of their unwillingness to hurt

omi,

Max went

back

to Paris to impart

news to his fiancee.

Karen never saw Max again; word of
his suicide came in a telegram from Nathe difficult

1628

omi.

Weeks

later

Naomi

the channel to tell

slashed

his wrists

view with

Madame

confessed

that

herself crossed

Karen how
after

Fisher.

she

Max's child, the two

inter-

trying

When

was going
girls

Max had
Karen

bear
considered the
to

must make. Karen had already

break off her engagement with
Ray Forrestier, but he had written that
he would never give her up. Nevertheplans she
tried

to

she intended to be gone when he

returned to London; she would travel to
less,

Naomi and then go on to Gerperhaps a year. She and Naomi

Paris with

many

for

would find a good home for the child.

Meanwhile no one else except possibly
Karen's mother should ever know.
These were the facts about his parents
that Leopold had never learned. Now,
his mother having failed him by not
coming to get him at the house in Paris,
he stood, for a moment, immovable,
lapped in misery. His air of resolution

and determined

indifference

soon gave

and
he burst into
sobs. Henrietta tried to comfort
him, but
he ignored her.
Recovering from his
spasm of grief, he was sent upstairs to
endure Madame Fisher's careful
scrutiny.
He found her surprisingly sympathetic.
She told him something of his mother's

way. Crossing

to

the

pressing himself against

mantelpiece
it,

marriage to Ray Forrestier, and he confided his determination not to return to

his foster parents in
Italy. Something in
the old invalid's inner force seemed to

and encourage him.

Downstairs the doorbell rang once
more, and presently Miss Fisher came
stiffen

running swiftly up the steps, She directed Leopold to the salon where he
found a tall, pleasant-looking Englishman. It was Ray Forrestier; overruling
Karen's doubts, he had come to accept
Leopold as his own son and to restore
iiim to his mother.

THE HOUSE OF ATREUS

Type oj work: Drama
Author: Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)
Type
Time

of plot: Classical tragedy

of plot: After the fall of Troy

Locale: Argos
First presented:

458 B.C.
Principal characters:

AGAMEMNON,

the king

CLYTEMNESTRA,

his

queen

CASSAND-RA, a Trojan captive

AEGISTHUS, paramour of Clytemnestra

ORESTES, son of Agamemnon

ELECTBA, his sister
Critique:

In the archonship of Philocles, in 458

won first prize with his

The House of Atreus.
trilogy,

B.C., Aeschylus

dramatic

This

story of the

doomed descendants

of

the cruel and bloody Atreus is one of the

great tales of classic literature.

Aeschylus, building his plays upon themes of

doom and revenge, was deeply concerned
with moral law in the Greek state. For
this reason the moral issues of the
plays
are clear

and

steadfast,

simple and devas-

tating in implication, especially the workIng of conscience in the character of

Orestes.

Agamemnon, The

Libation-Bear-

and The Furies are the individual

titles which make
up the trilogy.

ers,

The Story:
The house

of Atreus

was accursed

be-

cause in the great palace at

Argos the
tyrant, Atreus, had killed the children
of Thyestes and served their flesh to their
father at a royal
banquet.

Agamemnon

and Menelaus were the sons

When

of Atreus.

Helen, wife of Menelaus, was

carried

off
by Paris, Agamemnon was
among the Greek heroes who went with

his brother to battle the

Trojans for her
return. But on the
to
while

way

the fleet lay idle at Aulis,

was prevailed upon

ter,

Troy,

Agamemnon

to sacrifice his

daughHearing of

Iphigenia, to the gods.

Clytemnestra, his wife,

this deed,

vowed

revenge. She gave her son, Orestes, into

the care of the
King of Phocis, and in
the darkened
palace nursed her consum-

ing
o hate.
In her desire for
vengeance she was
joined by Aegisthus, surviving son of
Thyestes, who had returned from his

long

exile.

Hate brought the queen and

Aegisthus together in a

common

cause;

they became lovers as well as plotters

in crime.

The ship of Menelaus having been delayed by a storm, Agamemnon returned

alone from the Trojan wars. A watch-

man

first saw the

lights of his ship upon
the sea and brought to his
queen the news
of the king's return.
Leaving his men
cuartered in the town, Agamemnon

c.rove to the palace in his chariot, beside

him Cassandra, captive daughter of the

king of Troy and an augeress of all misfortunes to come, who had fallen to
Agamemnon in the division of the spoils.

She had already warned the king

some evil was to befall him.

that

Agamemnon, however, had no

sus-

picions of his homecoming, as Clytemnestra came to greet him at the

palace
doorway, her armed retainers about her,

magnificent carpets unrolled for the feet

of the
conqueror of Troy. Agamemnon
chided his queen for the lavishness of

hex reception and entered the palace to

refresh .limself after his
long journey,
He asked Clytemnestra to receive Cassandra and to treat his captive kindly.
After

Agamemnon had

retired,

Cly-

temnestra returned and ordered Cassandra, who had refused to leave the chariot,

When Cassandra
where she was, the
remaining
persisted
she would not demean
queen declared
herself by bandying words with a com-

the murderers.
Encountering her brother,
she did not at first
recognize him, for
he appeared in the
disguise of a mes-

mon

of Orestes.

the palace.

enter

to

in

and

slave

madwoman.

She

re-

entered the palace. Cassandra lifted her

face toward the sky and called upon

her why she had been

Apollo
brought to this cursed house. She Informed the spectators in front of the
to

tell

would murder
She lamented the fall of

that C'yteinnestra

palace

Agamemnon.

the butchery of Tbyestes'

Troy, recalled
and the doom that hung over

children,

the sons of Atreus, and foretold again

the murder of Agamemnon by his queen.

As she entered the palace, those outside

the

heard

death

of

cry

Agamemnon

within.

A moment later Clytemnestra appeared

the

in

doorway,

die bloody

sword of

Aegisthus in her hand. Behind her lay

the body of the Icing, entangled in the

Clytemnestra defended her-

rich carpets.

before the citizens, saying she had

killed the king for the murder of Iphiself

genia,

and had

also killed Cassandra, with

whom Agamemnon had shamed

honor.

Her deed, she

defiantly,

her

lust of

the house of Atreus.

Then

she presented Aegisthus, son of

Thyestes, who asserted that his vengeance was just and that he intended to

Agamemnon. Re-

proaches were hurled at the guilty pair.

There were cries that Orestes would

avenge

his

father's

murder.

Aegisthus

and Clytemnestra, in a fury of

horror, roared
for the crime
selves to

end

out their

guilty

self -justification

and defied the gods them-

their seizure of power.

Orestes, grown to manhood, returned

from the land of Phocis, to discover that

mother and Aegisthus had murdered

his

his

He mourned

father.

his

father's

death and asked the king of the gods to

give
the

him

ability to take

guilty

pair.

Agamemnon,

also

vengeance upon
Electra, daughter of

mourned and cursed

who

brought word of the death

They met at their father's

made himself known to

tomb, where he
his sister.

There he begged

spirit to give

his father's

him

strength in his underElectra assured him

but

taking.

nothing
could befall any of the descendants
of Atreus and welcomed the
quick fulfillment of approaching doom.
Learning that Clytemnestra had once
dreamed of suckling a snake which drew
blood from her breast, Orestes saw in this
evil

dream the image of himself and the deed

he intended to commit. He went to the
palace in disguise and killed Aegisthus.
Then he confronted Clytemnestra, his
sword dripping with the blood of his
mother's lover, and struck her down.
Orestes displayed the two bodies to
the people and announced to Apollo that
he had done the deed required of him.
But he realized that he must suffer for
1

his terrible crime.

as Furies, sent

by

He

began

his mother's

to

go

dead

mad

spirit,

pursued him.

The

told the citizens

had ended the bloody

rule in the palace of

senger

to

Furies drove Orestes from land

in a
Finally he took refuge
claimed
but the
priestess

land.

temple,
the temple

Pythian

was profaned by the presence

of the horrible Furies, who lay asleep

near Orestes. Then Apollo appeared to
tell Orestes that he had put the Furies
so the haunted man could get
to

sleep

rest. He advised Orestes to visit

the temple of Pallas Athena and there

some

for his crime.

gain ful[ absolution
While Orestes listened, the ghost of
the
aroused

Clytemnestra
Furies and

spitefully

commanded them

to torture

Orestes again. When Apollo ordered the

Furies to leave, the creatures accused him
of blame for the murder of Clytemnestra
and Aegisthus and the punishment of
Orestes* The god confessed lie Lad de-

manded
derers.

he had

1631

the death of Agamemnon's murtold that by his demands

caused an even greater crime,

He was

matricide.

Apollo said

Athena should

decide the justice of the case.

In Athens, in the temple of the goddess, Orestes

Replying

to help him.
begged Athena
was too grave lor her

the case

she called upon the

reach a wise decision,
her
help
judges
There were some who believed the ancient laws would be weakened if evidence
and they claimed Orestes
were
to

decide

alone,

to

presented,

deserved his terrible punishment.

When Orestes asked why Clytemnestra had not been persecuted for the

murder of Agamemnon, he was told her

crime had not been the murder of a
blood relative, as his was. Apollo was
another witness at the

trial.

He

claimed

the mother was not the true parent, that

the father, who planted the seed in the
mother's womb, was the real parent, as
shown in the tracing of descent through
the male line. Therefore, Orestes was
not guilty of the murder of a true member of his blood family.
The judges decided in favor of Orestes.

There were many, however, who in an

angry rage cursed and condemned the
land where such a judgment might prevail.

They

gods and

cried

all

woe upon

those

who

the younger
to wrest

tried

ancient rights from the hands of established tradition.

judgment

But Athena upheld the

and Orestes was

of the court

freed from the anger of the Furies.

A HOUSE OF GENTLEFOLK
Type

Novel
Turgenev (1818-1883)

of work:

Author: Ivan

realism
of plot: Psychological
Nineteen th century
of

Type
Time

plot:

Locale: Russia
First

1858

published:

Principal characters:

MARY A DMITRIEVNA,

widow

LAVRETZKY, her cousin

LIZA, her daughter

VARVARA, Lavretzky 's wife

PANSHIN, an official
Critique:

House

translated as

with

the

of

Gentlefolk,

Nobleman's

simple,

sometimes

"Nest,

powerful

belongs

group

of

romances* Here are two charTurgenev's

o
acters who stand as symbols of Russia:
Lavretzky and Liza. Although their lot
a sad one, they are presented in heroic
mold. Indeed, the author in this work ex-

is

a greater degree of Slavophilism

usually found in his novels. In

hibits

than

is

this work
Turgenev shows little patience
with the detractors of Russia, those who

worth of French and German

culture. Even the glittering Panshin must
admit the worthiness of Lavretzky s aim

exalt the

to cultivate

The

the

soil.

noticed Liza with interest. Liza was a

Panshin was courting her with the

Panshin's rendition

mance, but the

Her daughter Liza spoke

French quite well and played the piano.

provincial town.

Her other children had the best tutors

available. She
delighted to receive guests,
especially Panshin, who had an important
position in Moscow. Her evening gather-

ings were always entertaining when Pan-

was there to quote his own poetry.

was rumored that Lavretzky was rewas a
turning to the district. Although he

shin

It

cousin of the house,

Marya

scarcely

knew

him, for Lavretzky had made

an unfortunate marriage. He was sepato treat

from his pretty wife, who was

reputed to be fast and flighty.
But Lavretzky's visit created no difficulties. He was a rather silent, affable man

ladies

of

his musical

were

ro-

ecstatic.

The

following day Lavretzky went on

The place was
run-down because it had been uninhabto his small country estate.

since his sister's death. Lavretzky,

content to sink into a quiet country life,
ordered the gardens cleaned up, moved in

ited

some newer furniture, and began to take

an interest in the crops. He seemed susin a real Russian atmosphere close

to the land.

Story:

full

approval of her mother. On the evening of

his visit Lavretzky was not impressed with

pended

Marya, since the death of her husband,

had become a social leader in her small

how

who

beautiful, religious-minded girl of nineteen. It was very evident that the brilliant

The new life was

particularly

in France and
pleasing after his residence
the painful separation from his wife.
had had a different upbring-

Lavretzky

his failure
ing. His father, disappointed by
to inherit an aunt's fortune, had decided
to

make

his son a strong

man, even a

twelve Lavretzky was dressed

spartan. At

in gymnasHighland kilts and trained

and horsemanship. He ate only one
meal a day and took cold showers at four
in

tics

in the morning. Along with the physical

culture intended to produce a natural man
doctrines, the
according to Rousseau's
father filled his son full of Voltaire's

philosophy.

died horribly after enduring

During this period he
his bravery and atheistic indeat the end he was a sniveling

The father

rated

Dain for
!!ost

all

two

pendence;

1633

years.

His

wreck.

was

death

to

release

she postponed making a decision,

Liza's music teacher was an old, broken

who

immediately enrolled, at
Lavretzky,
the age of twenty-three, In a university in

German named Lemm, Although

tiful

who

Varvara, daughter of a retired general

two men found much in common. La-

lived mostly by his wits. At first the

had little use for Lavretzky, for

parents

they thought

vretsky was saddened to see that the old

music teacher was hopelessly in love with
Liza.

him only an unimportant

When

student.

they learned, however,

One

good family and was

landed proprietor, they favored an early
Varvara wanted to travel,
marriage. Since
that

he came

Lavretzky
stalled his

of

asserted, in agriculture and politics. The

were superior in manufacture and

English
merchandising, the French in social life
and the arts, the Germans in philosophy
and science. His views were the familiar
theme of the aristocratic detractors of Rus-

began a dizzy social

adoring husband, content

let her indulge

merely to be at her side,
her whims freely. She soon had a reputation as a brilliant hostess, but her
her husband a nonguests thought

entity.

The usually silent Lavretzky finally

took issue with Panshin and skillfully
demolished his every argument. Liza lis-

sia.

Lavretzky had no suspicion that

was anything but a devoted wife

tened with approval.

In a French paper Lavretzky came upon

his wife

and mother to their daughter until a letter

came by accident into his hands. From it
he learned of her lover and their sordid,

a brief notice in the society section; his

wife was dead. For a while he could not

think clearly, but as the import of the

furtive meetings in obscure apartments.

Lavretzky

left

home immediately and

brilliantly holding forth on

the inadequacies of Russia. The

country
was much behind the rest of Europe, he

wound up his affairs and innew father-in-law as overseer

Her

night, in Marya's drawing-room,

Panshin was

of his properties.
In Paris, Varvara

whirl.

Lavret-

sky had little ear for music, he stronoly

appreciated Lemm's talent. He invited the
OLC! man to his farm.
During the visit the

Moscow,
At the opera one night he met the beau-

news came home to him he realized

he was in love with Liza. Riding

took

When

he wrote to
up separate residence,
Varvara, telling her of the reason for the
did not deny her guilt, but
separation, she
asked for consideration. Settling an

only

that
into

town, he gave the paper quietly to Liza.

As soon as he could be alone with her, he
declared his love.

The young

girl

received

his wife, Lavretzky returned to

Russia.

his declaration soberly, almost seeming to

Alregard their love as a punishment.

After spending some time on his estate,

Lavretzky began to ride into town occasionally to call on Marya and her fam-

though troubled at first by her attitude,

Lavretzky soon achieved a happiness he
had never expected to find.

income on

ily.

After he became better acquainted

with Liza, the young

girl

scolded

him

for

being so hard-hearted toward his wife. According to her religious beliefs, Lavretzky
should have pardoned Varvara for her sins
and gone on with the marriage. Lavretzky,
in turn, warned Liza that Panshin was not
the

man

The

for her.

gay young

official

surface and no subhad an ally in Marfa,

the old aunt who also saw through Panshin's fine manners and clever speeches.

was a diplomat,

all

stance. Lavretzky

When

Panshin proposed

to Liza

by

letter,

That happiness, however, was shortHis servant announced one day that
Varvara had returned with their daughter.
His wife told him she had been very ill
and had not bothered to correct the rumor

lived.

of her death.

lowed

Now she asked only to be al-

to live

pecting

that

somewhere near him. Susher meekness was only

assumed, Lavretzky arranged for her

to

on a distant estate, far from his own

house, and went to break the news to Liza.
Liza was controlled. She might almost
have awaited the punishment, for she

live

1634

was the lot of all RusVarvara brazenly called on

Marya
and completely captivated her with her
beauty, her French manners, and her acknew

that sorrow

sians.

complished playing and

singing. Liza met

Lavretzky's wii'e with grave composure.
For a time Varvara complied with her
promise to stay isolated on the distant estate, where she frequently entertained
Panshin. In the winter, when she moved
tr>

Moscow, Panshin was her devoted

fol-

At last she went back to Paris,

Liza entered a convent.
Lavretzky saw
her once from a distance as she
lower.

scurried
timidly to a prayer service. Taking what
strength he could from the soil, he remained on his farm. When he was
five,

he

visited the

forty-

house where Liza had

Marya and all the older people of

the household had died. He felt 111 at
ease
among the younger, laughing generation.
lived.

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH

Type

of work: Novel

Author: Edith

Wharton (1 862-1937)

Type of plot: Social criticism

Time of plot: Early twentieth century

New York

Locale:

First published:

1905
Principal characters:

LILY BART, a social schemer

MR. SELDEN, her friend
MR. ROSEDALE, a financier
PERCY GRYCE, an eligible young

Gus TRENOR,

man

wealthy socialite
JUDY TRENOR, his wife
BERTHA DORSET, who hated Lily

GEORGE DORSET,

husband

Bertha's

Critique:

The House
among

readers

the social

life

The

century.

oi

her mother's death, Lily was taken in

by her aunt, Mrs. Peniston. Mrs. Peniston supplied her with fashionable clothes
and a good home, but Lily needed
jewels, gowns, and cash to play bridge

Mirth

is still popular
enjoy stories about
of the early part of this
theme of the book is a

who

criticism of the emptiness and folly of

the idle rich.
life
Lily Bart

among

sacrificed

herself,

chance for

her

real love,

and even her

if

life,

In that

re-

who
spect she was superior to those
scorned her, for most of them had no
of

redeeming

character.

qualities
easily read, for it is written

in a social circle

filled

in a vain attempt to find a life of ease

for herself. The conflict arose when her
better nature exerted itself.

move

she were to

by wealthy and eligible men.

Mr. Roscdale, a Jewish financier,
would gladly have married Lily and
provided her with a huge fortune, for
he wanted to be accepted into the
But Lily
society in which Lily moved.

her

principles,

thought that she

The

still

less repulsive to her,

had other prospects

the most likely one

Selden enjoyed watching Lily Bart put

a new plan into operation. She was a

being Percy Gryce, who lived

from scheming women by his
widowed mother.
of
Lily used her knowledge
life to her
Selden,
advantage.
Gryce were all house guests at

very beautiful and clever young lady,

and no matter how impromptu any

portunity

story

is

Edith Wharton's usual

The

with

skill.

Story:

of

protected

watchful
his quiet
Lily,

the

Gus and Judy Trenor, and

and

home

the op-

action of hers appeared, Selden knew

that she never moved without a definitely

was a perfect one for Lily,

who assumed the part of a shy, demure
young girl. But when Gryce was ready

worked out plan.

Lily had almost no money of her
own; her beauty and her good family

of person she

Background were her only assets. Her

father had died soon after a reversal of
his financial affairs, and her mother had
drilled into her the idea that a

wealthy
marriage was her only salvation. After

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH

right, 1905,

by Charles

to propose, she let the chance slip away

from her, for Lily really hated the kind

had become. In

addition,

although Selden was poor and

her no escape from her own poverty, she
was attracted to him because only he
really understood her.
offered

Gus Trenor

offered to invest

by Edith Wharton. By permission of the publishers, Charles

Renewed, 1933, by Edith Whartoa.

Scribner's Sons.

1636

some

Scribner'a Son*.

of

Copy

and over a period

more than
thousand dollars, which he assured
eight
her was profit on the transaction. With
that amount she was able to- pay most
of her creditors and reopen her charge
accounts. Gus seemed to think, however, that his wise Investment on her
account should make them better friends
than Lily felt was desirable.
small income,

Lily's

into

thinking Judy wanted her to call.

Selden had always refused to believe
the
unsavory stories circulating about
Lily, but the evidence of his own eyes,
he thought, was too
to be

time he returned to her

of

In the meantime, Lily unexpectedly

possession of some letters which

got

Bertha Dorset had written to Selden.

Bertha had once loved Selden, but George

was great and she had

Selden for George. She continued
write to Selden after her marriage.

Dorset's fortune

When

plain

he met Lily abroad, he

ignored.

treated her

with courteous disinterest.

Lily returned to New York. Her aunt,
Mrs. Peniston, had died,
ten thousand dollars.

leaving Lily

Lily planned to
repay Gus Trenor with her inheritance,
and she found intolerable the
delay in

Meanwhile
settling her aunt's estate.
Bertha Dorset's insinuations about
Lily's
conduct abroad, coupled with the talk
and Gus Trenor, finished

left

about

to

She took various

reputation.
Lily's
positions, until at last she was reduced

When Gus

Trcnor began

demands
she became

to

get

more
com-

insistent in his

for

panionship,

really worried.

Lily's

She knew that people were talking about

and that her position in

her a great deal

was precarious. She turned to

Selden for advice. He told her that he
loved her for what she could be, but
society

that he could give her

nothing now. He
had no money, and he would not even
offer her his love because he could not

love her as she was, a

scheming, ruthless

fortune-hunter.

One

night

Lily

received a

message

Judy Trenor wanted her to call.

When she arrived at the Trenor home,
Lily found Gus there alone. He had sent
that

the message.

Gus

told her then that the

money had not been

profit

on her

vestment, but a gift from him.

he intimated that she had always
the

Lily

money was from him

was

terrified,

but at

in-

When
known

personally,

last she

man-

aged to get out of the house. She knew

then that there was
only one thing for
her to do. She must
accept Rosedale's
offer of

marriage. But before she wrote

to Rosedale
accepting his offer, the Dorsets invited her to take a Mediterranean

on their yacht. The moment

decision was
postponed for a time.
cruise

of

Selden also left New York. Unknown

he had seen Lily leave the Trenor
house on the night Gus had tricked her
to her,

Lily

working in the factory of a milliner.

She had first offered, to accept Rosedale's
former proposal of marriage, but she was
no longer useful to Rosedale since her
fall from favor, and he refused to
marry
her. He knew that Lily had tie letters
Bertha had written Selden, and he also
knew that George Dorset no longer loved
his wife and would gladly many Lily.
It seemed to Rosedale that Lily had only
two alternatives, either to take George
Dorset away from Bertha or to go to
Bertha with the letters and force her
to

to receive Lily

At

once more.

first Lily's

feeling for Selden

made

from doing anything that

would harm him. Then she lost her
her shrink

to buy food
position. Without money
or to pay for her room in a dingy Board-

the letters
ing-house, she reluctantly took
and started to the Dorset home. On the

she stopped to see Selden. When

told her that he loved her, or
rather that he would love her if she

way

he again

would only give up her greed for wealth

and position, she gave up her plan and,
unseen by him, dropped the letters into

the fireplace. Then stie thanked him for

the kindness he, and he alone, had given
her, and walked out into the night.
When she returned to her room, she

found the check for the ten thousand

dollars of her inheritance. She sat down

1637

at

once and wrote a check to Gus Trenor

amount she owed him and put
in an envelope. In another envelope

for tlie
it

down again upon

The next morning,

lay

need

to see

her bed.
feeling a sudden

Lily at once, Selden went

she placed the ten thousand dollar check

and addressed the envelope to her bank.
She put the two envelopes side by side

early to her rooming-house. There he

found a doctor already in attendance

on her desk before she lay

chloral.

down

to

sleep.

But sleep would not come. At last

she took from her bureau a bottle of
chloral, which she had bought for those

she could not sleep. She

of the bottle into a
contents
the
poured
and drank the whole. Then she
nights
glass

when

and

Lily

dead

On

from

an

overdose

of

her desk he saw the two

envelopes. The stub of the open checkbook beside them told the whole story

of Lily's last effort to get her accounts

straight before she died. He knew then

that his love for her had been justified,

but the words he spoke as he knelt by
her bed came too late.

THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES

Type

of work:

Novel
Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Author: Nathaniel

Type of 'plot: Psychological romance

Time of plot: 1850
Locale: Salem, Massachusetts
First

published:

1851
Principal characters:

Miss HEPZIBAH PYNCHEON, a spinster

CLIFFORD PYNCHEON, her brother
JUDGE JAFFREY PYNCHEON, a kinsman
PHOEBE PYNCHEON, a distant cousin
MR. HOLGRAVE, Miss Hepzibah's lodger

Critique:

The theme
ous novel

of

Hawthorne's

justly

fam-

obviously that the sins of

the fathers are passed on to the children

in

is

succeeding generations.

In the in-

genious plot of this novel the reader

watches the gradual expiation of old
Matthew Maule's curse on the Pyncheon

youth in the guise of Phoebe

and Holgrave enters the old house. Evi-

family, as

dent in the finely-written pages of The

House of the Seven Gables is the author's
interest in New England
and his increasing doubts about

lively

bund
ward

New

England

history,
a

mori-

that looked back-

of the Seven Gables was a

house built in the English style

and

half-plaster.

It

stood

on Pyncheon Street in quiet Salem. The

house had been built by Colonel Pyncheon, who had wrested the desirable
site from Matthew Maule, a
poor man
executed as a wizard. Because Colonel
Pyncheon was responsible and because
he was taking the doomed man's land,

Maule

at

clared

that

the

moment of his execution deGod would give the Pyn-

But in spite of
his
grim prophecy the colonel had
house, and its builder was Thomas
Maule, son of the old wizard.
Colonel Pyncheon, dying in his great
oak chair just after the house had been
cheons blood to drink.
this

completed,

picious.

choked with blood

It

was

pleted a treaty

so that

said he had just comby which he had bought

.iuge tracts of land from the Indians,

but this deed had not been confirmed by

the general court and was never discovered by any of his heirs. Rumor also had
it that a man was seen
leaving the house
about the time Colonel Pyncheon died.
More recently another startling event
at the

House

of the

Seven

Pyncheon, a bachelor,
had been found dead in the colonel's
great oaken armchair, and his nephew,
Clifford Pyncheon, had been sentenced
to imprisonment after being found guilty
Gables.

The Story:
The House

of half-timber

not forgotten old Maule's

prophecy. The
time of the colonel's death was inaus-

had occurred

to past times.

colonial

was stained scarlet. Although doctors explained the cause of

his death as
apoplexy, the townsfolk had

his shirt front

Jaffrey

murder of his uncle.

These events were in the unhappy
and in 1850, the House
past, however,
of the Seven Gables was the home of
Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon, an elderly,
of the

woman, who

let one wing of the

young man of radical
tendencies, a maker of daguerreotypes,
whose name was Mr. Holgrave.
Miss Hepzibah was about to open a
of her house.
shop in one of the rooms
Her brother Clifford was corning tome
from the state prison after thirty years,
and she had to earn money in some way
to support him. But on the first day of
her venture as a storekeeper Miss Hepzi-

single

old house to a

1639

ball

tion

an unusually strong family likeness could

be noted between the stern judge and his
Puritan ancestor in the portrait. Un-

be a failure. Hie situaproved to

was saved, however, by the arrival

from the
young Phoebe Pyncheon
she was operating the
Soon
country.

of

shop

at a profit.

arrived

Clifford

from

the

prison

able to find Clifford to deliver the judge's

message, Miss Hepzibah returned. As

she approached the door, Clifford appeared from within, laughing and pointthe judge sat
ing to the chair where
dead of apoplexy under the portrait of

broken man of childish, querulous ways.

Once he tried to throw himself from a
window which afforded him
big arched
with the outside
his
almost
only contact
world. He was fond of Phoebe, but Miss
irritated him with her sullen

the

Clifford had
scowling. For acquaintances
who did
man
a
Uncle Venner,
handy
odd jobs for the neighborhood, and the

distressed

He was,
man

murdered

these reasons Clifford refused to see him

the judge offered to give Clifford
at his countryseat.

and Hepzibah
Phoebe had become
Meanwhile,
In turn, he
friendly with Mr. Holgrave.
and hope
she
that
light
brought
thought
into the gloomy old house, and he missed

Hepzibah
They had decided that

The

Judge

Pyncheon

and

Clifford,

Miss Hep-

zibah, and Phoebe became the heirs to

his great fortune. It now seemed certain
that Jaffrey Pyncheon had also died of
natural causes, not by Clifford's hand,
had so arranged the
and that the

judge

from

the

visited

the

of the

When at last she went out

room to summon her brother, Judge
Pyncheon sat down in the old chair by
the fireplace, over which hung the portrait of the Colonel Pyncheon who had
built the house. As the judge sat in the
old chair, his ticking watch in his hand,

the judge.
of the

run away would

the judge's death

police attributed

to natural causes,

Seven Gables and, over

Miss Hepzibah's protest, insisted on seeknew a faming Clifford, who, he said,
secret which meant great wealth for
ily

House

to

not solve their problem,

her greatly when she returned to her

home in the country. Her visit was to be
a brief one, however, for she had gone
before
only to make some preparations
to live permanently with Miss

country,

man

his love for her. They

grave declared
were interrupted by the return of Miss
and the now cairn Clifford.

when

coming
Hepzibah and Clifford.
Before Phoebe returned

sight of the dead

discovered

and he had been somehow involved with

Clifford's arrest and imprisonment. For

home

by the

It

whose murder Clifford

was

was some time before the body was

by Holgrave. When Phoebe
returned to the house, he admitted her.
He had not yet summoned the police
because he wished to protect the old
While he and
couple as long as possible.
Phoebe were alone in the house, Hol-

fT*

nephew

in fact, the heir of the

front

wizard's curse

they crept away from the house

without notifying anyone and departed
on the train. The dead body of the judge
remained seated in the chair.

daguerreotypist
The only other relative living in town
was the highly-respected 1 Judge
PynIT! T
or the old Jattrey
cheon, another

Pyncheon,
had spent thirty years in prison.

shirt

The

that

tenant of the house, Mr. Holgrave, the

for

His

had been fulfilled once more; God had

to drink.
given him blood
The two helpless old people were so

Hepzibah

f+

colonel.

old

stained with blood.

make Clifford appear a

murderer.
In a short time all the occupants of
the House of the Seven Gables were
to the judge's country esready to move
tate which they had inherited. They gathered for the last time in the old room
under the dingy portrait of Colonel
said he had a vague
Pyncheon. Clifford
evidence as to

con-

of something mysterious
nected with the picture. Holgrave offered
seto explain the mystery and pressed a
near the picture. When he
cret

memory

1640

spring

did

so,

closing

the portrait fell to the floor, disa recess in the wall. From this

Holgrave drew out the ancient

Indian deed to the lands which the Pyncheons had .claimed. Clifford then remembered he had once found the secret

niche

spring.

It

Pyncheon

was this secret which Judge

had hoped to learn from Clif-

ford.

Phoebe asked
to

know

plained

Maule.

how

these facts.
his

He

Holgrave happened

The young man

ex-

name was not Holgrave, but

was, he said, a descendant

of the wizard, Matthew Maule, and

Thomas Maule who built the House
the Seven Gables. The
knowledge

of
of

of

the hidden Indian deed had been handed

down to the descendants of Thomas

Maule, who built the compartment behind the portrait and secreted the deed
there

after

the

colonel's

death.

Hol-

grave was the last of the Maules and

Phoebe, the last of die Pyncheons, would

bear his name.

had been

Matthew Maule's

expiated.

curse

THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS

Type of work: Novel
Author: George Douglas (George Douglas Brown, 1869-1902)
Type of plot: Regional realism
Time of plot: Late nineteenth century
Locale: Rural Scotland
First published: 1901
Principal characters:
a
wealthy merchant
JOHN, his son
MRS. GOURLAY, his slovenly wife

JOHN GOURLAY,

YOUNG

JAMES WILSON, Gourlay's competitor

Critique:

Disgusted with the quaint and sentimental novels in which writers of the
kailyard school portrayed his native Scotland, George Douglas Brown attempted
to present in his work a more realistic

picture of Scottish life in the late nineteenth century. The House With the
Green Shiitters is a forceful hook, one
alive

in

with characters that grip the reader

Brown's purpose was

their problems.

show the
saw him.
to

The

true Scottish peasant as

he

Story:

John Gourlay was proud of his twelve

wagons and his many business successes,
but mostly he was proud of his House
with the Green Shutters. Into it he had
put
aclc

all

the

frustration

of friends,

his

he

for

his

wife,

his

felt

slovenly

weakling son. Gourlay's was a pride of

insolence. He would have more than his
his betters; he would make
them acknowledge him as their
superior.
Gourlay had not found a golden touch.
He had simply worked hard, turning
every shilling into pounds by any method
open to him. In the process he became
mean, stingy, boastful, and evil.
His son John had inherited all of his
characteristics except his
courage, As a

neighbors,

good with his fists, and his only revenge

after a sound
drubbing was to tell his
father. Gourlay hated his son almost
as much as he hated
everyone else, but
he could not let his son be laughed at
by
the sons o his enemies. Thus John was
avenged by the father who despised him.
Gourlay also hated his wife. She who
had once been a laughing, pretty lass

had become a slattern and a bore whose

son was her only reason for
living. On
him she lavished all the love denied her
by her husband. There was one daughter,

She was ignored by her mother and

favored by her father, each parent taking
the opposite point of view from the other.

The whole

sence.

wealth and power.

&

reserved.

bowed

to

Gourlay,

to meet Wilson
Wilson had left
Gourlay had been then as

of the

first

When

years before,
now the big man in the town.

Had

Gour-

lay said a kind word or given one bit of

praise for the success of his former ac-

quaintance, Wilson would have been

Eattered and would have become his

He was no

But Gourlay was not such a man.

immediately ridiculed Wilson and
laughed at the idea that he could be a
friend.

He

THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS

kelson

One

was Gourlay.

schoolboy, constantly ridiculed by his

mates, he took refuge in boasting of his
father's

village

even while they prayed that he would

one day meet his match. They were not
to be
disappointed. One James Wilson
returned to the village with money he
had earned during his fifteen years' ab-

by George Douglas.
Sons, Ltd., Edinburgh. Copyright, 1901, by McClure, Phillips

1642

By permission
& Co. Renewed.

of

Thomas

All rights

success at anything.
that was to

hatred

Wilson developed
the

bring

Gourlay to ruin.

his second

Wilson used his money to set

store, which he slocked

general

tip

with

many items the villagers had formerly

had to send away for and pay Gourlay
to haul for them, lie also delivered items
to

towns and farms.

neighboring
O
>

'

Then

he started a regular carting service, cutto get business from

Gourlay,
ting prices
just

as

itors.

Gourlay had clone

to his

The townspeople were

tronize

Wilson

in order to

compet-

glacl to paget back at

Gourlay for his years of dominance and

Indeed, they even gave Wil-

insolence.

son

new

suggestions for expanding his

Gourlay's downfall started slowly,

but soon it became a landslide. The
trade,

peasants began to stand up to the old

man, even to laugh openly at him. Gourvows of vengeance were empty talk.
lay's
Gourlay turned to his son as his only
hope. When Wilson's son went away to
high school, John was sent, even though
he had no head for books and no ambi-

John played truant frequently and

was a braggart and a coward as before,

tion.

had power enough

in
him
school
and in money and
keep
some way the boy was graduated.

but his father

to

in

still

Wilson sent

his son to the university.

Gourlay decided that John must go too.

Never was a boy more miserable, for he

knew he was not suited for advanced

hoped to make the lad

hope was to recoup some
respect, if not money, for the family.
At the university John found little
mind. Fie had
stimulation for his sluggish
o~

study. Gourlay
a minister; his

one high spot in his career, indeed in his

whole life, when he won a prize for an
honor he
essay. Since that was the first

won, he swaggered and boasted

it
for months. Because of the
prize, also, he won his first and only
word of praise from his father. In his
ever

about

second term John fell to his own

and became a drunken sot. Books were

level

too

much

for

The bottle was his only friend.

While John was
stumbling through

him.

insolent

him, and people scorned

lay's

The

term

at the

university, Gour-

fortunes reached their lowest ebb.

House with the Green Shutters was

mortgaged heavily,
assets
having been

all

Gourlay's other
wild specula-

lost in

recoup his fortunes. But Gourlay

pinned his hopes on the son he had
always hated. John would save the family name, the lost fortune, the House.
tions to

still

Thus when Gourlay learned that John

had been expelled for drunkenness and
insubordination, and heard that the whole
town knew of the disgrace through a
letter of
young Wilson to his father, the
news was too much for the old man. He
returned to the House with the Green
Shutters like a

madman,

as

indeed he

The first sight that greeted him was

John, who had sneaked into town in
was.

the darkness. Like a cat toying with a

mouse, Gourlay tortured his son. He pretended to consider him a great man, a
hero. He peered at him from all angles,
waited on him with strong whiskey,
called

him

fine

a credit to

son,

the

rushed from the

family. Cowardly John

house in terror, followed
of his

of

his

mother and
father.

returned,

sister

Then

his

by the screams
and the howls
false

and he went back

courage
into

the

house after fortifying himself with more

a large poker which
whiskey. Picking up
had been one of his father's priderul
at his father and
purchases, John swung
crushed in his head.
The mother and sister convinced the

from

that Gourlay, falling

a ladder and striking his head, had died

authorities

But John was lost. For days

accidentally.
he was haunted by red eyes glaring at
him out of space, by unknown things
His mother and siscoming to get him.
him for their liveliter, dependent upon

hood, tried to get him out of his madness,

but nothing soothed him except whiskey,
and that only briefly. One day he asked
his

1643

mother

for

money, bought

his last

whiskey and a vial of poison,

and ended his wretched existence.
Completely alone now, aware that
even the house must go to the creditors,
dying themselves of cancer and consumpbottle of

the mother and

daughter divided
the rest of the poison and
joined Gourlay
and John in death. The pride, the lust,
the greed were gone. The House with
tion,

the Green Shutters

had claimed them

all.

HOW GREEN WAS MY

VALLEY

Type of work: Novel

Author: Richard Llewellyn (Richard D. V.
Llewellyn Lloyd, 1907Type of plot: Domestic realism
of 'plot Nineteenth century
Locale: Wales

Time

1940

First 'published.:

Principal characters:

GWILYM MORGAN,

BETH MORGAN,
Huw MORGAN,

Welsh miner

his wife
their son

and the narrator

IVOR,

DAVY,

OWEN,
IANTO, and

GWILYM,

other sons

ANGHARAD, their daughter

BRONWEN, Ivor's wife
MARGED, Gwilym's wife

IESTYN EVANS, Angharad's husband

Critique:

How

Green

Was My

is

Valley

a Welsh boy, seen

story of the life of
through the eyes of an old man who has

only

memory

to sustain

him.

The

novel

was published during the war years, and

perhaps the strife that was everywhere
then accounted somewhat for its great
There was trouble in the
-popularity.
,.ives of the
people we meet in this story,
but the kindness of the main characters
was so great that even death seemed
gentle and not to be feared. The novel
is
simply and beautifully told.

was

marry he was sorry to lose his

But from the first moment Huw
saw Ivor's Bronwen, he loved her, and
that love for his sister-in-law stayed with
to

brother.

him

all

of his

ing their families starve.

went back

The

before.

Story:

How

beautiful and peaceful the val-

Huw

ley looked to
ready to leave

a long lifetime

Huw's

it!

Morgan when he was

All the memories of

came back

earliest

to him.

memories were

of his

and brothers when they came

the mines on Saturday night.
There was trouble brewing at the mines.
The men talked of unions and organizwere angry.
ing, and the owners
Huw loved his family very much, and
when he learned that his brother Ivor
father

home from

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY

lishers,

life,

Another brother, lanto, married soon

afterward. His wife was a girl from
the village, where lanto went to live.
Trouble came at last to the mines.
The men in the pits went on strike for
owners were
twenty-two weeks, but the
the stronger because they were not watchto

work

After that

would never again

to

form a union,

The men

first strike,

join the

for

finally

money than

for less

the father

men

trying

he could not bring

himself to lead men out of work. Davy

and the other boys, however, were more

When the father

than ever.
ordered his sons never to attend another
bitter

and

left

Gwilym
meeting, Davey, Owen,
home and took a room in a lodginghouse. Their mother cried
the father
It

but
mind.

all night,

would not change

his

was a miserable time for six-year-old

his sister Angharad found

Huw. When

by Richard Llewellyn. By permission of Curtis Brown,

The Macmillan Co. Copyright, 1940, by Richard D. V. Llewellyn Lloyd.

Ltd., and the pub-

were living in filth,

the rooming-house to take
care of them. Then the father relented

wife because he was

uw beo an
poor.
to think love caused heartache
instead

that the three boys

she

went

to

and allowed the boys to come home, but

he said that they would be lodgers only,
not sons.
After the father
at the

ers

mine,

say

Huw

that his

became superintendent
heard some of the minfather and Ivor, who

of happiness.

One day he

Gwilym's

took a basket of food

house,

and

there

to

he found

Marged completely mad. Thinking he

was Owen, she told him she could not
without

live

Gwilym.

Huw

him.
ran to find
Before he returned with his

agreed with him, might be beaten or

even killed by some of the more violent
miners. Frightened, he told his mother
what he had heard. One winter night

Marged had thrown herself into

and burned to death. Afterward
Gwilym and Owen went away together
no one knew where.

men there that she would kill

who
harmed her husband. On
anyone
the way home his mother
slipped on the
bank of a little river. Huw, standino in
&

and Angharad were married

Davy was married before
they came home, and for the weddino
Huw had his first long trousers. Bror
wen told him that he was now a man.
Shortly afterward I luw was put out

she and Huw went to the mountain

where the miners were meeting, and she
told the

the icy water,

supported his mother on
the bank until
After that
heip came.
he knew nothing until he awoke in his

bed and his father told him that he had

saved his mother's

and the life of his

new baby sister, Huw had fever in his
legs for almost five years and never left
his bed
during that time.
life

During his sickness Bronwen nursed

him and his brothers read to him until
he was far beyond his
years in learning.
While he was in bed, he first met the
new minister, Mr. Gruffydd, who was to
become his best friend.
Huw's brother Owen fell in love with

Marged Evans.
found

When

Owen

Marged's father

kissing Marged, he said

terrible
things to the boy, so that Owen

would have nothing more to do with

Marged. Gwilym married her, for he
had always loved her.
lanto's wife died

and he came home

to live.

By this time Huw, well once

more, went to the National School, over
the mountain. He had
be-

many

fights

he was accepted
by the other boys.
Angharad and lestyn Evans, the son
of the mine owner,
began to keep company, but Angharad did not seem to be
happy. It was some time before Huw
fore

learned

that

Angharad

loved

Mr.

Gruffydd but that he could not take a

brother,
the fire

lestyn
after

Evans' father died, and soon

lestyn

London.

in

of school for giving the

because he had made a
around her neck a sign
she was Welsh. I luw

teacher a

beating

small child wear

announcing that
to work in

went

the pits with his brothers.

Owen

Gwilym had returned home and

all

and
the

boys lived again in the valley. But soon

Owen had a telegram from London
about an engine he was
to
trying

fect,

and he and Gwilym

left

per-

again.

From London they went to America.

Soon afterward
Davy went to London
on mine union business.
Angharad came home from London
alone, lestyn having gone to Cape Town
on business. Soon
gossip started because
Mr. Gruffydd and
Angharad often took

carriage rides together. Finally Angharad

the valley and went to
Cape Town.

left

Mr. Gruffydd

When

also left the

valley.

was killed in a cave-in at

the mine, Huw's mother sent him to live
with Bronwen in her loneliness. Discharged from the mines for striking one
of

the

Ivor

workmen who made

a slurring

remark about Angharad and Mr. Gruf-

fydd, Huw became a carpenter. lanto

had already left the
pits and only his
father and
Davy were left in the mines.

Davy decided to go to New Zealand,

lanto went to
Germany, where he

1646

could do better in his trade,

thought he

The family was now scattered.

One day the workers flooded the mines
and Huw's father was crushed by

Huw

a cave-

crawled to his father and

him until he died. Huw's
with
stayed

in,

heart was as empty as his mother's

he told her the terrible news.

when

Everyone of whom Huw had thought

during this reverie was now dead. He
walked slowly away from his valley and
from his memories.

HOWARDS END
Type of work: Novel
Author: E, M. Forster (1879-

Type
Time

of plot;

Domestic realism

of plot: Early twentieth century

Locale: England
First published:

1910
Principal characters:

HENRY WILCOX, a
RUTH WILCOX, his

British
first

businessman

wife

CHARLES WILCOX, his older son

PAUL WILCOX, his younger son
MARGARET SCHLEGEL, Henry Wilcox's second wife

HELEN SCHLEGEL,

Margaret's

sister

THEOBALD SCHLEGEL, Margaret's brother

LEONARD BAST, a poor young man
JACKY BAST, Leonard's wife
Critique:

E.

He

is

M.

Forster

well

is

known

and

not a prolific author.

to students of fiction,

his Aspects of the Novel

contribution to study in that
to his best

to India,

work of

fiction,

is

a major
Prior

Passage

characterization, his deft use of

irony, the careful plotting of action, the
eternal contrast between illusion and re-

plete

Howards End

Passage

to

is second
only to
India in illustrating these char-

acteristics.

The Story:
The Wilcox

family met Margaret

Schlegel and her sister Helen while both
families were
vacationing in

Germany.

Neither group expected the chance acquaintance to amount to anything more,

but later, after all had returned to

Eng-

land, Helen Schlegel was invited to visit

the Wilcox
family at Howards End, their

home near London. While there,

Helen fell in love with Paul Wilcox.
Both families disapproved of the match,

country

HOWARDS END
1910, by G. P.

by E.

Putnam

flat

garet Schlegel

it

was

later the

across the street

met and became

friends.

Also acquainted with the Schlegels was

as his

most mature novel. Particularly important

in Forster's fiction are his subtle and com-

ality.

few months

ed a town

field.

Howards End was ranked

hard words on both sides

off.

Wilcoxes rentfrom the

home.
Both
Schlegel
young people were
out of the country. Mrs. Wilcox and Mar-

however, as a thorough critic, as well as

an important novelist in his own right,

and

after

broken

young man named Leonard

Bast,

seedy fellow whose umbrella had been

accidentally taken by Helen at a concert.

The young man had

and

their

brother

interested the girls

his conversation

by

when he had called to reclaim his umbrella.

They did not know that he had
an exceedingly frowsy wife, a woman
some years older than he who had
trapped him into a distasteful marriage.
Some months after the acquaintance
between

Mrs. Wilcox and Margaref

had ripened into friendship,
Mrs. Wilcox became ill and died. Much
to her husband's and sons'
surprise, she
Schlegel

left a note, in

addition to her will, leaving Howards End to Margaret. In their

anger at the prospect of letting the house
go out of the family, the Wilcoxes disregarded the note, since it was not a part of
the official will.

M.

Forster, By permission of the publishers, Alfred A.

Knopf, Inc. Copyright
Sons. Copyright, 1921, by the author. Renewed. All rights reserved.

1648

the lawn, she revealed to Mr. Wilcox and

Margaret that she had been Mr. Wil-

of
Margaret Schlegel, knowing nothing
the bequest, was really glad that the tie
between herself and the Wilcox family

for she

had been broken,

her

was

sister

was

cox's mistress

afraid that

garet

in love with Paul Wil-

still

cox and suffered

contact with other

when

members of the family.

evening, long after Mrs. Wilcox's
death, Margaret and her sister were sittina in the park. There they met Mr.

who

told

them

young man

Helen,

He

did

so.

They

did not

change

know

that

her

to get rid of
rival

Margaret

them his house in Lonoffering

don. Margaret went with him to look at
the house. While they were there, Mr.
Wilcox declared his love. Margaret, who
was well into her thirties, was surprised,
but without embarrassment or shock. She
asked only for a few days to think over
the rental of the house and the proposal

books stored in the house at Howards

End. She acted so mysteriously that Marand Mr. Wilcox planned to encoungaret
refused
ter her at the house. Because she
to see

daughter
house owned by the Wilcoxes near Wales.

after the daughter's wedding

Helen Schlegel, who had disapproved of

Shortly

approaching marriage, aphouse with Leonard Bast

peared at the

Margaret's

Helen had learned that

bad advice Bast had lost

his job.
everything he had, including
Helen thought that Mr. Wilcox ought
When
to recompense the young man.^

Mrs. Bast was discovered, rather

tipsy,

on

worried,
directly, Margaret,

Helen might need mental

Margaret saw Helen,
for the mystery was
reason
the
however,
Helen was pregnant as the result
that

treatment.

unnecessary.
Before Margaret's marriage to Mr. Wilwas also married at a
cox, his

through their

them

thought

of marriage. After considering both problems, she agreed to marry Mr. Wilcox,
thus making any decision about the rental

his wife.

sister

turn for the ceremony did not surprise

her sister. Eight months went by. Helen
bestill had not returned, and Margaret
to worry about her sister.
gan
Helen finally came back to England
and sent word that she wanted some

to lease

and

between her

sons did not approve of their father's

second marriage. Helen's refusal to re-

on the Schlegels' house was up and they

were forced to move. Although they
searched a long time, they found nothing
suitable. Mr. Wilcox, hearing of their
to

relationship

and Leonard Bast was unknown to Marwho went ahead with her marriage
garet,
to Mr. Wilcox, despite the fact that his

sent a letter

She

aid.

The

Mr.

possible
for Margaret's love.
few weeks later the long-term lease

predicament,

fallen

unwittingly

of her fortune, but he refused to accept

jobs.

Wilcox, in love with Margaret, had given

them bad advice in order

a young man he saw as a

who had

spent part of one night with him and

then remorsefully left England. She tried
to give Bast five thousand pounds, most

that the firm for

to

MarMr. Wilcox,

years before.
forgive

in love with Bast, felt sorry for him.

which Leonard Bast worked was unreliable. Acting on that information, the girls
advised the

to

but she resolved not to help the Basts.

Under the circumstances, she felt it was
unnecessary and in poor taste to do so.

she came into

One

Wilcox,

many

was willing

When

plain:
of the night she spent with

Leonard Bast.
be permitted to spend

Helen asked to
unocone night with her sister in the
WilMr.
End.
Howards
house at
cupied
cox refused

The

allow Margaret to do so.

two sisters stayed in the house
to

in spite of Mr. Wilcox''s refusal.

The

fol-

Mr. Wilcoxs older son,

lowing morning
to get them
Charles, went to the house
Ms arrival
after
two
or
out. A minute
in search
Leonard Bast came to the house
to get
he
whom
from
hoped
of Margaret,
as he saw him, Charles
soon
As
money.
on the wall and
seized a saber that hung

with the
struck Bast on the shoulders

1649

flat

of the

weapon

several

times.

The

shock of seeing Helen and the beating

were

too

much

for Bast's

weak

heart.

He

died suddenly.
Charles was tried for manslaughter and
sentenced to three years in prison. The

disgrace was too great for his father, who

became an invalid. Margaret moved her
husband and her sister into the house
at Howards End, where Helen's child
was born. Mr. Wilcox came to love the
baby during his illness and convalescence,
and so Helen and the child, much to

the

displeasure

were permitted

of
to

the other Wilcoxes

remain. A few months

before Charles' release from

prison, Mr.
Wilcox called a family conference. He
had made a new will
giving all his money
to the children
by his first marriage, but
the house at Howards End was to
30 to
Margaret and after her death to Helen's
illegitimate child. Thus the mansion,

which had played

so great a
part in all

their lives,
eventually came to Margaret
Schlegel, just as the first Mrs. Wilcox

had wished before her death.

HUASIPUNGO
Novel

Type

of work:

Type
Time

of plot: Social criticism

Author: Jorge Icaza (1902-

of plot: Twentieth century

Locale: Ecuador
First

published: 1934
Principal characters:

ALFONSO PEREIRA,
BLANGA,

a debt-ridden

landowner

his wife

LOLITA, his daughter

DON

JULIO, his uncle

POLICARPIO, an overseer
ANDRES CHILIQUTNGA, an Indian laborer

CUNSHI, his wife

PADRE LOMAS, the village priest
JUANCHO CABASCANGQ, a well-to-do Indian tenant farmer
Critique:
Stark, brutal realism overlies the artthis novel of protest against the
istry of
enslavement of the Indian in rural Ecuador.

Icaza

is

only one of

many

Latin-

who, influenced by
Dostoevski, Gorky, and other European
realists, have used the indigenous theme
and shown the white man's cruelty toward
the Indian, but his Huasipungo is the
American

novelists

best of these polemic works. Greater as

a social document, perhaps, than as a

work

it is made up of a series
whose power lies in a graphic
the lives and trials of the

of fiction,

of episodes
account of

Indian.

Icaza

writes

carelessly,

with a

scorn of syntax, but with a keen ear that

dialect of the
reproduces the difficult
inhabitants of the An-

Quichua-speaking
dean region near Quito. Types symbolizthan clearly realized
ing classes rather
individuals fill his pages, and in this

novel the avaricious, lustful priest has

been made especially hateful. In spite of

its defects Huasipungo is a powerful novin Spanish,
el, with many pirated editions
an English translation printed in Russia,
and even a version in Chinese.

The

Story:

Alfonso

Pereira

HUASIPUNGO
Editorial Sol,

was an Ecuadorian
Icaza.

By

landowner plagued by domestic and financial troubles. His wife Blanca nagged
him and he was worried over his sevenwho wanted
teen-year-old daughter Lolita,
to marry a man who was part Indian.
Don Julio, his uncle, added to his difficulties

by demanding repayment

of

loan of ten thousand sucres, a debt

ready three months overdue.

When

a
al-

Pereira confessed himself un-

able to pay the loan, Don Julio suggested

that his nephew try to interest Mr. Chapy,
a North American promoter, in a timber

concession on Pereira's mountain estate.

that Mr.
Privately the old man suspected
and his associates were on the

Chapy

lookout for

oil

and used

their lumber-

as a blind.
cutting activities in the region
In order to interest the North Americans,

however,

it

would be necessary to build

and get possession

fifteen miles of road

of two forest
must be driven

tracts.

the

Also,

Indians

huasipungos, the
them in return for

off their

lands supplied to

working on the master's

estate.

Pereira assured his uncle that such a

course

would be

difficult.

The

Indians,

for their lands

having a deep affection
the river, would never
along both sides of

by Sol. Published by
permission of the author. Copyright, 1936,

by Jorge
All
Buenos Aires and Imprenta Nacional, Quito, Ecuador.

rights reserved.

them up. Old

the building of the road, they sent Jaon an errand. After his departure
both men forced Juana to
accept their

Julio ridisentimentality and told

to return to the estate at Tomacni

willingly give

cinto

culed Pereira's

him

and build the road.

Back home, Pereira discussed his problem with Padre Lomas, the village priest.

The

attentions.

padre agreed to persuade the Indians

up. Storms made life miserable for the

Indians, unprotected as they were in their
camps. Some died when they tried to
drain a swamp. Others perished in quick-

work on the road; he would tell them

that the labor was the will of God. They
to

determine how many mingas,

brawls in which Indians were plied with
drink to make them willing to work,
would be necessary before the road could
also tried to

sands. Pereira, choosing to risk the Indians rather than follow a longer, safer
route, kept the workmen drunk and en-

be completed. Jacinto Quintana, proprietor of the village store and saloon, promised that he and his wife Juana would

make the home-brew

for the

first

tertained them with cockfights. The

norant laborers continued to toil.

Andres Chiliquinga, an Indian workman, was unhappy because Pereira had

returned, for he had gone against his
master's and the priest's wishes by taking
Cunshi as his wife. He was one of thirty
Indians sent to start cutting wood and

one hundred sucres

mass.

flash flood

and

to

master, seeing the

forced her to sleep

he became suspicious
and angry. The next day he deliberately
on

his foot.

The

Indians

treated the cut with

spiderwebs and mud,
but when the bandage was removed,
three days later, the foot was so badly

infected that Andres

medicine

man who

saved Andres'
him lame.

One
were

life,

was

sent

home.

poulticed the sore

but the wound left

day, while Pereira and the priest

the Quintana store discussing

at

of the Indians

Blaming the

death.

The priest declared the

God and easily collected

hundred sucres for his mass.

the road was completed, but
the Indians received none of the benefits Padre Lomas had
promised. He himself bought a bus and two trucks that
took away all transport from those who
used to drive mule teams into Quito with

their hillside shack,

fall

to

At

One night Andre's made the long trip

home to see his wife. Finding no one in
ax

several

with him.

let his

cerused, Padre
short time later a

affair the will of

or epileptic. Policarpio, the overseer, finally chose Cunshi, mother of the healthi-

young Indian woman,

for another

pay

drowned some

their cattle.

him

ished babies were diseased, some with

malaria or dysentery; others were idiotic

and took her

to

the Indian

disaster on
Juancho, his superstitious neighbors beat

for her baby,

Blanca Pereira examined some of the
dirty Indian mothers. Their undernour-

The

When

Lornas cursed him.

clearing the roadbed.

To find a wet nurse

the Pereira house.

ig-

The priest went to Juancho Cabascango, an Indian with a prosperous kuasi'pungo beside the river, and asked for

of the

mingas.

est child in the village,

Lomas one hundred

Pereira gave Padre

sucres for a big mass. Then he held a

minga and work on the road was speeded

last

the products of the region. Young Indians

rode the bus to the city and there ended

up

as criminals

and

prostitutes.

Because of easy transportation and the

possibility of a profitable sale in Quito,

Pereira decided not to give the Indians

their

customary grain from his plentiful

no good.
hungry Indians went to Pereira's patio and
begged their master to
relieve the
hunger of their families, he
told them that their
daily pay of fifty
centavos was generous enough. Besides,
the ton and a half of corn needed to
feed the Indians would
help considerably

harvest. Policarpio's protests did

When

in

1652

the

reducing his debts.

He

did, however,

heed his overseer's warning and asked

that

guards

for his estate

be sent from

Quito,

Hunger stalked the region and babies

and old people perished. When one of

Pereira's cows died, the famished Indians

than

their
Spanish masters, But Mr.
Chapy's first act was to order the Indians
driven from their
huasipungos to make
room for company houses and a sawmill.
When Andres' son brought news of

the order, the Indians rebelled,

They had

the carcass. lie refused bebegged for

cause they might be tempted to kill other
cows, and ordered Policarpio to bury the

white man's cruelty,

even his lechery toward their women,
but they felt that the land was theirs.

dead animal. Desperate, Andres dug it

he and his family ate some of
up. After
the meat, the tainted flesh killed Cunshi.
Padre Lomas demanded twenty-five sucres, more than the Indian could ever

Jacinto vainly tried to stop

they marched on the village.

payment for burying the dead

woman. That same night Andr6s stole
one of his master's cows and sold it to
a nearby butcher. Tracked down by dogs,
the Indian was captured and flogged in
Pereira's patio, There was no one to protest except his small son, who was almost
killed by the white men when he tried

They returned, over the road the Indians had built, with three hundred sol-

earn, in

to

help his father,

score of foreigners arrived in

ToIndians welcomed them timorously, thinking that these new white

men could certainly be no more cruel
machi.

The

stolidly accepted the

Indians killed six of the

others, including
autos.

them when
The enraged
white men. The

Mr. Chapy,

fled in their

under a leader who had killed two

thousand Indians in a similar rebellion
near Cuenca, Troops hunted down and
diers

machine-gunned Indians of all ages and

sexes, The few survivors, taking refuge
hillside shack, rolled down
rocks on the soldiers and shot at them

in Andre's'

with birdguns. Finally the

fire to

the thatched roof.

soldiers

When

set

the Indi-

ans ran from the burning house,

without mercy.
troops shot them

the

HUCKLEBERRY FINN
Type of work: Novel
Author: Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835-1910)

Type of 'plot: Humorous satire

Time of -plot: Nineteenth century
Locale:

Along the Mississippi River

First published:

1885
Principal characters:
HUCKLEBEMIY FlNTf

TOM

SAWYER,

his friend

JIM, a Negro slave

Critique:

Not to have read The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn is nearly as sad as never
having been to a circus or never having
played baseball with the neighborhood
gang. Huck is every young boy who
ever lived, and he is also an individual
worth knowing. He swears and smokes,
but he has a set of ethics of his own.
Reared haphazardly in the South, he
believes that slaves belong to their rightful owners, yet in his honest gratitude

toward his friend

Jirn,

he helps him

escape his slavery. Huck could not bear

to cheat the three Wilks girls, but he did

food when he was

with a lowbrow diakeen-witted and intelligent.

not hesitate to

steal

Huck

talks

hungry.
but he

lect,

He

tells

is

with a straight-laced

his story

forwardness, but the reader finds laughter

and shrewd, sharp comment on human

nature in every chapter of his adventures
along the Mississippi.

The

Story:

Tom

Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

had found a box of gold in a robber's
cave. After Judge Thatcher had taken
the money and invested it for the boys,
each had a huge allowance of a dollar
a day. The Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, had taken Huck home
with them to try to reform him. At first

Huck could not stand living in a tidy

house where smoking and swearing were
forbidden.
Worse, he had to go to
school

and

managed

learn

how

to read.

But he

to drag himself to school almost

HUCKLEBERRY FINN

by

Mark Twain.

every day, except for the times when he

sneaked off for a smoke in the woods or
to
go fishing in the Mississippi.

was beginning to become bearable

him when one day he noticed some
tracks in the snow.
Examining them
Life

to

closely,

he realized that they belonged to

whom Huck had not

the worthless father

seen for over a year.

father

Knowing

that his

would be back hunting him when

the old man learned about the six thousand dollars, Huck rushed over to Judge
Thatcher and persuaded the judge to
take the fortune for himself. The Jiudge
O
was puzzled, but he signed some papers,

and Huck was satisfied that he no longer

had any money for his father to take
from him.

showed up one
Widow Douglas'
home. Complaining that he had
been cheated out of his money, the old
drunkard took Huck away with him to
a cabin in the woods, where he kept the
Huck's father

finally

night in Huck's room at

boy a Drisoner, beating him periodically

and ha .f starving him. Before long Huck
began to wonder why he had ever liked
living with the widow. With his father,
he could smoke and swear all he wanted,
and his life would have been pleasant if
it had not been for the
beatings. One
night Huck sneaked away, leaving a
bloody trail from a pig he had killed in

Huck wanted everyone to

he was dead. He climbed into a
boat and went to Jackson's Island to
the woods.

believe

Published by Harper & Brothers.

1654

all

hide until

the excitement had blown

Following the boy, Huck came

who had been hiding in the
woods waiting for an opportunity to send

snakes.

across Jim,

over.

After three days of freedom, Muck

wandered to another part o the island
and there he discovered Jim, Miss Wattold Muck that
son's Negro slave. Jim
he had run oil because he had overheard

Miss Watson planning to

sell

for

ford daughters eloped with a young Shepherdson, and trie feud broke out once
more. Huck and Jim ran away during

him down

south for eight hundred dollars. Huck

swore he would not report Jim. The
two stayed on the island many days, Jim
lluck an education in primitive
giving
superstition.
back to the
girl,

One

the shooting and set off down the river.

Shortly afterward, Jim and Huck met

two

mainland. Disguised as a
he called on a home near the shore.

There he learned that his father had

men who

pretended they were roy-

and made all sorts of nonsensical demands on Huck and Jim. Huck was not
taken in, but he reasoned that it would
do no harm to humor the two men to
alty

Huck rowed

night,

Huck. Jim had repaired the broken

That night one of the Granger-

raft.

dis-

prevent quarreling.

The Duke and

the

In one of

after the people of the

appeared shortly
town had decided that lluck had been

King were

occurred just after Muck's alleged death,

there was now a three hundred dollar

them a few hundred dollars. Then they

ran off before the angered townspeople
could catch them.
The Duke and the King overheard

the small river towns they staged a fake

show which lasted long enough to net

murdered. Since Jim's disappearance had

reward posted for Jim's capture, as most

believed that Jim had killed Huck.
people

some people talking about the death of

a Peter Wilks, who had left considerable
some cash to his three
property and
two brothers, whom
daughters, Wilks'
no one in the town had ever seen, were
The King and the
in

Island would

Fearing that Jackson's

be searched, Muck hurried back to Jim

and the two headed down the Missisthe raft

planned to leave
then go on a steamboat up
the Ohio into free territory. Jim told
Huck that he would work hard in the
North and then buy his wife and children

sippi. They
at Cairo and

living

him more

bother

if

he betrayed

as Jim.
good friend

One

swam

jumped

safely

to

night as they

Huck

but Jim disap-

peared.

Huck found a home with a friendly

The Grangerfamily named Grangerfortl.
fords

were feuding with the Shepherd-

sons, another family living nearby.

to
left Huck

mostly

The

him-

Grangerfords
slave to
self and gave him a young
asked
wait on him. One day the slave

him

to

come

to the

woods

to see

Mary

and Joanna, and presented

themselves as the two uncles. They took

a few thousand dollars of the inheritance

such a

into the water.

shore,

to the three daughters,

Jane, Susan,

were drifting down the river on their

loomed before them,
raft, a large boat
that the
and
Muck
and
Jim, knowing
the hull of
raft would be smashed under
the ship,

England.

Duke went

from their masters in the South. Helping

cona runaway slave bothered Muck's
but he reasoned that it would
science,

clever schemers.

some

and then put up the property for auction

and sold the slaves. This high-handed
deed caused great grief to the girls, and
Huck could not bear to see them so unHe decided to expose the two
happy.

he wanted to insure Jim's

had been hiding in the
Jim
safety
his companions to ^refor
woods waiting
tum to him, Employing a series of lies,
and maneuverings that were
subterfuges,
exhis ingenious mind, Huck
of
worthy
and King. Huck fled
Duke
the
posed
on their
back to Jim, and the two escaped
Huck
and
they
thought
as
raft. Just
Jim
rid of their
were on their way and well
and King
former companions, the Duke

frauds, but
first.

them,

came rowing down the river toward

with
The whole party set out again

1655

their royal plots to

hoodwink the

public.

In one town where they landed, Jim was

that the
captured, and Huck learned

Duke had turned him in for the reward.

Huck had quite a tussle with his conscience.

He knew

that

he ought

to

help

return a slave to the rightful owner, but,

on the other hand, he thought of all the

he and Jim had had together

and how loyal a friend Jim had been.
Finally, Huck decided that he would help

fine times

Jim

to escape.

Learning that Mr. Phelps was holding

he headed for the Phelps farm.
There, Mrs. Phelps ran up and hugged

Jim,

mistaking him for the nephew

she had been expecting to come
for a visit. Huck wondered how he could

him,

whom

keep Mrs. Phelps from learning that he

was not her nephew. Then to his relief
he learned they had mistaken him for

Tom
Tom

Huck

rather liked being

for a while, and he was able to tell

Sawyer.

the Phelps all about Tom's Aunt Polly

and Sid and Mary, Tom's brother and
sister,

Huck was

feeling

proud of him-

keeping up the deception. When

Tom Sawyer really did arrive, he told
his aunt that he was Sid.
self for

At the

Tom

first

opportunity

Huck toW
To his sur-

door of the shack where Jim was

kept.
But Tom said the rescue had to be done
according to the books, and he laid out
most complicated plan with all kinds of
It took
story-book ramifications.
fully

deceit to let

plotting, stealing, and

of the shack. Then

A chase began after

Jim escaped, and Tom was shot in the
leg. After Jim had been recaptured, Tom
was brought back to Aunt Sally's house
to recover from his wound. Then Tom
revealed the fact that Miss Watson had
died, giving Jim his freedom in her will,
Huck was greatly relieved to learn that
Tom was not really a slave stealer after
all.

To

complicate matters

still

more, Tom's

Aunt

She quickly
Polly arrived.
straight the identities of the two

Jim was given

gave

him

his

freedom and

forty dollars.

Tom

told

set

boys.

Tom

Huck

that his money was still safely in the

hands of Judge Thatcher, but Huck
moaned that his father would likely be
back to claim it again. Then Jim told

Huck
seen

that his father

him lying

along the

merely

of

in

was dead; Jim had

an abandoned boat

river.

Huck was

cause

night and then break the padlock on the

of

Jim out

the scheme failed.

about Jim's capture.

prise, Tom offered to help him set Jim
free. Huck could not believe that Tom
would be a slave stealer, but he kept his
feelings to himself. Huck had intended
to wait until there was a dark

weeks

three

Aunt

ready to start out again beSally said she thought she

might adopt him and try to civilize him.

Huck thought that he could not go
through such a trial again after he had
once tried to be civilized under the care

Widow

Douglas.

HUDIBRAS
Type

of work:

Poem

Author: Samuel Butler (16 12- 1630)

of plot: Satirical burlesque
of plot: 1640-1660
Locale: England

Type
Time

First

published: 1663-1678
Principal characters:

SIR HUDIBRAS, a
Presbyterian knight
RALPHO, Sir Hudibras squire, a
religious Independent
I HE WIDOW, a
woman who
1

SIDROPHEL, an

CnowDEno,

TRULL A,

wealthy

befriended Sir Hudibras

astrologer

a fiddler

woman who

subdued

Sir

Hudibras

Critique:
Butler's
icule

others
in

HuAibras was intended

was one

to rid-

those who had ridden out

monarchy during the civil
war. He was a
proud man, one who

the Presbyterians,

who had

the conflict

Dissenters, and
fought against the crown

between Charles

against

and

bent his knee to nothing but

chivalry
and suffered no blow but that which hacl
been given when he was dubbed a

Oliver Cromwell. Published

shortly after
the restoration of Charles II, the
poem

had immense popularity for a time. The

king himself, one of its most ardent ad-

knight. Although he had some wit, he

was very shy of
displaving it. He knew
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew: indeed, his
talk was a kind of piebald dialect, so
heavily was it larded with G^eek and
Latin wo-ds and tags. He was learned in
rhetoric, logic, and mathematics, and he
frequently spoke in a manner demonstrating his learning. His notions fitted
things so well that he was often puzzled
to decide what his notions were and what
was reality.
In figure he was thick and stout, both
before and behind, and he alwavs car-

mirers, carried a copv in his

pocket and
quoted from it. Hudibras has sometimes
been called a mock-epic. It is more accurate, however, to say that the
poem is to
an epic what farce is to
tragic drama. The
burlesque is used with telling effect.
Mean and low persons, things, and situ-

ations

are

guage.

Bv

described
so

in

pompous

lan-

doing, Butler hoped to un-

mask the hypocrisy and absurdity of Dissenting reformers in seventeenth-century

England and to show them as ridiculous,

and obnoxious. He also wanted
to draw attention to the
pretensions of
odious,

the false
learning rampant in England
the time.
Astrology, fortune-telling,

of

the

ried extra victuals in his hose.

he encouraged his horse with

alchemy, "sympathetic" medicine, and

other pseudo-sciences were
presented in
such fashion as to show the readers of

old spur.

practitioners alike.

ascribed

To Hudibras

can be

organization; the best qualities of the

poems lie in isolated passages

devoted

little

to the satire.

Sir

pho,

single

Hudibras had a squire named Ral-

who was an Independent

in religion

which accounted for his partisanto the many

ship and dogmatic approach
discussions and arguments he had with
his master on matters of faith. Ralpho
was a tailor by trade, but his belief in the
a fact

to the indiefficacy of divine revelation

The

Story:
Sir Hudibras,

rode

at

his time the

absurdity of practices and

He

a mealy-mouthed, wall-eyed,
skinny old
nag whose tail dragged in the dust and

vidual had
a

Presbyterian knight,

made him something

at least in his
ligious oracle,

1657

own

of a resatisfied

to

opinion.

end these activities

agreement that they

unchristian. When the

knight advanced, however, he was met
by an unsympathetic crowd. With the

were several

Crowdero,
lea,

who

mob

stocks. After

One was

leaders,

was

called

return

woman named

of a damsel.

When

Sir

Trulla, an

Sir

Hudibras

the people to disperse and

quietly to their homes, leaving

upon

Crowdero

prisoner, a fight began.

Ralpho was soon bucked off his horse

when some one put a burr under the animal's tail. Sir Hudibras, pulled from his
steed, fell on the bear, who became enraged and escaped from his keeper. The
bear's escape scattered the crowd and
Crowdero was left behind, the prisoner
of Sir Hudibras and Ralpho, for the fiddler's wooden
leg had been broken in
the melee. Having swooned from fear,
Hudibras also lay helpless for a time, but
he was soon revived by Ralpho. The
pair took their prisoner to the end of the
town and placed his good leg in the
stocks. They hung his fiddle, bow, and
case above the stocks as a
trophy of victory.

The people who had been dispersed by

the enraged bear,
overcoming their fright,
planned to attack the knight and release
his victim.

Hudibras and Ralpho

to

the

aid

of

came

much

his

to

see

him

in the

discussion, she agreed

set free if he would

consent to a whipping. He agreed

condition and was released.

the bear keeper, who led his charge at

the end of a rope fastened to the creature's
nose. Talgol, a butcher, was also in the

Amazon

first

the

have Hudibras

to

fiddler

in the absence of more martial fifes

and drums. Another leader was Orsin,

van, as

When

knight's plight

wtih one wooden

plaved his instrument for the
a

at

and quickly overpowered him. Rejoined

by her friends, the woman marched
Hudibras to the stocks to take the place
of Crowdero. Placed in the stocks, Hudibras and Ralpho discussed and
argued
their situation and what had occasioned
it. Then a widow who had heard of the

the knight's resolve to

rabble

Hudibras,

knight's back was

turned, Trulla attacked him from behind

worse in Sir Hudibras' eyes, indulged

themselves in the sport of bearbaiting. To
his

rider.

and Hudibras went

squire.

ney they came to a town where the

a fiddle and,
people danced enjovably to

Ralpho added
were certainly

unhorse his

frightened, summoned his courage and

cha r ged. The crowd dispersed once
again,

Hudibras and Ralpho rode forth

from the knight's home to reform what
they called sins and what the rest of the
world regarded as rnild amusement. After
miles on their jourthey had gone a few
Sir

sallied

out of their quarters to the attack.

blow on Ralpho's horse caused the animal

Hudibras, once out of the

to

the

stocks,

was reluctant to keep the bargain he had

made. He was anxious for her hand, too,
but for her

money

rather than her love.

Hudibras and Ralpho argued long about

flagellation, Hudibras suggested that the

whipping be administered to Ralpho, as

a
proxy for the knight. Ralpho refused
and an argument ensued. When the two
were almost at swords' points, they heard
a terrible din.
They looked about and
saw coming down the road, a party of
people making a noisy to-do over a poor
man who had let his wife take over his
authority. Sir Hudibras tried to break up
the crowd, but a volley of rotten eggs

and other

filth

defeated him and cooled

The knight, going

clean himself after his most recent en-

his ardor for reform.

to

counter with

sin,

decided

to

to

lie

the

widow about having

received a whipping.
Before approaching the widow's bouse,
Sir Hudibras went to consult Sidrophel,

an

astrologer.

Hudibras

and

Ralpho

agreed that a godly man might reasonably

consult with, such a man if he were on a
Christian errand. Hudibras, soon con-

vinced that Sidrophel and his apprentice,

Whachum, were frauds, perhaps dabblers
with the devil, sent Ralpho off to find a
constable.

came the

Meanwhile, Hudibras overthe

pair and went through

of
astrologer's belongings. Instead

1658

going

a constable, however, Ralpho decided to go to the widow. He was afraid

that the authorities might think Hudibras

cided to
escape before worse could happen to them. They went

involved in black magic,

saddleless horses.

for

Ralpho, telling

all

to

the widow,

Hudibras was going to lie

about having received a whipping and
that he was only after the widow's
Hudibras arrived a short
money. When
the knight
truths and

widow hid Ralpho

tell
lies.

his

arid let

long string of

half-

The widow, knowing

the

somewhat frightwith
Ralpho as the
ening masquerade,
chief sprite. Hudibras and the squire detruth, treated

him

to a

The

re-

vealed that

time later, the

hugger-mugger
trrough a window and escaped on their

of

the

poet then turned in the

poem

religious

talk

to

directly

last

part

about the

groups for which Ralpho and

Hudibras stood

the

Independents and

Presbyterians and how they had

fallen out with one another after the end

the

of the Civil

War

their weakness,

and had eventually,

paved the way

for

in

the

Restoration of the Stuart line in the person of Charles II.

HUGH WYNNE,

FREE QUAKER

of work: Novel
Author: Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914)

Type

Type of plot: Historical romance

Time of plot: 1753-1783
Locale: Colonial America
First published:

1897
Principal characters:

JOHN WYNNE,
MARIE,

Quaker

his wife

HUGH WYNNE,

John's son

JACK WARDER, Hugh's friend

ARTHUR WYNNE, Hugh's cousin
DARTHEA PENISTON, who marries

GAINOR WYNNE,

Hugh

sister

John's

Critique:

The

lution.

historical

is one of
American Revo-

free Quaker

Hugh Wynne,

the best novels of the

veracity of

sense can

its

events in the

be judged by any
and its faithfulness

student of history,
to the social history of the time can be

judged by reading diaries and chronicles

of those who lived through the war
years.
More than historical fiction, however, the
novel

is

a touching revelation of a childrelationship and of the con-

parent
sequences

of

too

much

doctrinal

dis-

Wales now held the family estate of

Wyncote. The American branch, being
Quaker, had dissociated itself from the
more worldly family at Wyncote, and
Hugh Wynne grew up under the stern
discipline of John Wynne's orthodoxy.
John's sister, Gainor Wynne, had not
become a Quaker. Because
Hugh was
his aunt's favorite,
early in his life he
under the influence of those

who

were outside the ways of the Quakers.

Jack Warder was Hugh's closest
friend, the two boys having gone to
school together. Aunt Gainor often in-

f^^T^^^^u^^oSP^?? b

Sila s

in Phila-

men
Hugh

worldly group of English officers,

whom the Quakers frowned.

upon

enjoyed their society, to the delight of

aunt, who wished her nephew to
break his Quaker ties. Jack Warder,
his

however, did not like Gainor Wynne's

friends.

enough

When

to

he and Hugh were old

judge moral values for them-

their
friendship became strained.
Hugh's father was never fully aware

selves,

One
family had descended

home

where she was surrounded

by

spent his time away

way Hugh

from home.

from an ancient Welsh line. That

part
of the family which had remained in

fell

delphia,
a

of the

cipline.

The Story:
The Wynne

vited both boys to her

night, while drinking

and gam-

bling with his worldly friends, Hugh met

a cousin, Arthur
Wynne, of the family

He

at

Wyncote.
instinctively disliked
his relative because of his
superior ways

and

his deceitful

manner.

During the

evening Hugh became very drunk. Suddenly his mother and Jack Warder burst
into the room.
This incident marked the beginning
of Hugh's break with his father's church
and the renewal of his friendship with
Jack Warder. Hugh, realizing his folly,
was thankful that Jack had seen him on
the streets and had led his mother to
the drunken party. He
depth of his mother's

rescue

him from

began

to realize the

love

and understanding.

John

Wynne

Weir Mitchell. By permission of the publishers, Appletoa-CenturyRenewed, 1923, by Langden Eiwyn Mitchell.

Uofts, Inc. Copyright, 1896, by The Century Co.

1660

was quite different in his attitude, A

few nights later he took Hugh to a
Quaker meeting, where public prayers
were offered to save Hugh's soul. Hugh's
embarrassment caused him to lose all of
his love for the Quaker religion and to
bear a deep resentment against his father.
At Gainor Wynne's home, Jack and
Hugh heard much conversation about
disagreement between the Americans and
the British. Gainor was a Whig, and
under her influence Jack and Hugh
gained sympathy for their American
compatriots. Arthur Wynne too had be-

come

part of the society that gathered

Gainor Wynne's house. Jack and

Hugh had never liked Arthur, but now
cause for their dislike.
they had a new
Arthur made no secret of his admiration
for Darthea Peniston, a schoolmate of
Jack and Hugh, and his bragging about

at

Wyncote seemingly won her

thus arousing

Hugh
t>

sisted

interest,

When

Hugh's

jealousy.
told Darthea of iis love, she inthat she did not love him.

Meanwhile

Hugh's

went

parents

he stayed
with Gainor Wynne. Claiming that the
time was not far off when he would need
such a skill, she urged him to take

abroad.

During

their absence

fencing lessons. Jack practiced the sport

with his friend, although he knew it to
be contrary to the laws of the church.
Hugh and Jack both knew that soon
they

would

join the

American cause

for

for their sins,

they could no longer belong to the Society of Friends,
and

Hugh announced

Jack
they intended to

that

the American
army; fighting had
already begun at Lexington.
Jack went to join the
troops. After
a short time
Hugh decided to follow him,
in spite of his father's
crafty excuses that

join

he needed

Hugh

affairs for

him.

Hugh was

army,

and

sent,

to

conduct his business

he did join the

When

captured by the British

wounded and

In

the

sick, to a filthy

Arthur Wynne,
now a Tory captain, saw his cousin, but
left
Hugh to die. Hugh never forgave

prison.

him

for

this

prison

and

cruelty

for his subse-

concerning the meeting.

Hugh recovered and escaped from
prison to return to Gainer Wynne's
house. Arthur
Wynne was staying at
the home of John
and

quent

lie

Wynne

man.

something

mysterious in relation to the Welsh estate

of Wyncote.
Supposedly Arthur's father

owned

the estate, having bought

father.

John's

Hugh

Gainor

from

it

Wynne

urged

to investigate the title of the estate.

John Wynne, it seemed, still possessed

the title, and out of sympathy for
Arthur's alleged poverty had promised to
give it to him. Hugh was unable to
change his father's decision, even after
he told of Arthur's cruel desertion when
Hugh lay near death in prison. His
father refused to believe

liberty.

ingrati-

ating himself in the eyes of the old

Hugh knew that there was

Hugh's

story.

abroad, Hugh received a letter telling

that his mother had died. On his return

Darthea about
Arthur's behavior, for he felt that she
would rush to Arthur's defense if he

John showed no signs

said anything against his cousin.

While John Wynne and

loss of his wife.

his wife were

of his grief at the

Hugh

himself

felt

father,

At Gainor's home, where he spent

more time than ever since the death of
his mother, Hugh quarreled with an
to a
English officer and was challenged

With Jack

as his second,

Hugh

answered the challenge. As a result the

Quakers notified both boys that unless
and repented
they changed their ways

could not

Once, while

her

loss deeply.

duel.

Hugh

handed

tell

Hugh was at home, his

Hugh was Arthur,

thinking
him the

deed

to

Wyncote,

Knowing that his father's mind had often

misled him of late, Hugh tried to convince the

old

man

that

he was not

Arthur, but John insisted that Hugh take

the deed.
Hugh took it to Gainor

Wynne.

1661

After a rest of a few months,

Hugh

He was
rejoined the American troops.
able to perform a courageous service for

General Washington, for which he received praise and a captaincy. Jack, too,
had become an officer.

When Hugh

and Jack returned to

on
leave, Gainor Wynne
Philadelphia
to expose Arthur to Darthea.
managed
had lost her
Although the young girl
earlier love for the Tory officer, she had
been unwilling to break her promise to
him. But with proof of Arthur's villainy
before her, she felt that she was tree
break her engagement.
to marry him
Again Hugh asked her
and she surprised him by accepting. Hugh
still did not want the title to Wyncote,

at last to

and Darthea agreed with him that after

he had taken Arthur's betrothed it would
not become

from

him

Hugh
as

to take his inheritance

well.

Although Gainor
wished to press the legality of the
ancient deed, Darthea threw it into the
fire, and so destroyed any claim Hugh
might have upon the ancestral estate.
John Wynne, who had ceased to live
for Hugh when he had lost his mental
faculties, died soon after the war ended.
Darthea and Hugh were happily married,
and they lived long years together to
watch their children and their grandchildren grow up unburdened by the
control which Hugh
rigorous religious
had known in his youth.

Wynne

THE HUMAN COMEDY

Type

of work:

Novel

Author: William Saroyan (1908Type of plot: Sentimental romance

Time of 'plot: Twentieth century

Locale: Ithaca, California
First

published:

1943
Principal characters:

KATEY MACAULEY,
HOMER,

widow

ULYSSES, and

MARCUS, her

sons

BESS, her daughter

MARY ARENA, Marcus' sweetheart

THOMAS SP ANGLER,
MR. GROGAN,

manager of the telegraph

office

assistant in the

telegraph office
TOBEY GEORGE, Marcus* friend from the army
LIONEL, Ulysses' friend

Critique:

This novel has for its theme the idea

no human can ever die as longo as

that

who loved
The story deals with the family of
a soldier who died in the war. Frankly
sentimental, The Human Comedy is one
he

lives in the hearts of those

him.

of the

The

most touching of Saroyan's works.

cused.
Story:

Mr. Macauley was dead and his wife

and children had to take care of themselves.
When Marcus went into the
the next oldest, obtained
Homer,
army,
a job on the night shift in the telegraph
office at Ithaca, California. He worked
at night because he was still attending
during the day. Little Ulysses
watched his family and wondered what
was going on, for his baby's mind could
not comprehend all the changes that had
taken place in his home.

school

Every morning Homer arose early

and exercised in his room so that he
would be physically fit to run the twotwenty low hurdles at high school. After
he and Bess had eaten their breakfast,
Mary Arena, who was in love with Marcus, came from next door, and she and
Bess walked to school together.

'THE
Be

In the ancient

history class, taught by

Miss Hicks, Homer and Hubert
Ackley
the Third insulted each other, and Miss
Hicks kept the boys after school. But
Coach Byfield had picked Hubert to run
the two-twenty low hurdles that afternoon, and Hubert told Miss Hicks that
the principal had asked that he be ex-

Hicks

Homer

to

deceit,

Miss

run the

race.

Although Hubert was the winner, Homer

felt that justice had been done.

Thomas Spangler was

in charge of the

and Mr. Grogan, an old

telegraph
man with a weak heart, was his assistant.
Because Mr. Grogan got drunk every
night, one of Homer's duties was to see
to it that Mr. Grogan stayed awake to
office

perform his duties.

problem which.

weighed on Homer's mind ever since

he had taken his new job and had grown
up overnight was whether the war would
change anything for people. Mr. Grothe
gan and Homer often talked about
world, Homer declaring that he did not
!iad

they were. Seeing everyone in the world mixed up and lonely,

Homer said, he felt that he had to say
like things as

and do things

HUMAN COMEDY

Co., Inc.

Indignant at the
also sent

to

make

people laugh.

Harcomt, Braca
by William Saroyan. By permission of the author and the publishers,
Copyright, 1943, by Harcourt, Brace & Co., Inc.

1663

Mrs, Macauley was happy that her

human, Ever since her

husband had

death,

premonition of Mar-

Soldiers
to their

graph

was walking downtown

with Lionel and Ulysses, he saw through

night, while he

the

him that
stupid, the land woman assured
he was as good as everyone else. Lionel
took Ulysses to the library with him to
all

who

spent

his

time

wandering around and watching everything, was pleased with the new ex-

Marcus wrote to Homer from an army

camp somewhere in the South, and

killed in action.

took the letter back to the tele-

mother,

and

his

sweetheart,

described
Bess,

Mary,

When Homer

returned

with the medicine, he found Mr. Grogan

graph office with him. The letter told

about Marcus' friend, an orphan named

Tobey George. Marcus had

his family, Homer, Ulysses,

of the telegraph office that

telegram, a message for Katey Macauley

that her son Marcus had been
telling her

perience.

Homer

window

Mr. Grogan was working alone. He sent

the two small boys home and went in to
see if Mr. Grogan needed him. The
old man had suffered one of his heart
attacks, and Homer ran to the drug store
to get some medicine for him. Mr. Grogan attempted to type out one more

the many-colored books on the

Ulysses,

began coming home to Ithaca,

mothers and to their families.

Homer had been working at the teleoffice for six months. One Sunday

away from

games because they said that he

was dumb. When Lionel came to Mrs.
Macauley to ask her whether he was

shelves.

no other way.

watch everything with increasing inMary and Bess sang their songs
and went for their evening walks. Telegrams came, and Homer delivered them,

their

look at

in

terest,

for

older boys chased Lionel

*"*

to

after-

him.
going to bring Marcus with
Little Ulysses had a friend, Lionel,
who was three years older than Ulysses.

The

Marcus

The same events repeated themselves

many times in Ithaca. Ulysses continued

she imagined that her

husband came to her and told her he was
cus*

Marcus

for

pretended to
him problems that arose concerning the
She felt that the
rearing of her family.
father was not dead if he lived again

noon she had

if
I

Katey Macauley had

see him and discuss with

One

that

should be killed he would

ILAA^*
spit at the
world. Homer could express his love

died,

in the lives of his children.

he told Mr. Grogan

it,

children were so

his
to

Tobey. Because Tobey had no family of

his own, he was grateful to Marcus
for bringing to him second-hand the
Marcus had told
Macauley family.

Tobey that after the war he wanted

Tobey to go to Ithaca and marry Bess.
Tobey was not so certain that Bess
would want to marry him, but he felt
for the first time in his life that he had
a family that was almost his own. Marcus had written to Homer, as the new
head of the family, to tell him about
Tobey George and to ask him to look
after his mother and Bess.
Homer was moved by his brother's
When he had finished reading
letter.

slumped over the typed-out message. He

was dead. Homer went home with the
killed,
message that Marcus had been

had got off the

was Tobey George.
He walked around for a time before he
went to see Marcus' family. When he
came to the Macauley porch, he stood
and listened to Bess and Mary singing
inside the house. Bess came outside and
sat next to him while he told her that
Marcus had sent him to be a member
of the family. When Homer came to
That night a

train at Ithaca.

the

soldier

He

with

the

telegram,

aside

and

told

Tobey
him to tear
up the message. Tobey assured him that
Marcus was not dead; Marcus could
never die. Mrs. Macauley came onto the
and
porch, and Ulysses ran to Tobey
porch

called

him

took his hand.

1664

For a while the mother

looked at her two remaining sons.

she smiled at her new son as the

Then
family

walked into the house

tlUMPJHJO CLINKER
Type of work: Novel
Author: Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)

Type
Time

of plot: Social satire

of

-plot:

Mid-eighteenth century

Locale; England, Scotland,

First published:

Wales

1771

Principal characters:

MATTHEW BRAMBLE,

Welsh

squire

Miss TAJBITHA BRAMBLE, his sister

LYDIA MELFORD, his niece
JERHY MELFORD, his nephew
WINIFRED JENKINS, a maid
HUMPHRY CLINKER, a servant, discovered

to

he Mr. Bramble's natural son

LIEUTENANT OBADIAH LISMAIIAGO, an adventurer and sportsman

MR. DENNISON, a country gentleman
GEORGE DENNISON, his son, the actor known as Wilson
Critique;

This novel, written in the form of

is
easy to read and continually

circumstance Squire Bramble hoped she

would soon forget among the gay and

letters,

amusing.

The

the letters are

characters of the writers of

fashionable

shown by

brother,

the variation of

their descriptions of the same events. The

picture is one of a realistic if somewhat

at

society.

The

Expedition

and

an outstanding
ample of English humor.

The

Her

Bath.

Oxford, had

his sister's

honor had not presented

it-

self to his satisfaction.

On

of

made

Humphry Clinker, to use its full title,

has often been called the greatest of the
letter-novels,

at

just finished his studies

tried to fight a duel with

the actor, but an opportunity to defend

eccentric family, whose members display

the manners and customs of eighteenth-

century

gatherings

who had

way to Bath a Jewish peddler

way into Squire Bramble's lodg-

the
his

ings on the pretext of selling glasses, and

a whisper made himself known to

Lydia as George Wilson, the strolling
player. The lovesick girl ordered Wini-

ex-

in

fred Jenkins to follow the actor

Story:

Squire Matthew Bramble was an eccentric and skeptical gentleman with

with him.

and

The maid came back

talk

in a

great flurry. He had told her that Wilson

was not his real name, that he was a

large estates in Wales. With him lived

his sister, Miss Tabitha Bramble, a mid-

gentleman, and that he intended to sue

maiden of high matrimonial

hopes that were greater than her expec-

for Lydia's

dle-aged

hand

in his proper character.

But, alas, the excited

tations. Painfully afflicted with the gout,

the squire set out for Bath to try the

waters, but with few hopes of their heal-

ing properties. With him went his sister:

her servant, Winifred Jenkins; his own
manservant, and, at the last minute, his
niece and nephew, Lydia and Jerry Melford.

The young Melfords were orphans and

Squire Bramble's wards. Lydia had been
in boarding-school, where, unfortunately,
a
she had fallen in love with an actor

maid had

forgotten

Wilson's real name. There was nothing

for poor Lydia to Jo but to conjecture
and daydream as the party continued on
toward Bath.
Arriving at Bath without further incident, the party entered the

gay

festivi-

there with various degrees of pleasure. Tabitha tried to get

proposals of

ties

marriage out of every eligible man she

met, and the squire became disgusted
with the supposed curative powers of the

waters which were drunk and bathed in

1666

by people with almost any infirmity in

hopes of regaining their health. Lydia
was still languishing over Wilson, and
Jerry enjoyed the absurdity of the social
In an attempt to
gatherings.
lighten his
niece's spirits, Squire Bramble decided to

on

to

London.

They had traveled only a short way

toward London when the coach accidentally

overturned and Miss Tabitha's

lap-

dog, in the excitement, bit the squire's

servant. Miss Tabitha made such loud

when

the servant kicked her

dog in return that the squire was forced
to discharge the man on the
spot. He

complaint

needed another postilion, as Miss

Tabitha declared herself unwilling to
drive another foot behind the
clumsy fellow who had overturned the coach. The
also

squire

hired

ragged

country

named Humphry Clinker

to

fellow

take

the

place of the unfortunate postilion, and

the party went on to the next
village.

Miss Tabitha was shocked by what

she called Humphry's nakedness, for he
wore no shirt. The maid added to the
chorus of
outraged modesty. Yielding to
these female clamors, the squire asked
about Humphry's circumstances, listened

him a
on the crimes of poverty and sickand gave him a guinea for a new

to the story of his life,

gruffly read

lecture
ness,

suit of clothes.

In gratitude

Humphry renew bene-

fused to be parted from his

factor and went on with the party to

London,
In London they were well entertained
by a visit to Vauxhall Gardens as well
as by several public and private parties.
Squire Bramble was disconcerted by the
discovery that Humphry was a preacher
by inclination, and had begun giving
sermons in the manner of the Methodists.
Miss Tabitha and her maid were already

among Humphry's

followers.

The

squire

attempted to stop what he considered

either hypocrisy

or

madness on Hum-

with
phry's part. Miss Tabitha, disgusted
!ier brother's action, begged him to allow

Humphry

to

continue his fermons.

The

family was shocked to learn one

day that
a

Humphry had

highway

robber,

been arrested

and was

in jail

as

When

the squire arrived to

investigate the case,
Humphry was obviously innocent of the charge against
him, which had been placed by an exconvict who made
money by turning in
criminals to the
government.

he discovered that

Humphry

had made a fine impression on the

jailer
and his family and had converted several
of his fellow
prisoners.
the man who

and got him

The

squire

found

supposedly had been robbed

to

testify

not the

man who had

bery.

In

the

that

Humphry was

committed the rob-

meantime

Humphry

preached so eloquently that he kept the

prison taproom empty of customers.
When this became evident he was hurriedly

released,

and

promised to allow him

mons unmolested.

Squire
to

Bramble

preach his

ser-

Continuing their travels north after

London, the party stopped in
Scarborough where they went bathing.
Squire Bramble undressed in a little cart
which could be rolled down into the
sea, so that he was able to bath nude with
the greatest propriety. When he entered the water, he found it much colder
than he had expected and gave several
shouts as he swam away. Hearing these
calls from the
squire, Humphry thought
his good master was drowning, and
leaving

rushed fully clothed into the sea to rescue him, He pulled the squire to shore,
almost twisting off his master's ear, and
and
leaving the modest man shamefaced

view upon the beach.

bewas
forgiven, however,
Humphrey
cause he had meant well.
At an inn in Durham, the party made

naked in

full

the acquaintance of lieutenant Lisma-

Don

hago, who seemed somewhat

Quixote. The lieutenant, regaling the
with tales of his adventures
like

company
among the Indians

of

North America,

the heart of Miss Tabitha.

quite captured

was also charmed "with

Squire Bramble
the crusty conversation of the retired

1667

sol-

and made plans to meet hirn later

on in their journey. The group became
more and more fond of Humphry as t^ me
went on, especially Winifred. After a
short and frivolous flirtation with err s

dier,

settled
part-time valet, she
as a husband.

down

In a gracious way,
Squire Bramble wel-

comed

Humphry was
overcome with pleasure and
shyness.
Winifred was afraid that his
discovery
would spoil her matrimonial plans, but
Humphry continued to be the mild religious man he had been before.

wn
j

Humphry
The party

continued its trip

through
In Edinburgh Lydia fa i ntecj
when she saw a man who looke(| i^ e
Wilson, an action which showed her
uncle that she had not yet forgott en
Scotlanc.

The squire was also surprised to learn

that the actor who had called himself

Wilson was

After visiting several parts O f

land and enjoying the most gracio^ s

to

everywhere, they continued

and Miss Tabitha rehim.

on
designs
Just outside Dumfries the coach was
overturned in the middle of a CH--,,
ncdin.
11
Jerry and Lismahago succeeded in getting
the water a f ter

struggle, and Humphry staged a

rescue of the squire, who had

fulfill
.

h ero i c
been

When Humphry

the terms of* a.

a
,

, -ii
WJLAJL.

heard his master

called
Lloyd, he rushed up in a flutter o excitement and presented the
squj re

^^

he had always
carri ec
with him. These papers
proved that
Humphry was the squire's natu ra| son

certain

papers

marriage

him long

his

father

before, tie

had

had
told

who was

her uncle was

friend

Matthew Lloyd.

young

lovers

Now

his. old

the

two

were brought together

Lieutenant Lismahago was moved

had known the squire only as Matthew

Lloyd, a name he had taken for a wn j} e
.

fine

for

a joyous reunion.

caught in the bottom of the coach. Thev

found lodgings at a nearby inn until
the coach could be repaired.
While all
were gathered in the parlor of a tavern
Squire Bramble was accosted by an QJJ
college friend named Dennison, a successful farmer of the
county. Mr. Dennison

in order to
__
TTT

for

Bramble

newed her

out of

Dennison's son, a

his father about his love for

Lydia, but
Dennison had not realized that the Mr.

rejoined the party

women

escape

planned

coach back to England. As

they were
traveling south, Lieutenant Lisrn a h
o

the

really

proper young man who had run away

from school and become an actor only

affair.

pitality

and presented him

family.

y'

his

offspring,
to the rest of his

to

ask for Miss Tabitha's hand in

marriage,
and both the squire and Miss Tabitha
eagerly accepted his offer. The whole

Darty
louse

made

went

to

while
for

the

stay

at

Mr. Dennison's
were being

preparations

marriage

of

Lydia and

The coming marriages prompted

Humphry to ask Winifred for her hand,
and she also said yes. The three wed-

George.

dings were planned for the same day.

George and Lydia were a most attrac-

The lieutenant and Tabitha

be more pleasant than ever before.
Humphry and Winifred both
thanked God for the pleasures He saw fit
to give them.
The squire planned to
return home to the tranquility of Brambleton Hall and the friendship of his

tive

couple.

seemed

to

invaluable doctor there.

THE HUNCHBACK
OF NOTRE DAME
of work: Novel
Author: Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Type

Type
Time

of

'plot:

of

-plot:

romance

Historical

Fifteenth century

Locale: France
First

published:

1831
Principal characters:
QUASIMODO, the Hunchhart
_ r^
nDa ck of NT
Notre
Dame
TPc-MTJTiPTnA oa o,
hSMERELDA, gipsy dancer

CLAODE FROLLO, archd^

PHOEBUS DE

C^rl^^ Not

GHINCOIRE,

r -XT

^ amC
P sweetheart

Esmerelf?a
1

srupK
r
poverty-stricken poet
'

anci

t.

Critique:

Victor Hugo, leader of the French romantic movement, not only could tell a
but also could endow
his
gripping story,
romantic
characters with
essentially
a

huge

A A A~*
"

society
^i^*

"-

"

'

of Himself,

image
*j\as*^j*i

"

l**vr
n
man
and by
j-*whs*l
-

-TV*

"

Y"fc

mnt* Yurhir-n

ir
in

^,

IJ*-

The

yl

/"VIB^T"!

-^w

and achieve

tions

The

court.

The

'

*j\j

J tv
-

r f *rt^^*

bell-

"

was buried under an enormous

wen. His teeth hung over his protrudinf
1
I*
I'l
-1,Uii. ^TTfaK-rrkTKTC TS7PTV
lower lip like tusks. His eyebrows were
curved
re(j bristles and Ms gigantic nose
Hig long
]ite ft
j.
p
arms protruded from Ms shoulders, danhe was deaf
like an
of his eyes

i_^p

great day arrived, coinciding

and the secular cele-

both with Epiphany

bration of the Festival of Fools. All day

Parisians had assembled at
long, raucous
the great Palace of Justice to see a moraland to choose a Prince of Fools.

play
The throng was supposed to await the
arrival of the Flemish guests, but when

ity

the hunchback
--was Quasimodo,
J^^
-

^**"^i

o
of

Notre Dame. Nowhere on earth

ringer of
was there a more grotesque creature. One

spiritual greatness.

such
^t

extraordinary
extraordinary hideousness
the people acclaimed dais
that
appeared
candidate at once as the Prince of Fools,

crowd shouted and jeered until a

hce
ace

Story:
-

one

&

Louis XI, King of France, was to marry

.1,1...
MarosrPf nf Pla,,^,..
his oldest son to Margaret of nancters,
and in early January, 1482, the king was
Flemish ambassadors to his
expecting
-

this

their disreputable lives, showed

glory of
& ir faces in front of a glass window, but

an image fettered b
hfWlTT <*
_
s own body
and soul,
ULJ
C*

man
One by

Prince of Fools had to be a

remarkable physical ugliness.

one the candidates, eager for

fnP* last
lull" ftTia nre-io
"L_
the
but one which,
analysis, ha s
the freedom to transcend these limita'L,,*.

and the crowd

of

of a good novel; an exciting

quality
story
a magnificent setting, and deep, lasti-lasting
_._.
the
^*
W'i
*
characterizations.
^^*i^
Perhaps
compelof this novel lies in the idea
ling truth
that God has created in man an imperfect
**"

forgotten,

chosen.

come monumental literary figures. The

Hunchback of Notre Dame has every

"* JU *r*

After the procession passed

shouted for the Prince of Fools to be

realism so powerful that they have he-

XBT *.

palace.

pay was

the

the emissaries were late Gringoire, a penthe

niless and oafish poet, ordered
play to
the middle of the prologue,
In
begin.
to a standstill
however, the play came
as the royal procession passed into the

^ ^ ^^
gling

^^

Though

ape's.

from long years of ringing Notre Dame's

thunderous bells, Ms eyesight was acute.
he had been
Quasimodo sensed that

was

chosen by popular acclaim, and he

honor
once proud and suspicious of Ms
dress
as he allowed the crowd to
above
robes and hoist
their heads.
_

From
_

this vantage point he

n
T
._!_ 1 A
^lp*
silence wMle the
^B

maintained a dignified
the
p ara j e wen t through

1669

anci

_.

as.

streets of Paris,

watch the enchanting

La Esmerelda,
girl,
charm held her audience

to
stopping only
^ance of a gipsy

Wnose grace

Mm

Mm

in ridiculous

at

way and found himself

She had with her a little

spellbound.
trained goat that danced to her tambouwere celebrated throughrine. The

his

streets of Paris. He had no

in desperowed
shelter,
money, and was
ate straits. As the cold night came on,

appeared and volunteered to take him.

But Gringoire enjoyed no wedding night.
Esmerelda's heart belonged to Phoebus;
she had rescued the poet only out of pity.
In those days the courts of Paris often
picked innocent people from the streets,

table

pair

walked the

Then

a black-hooded

the shadows

of him.

man came

and seized the

out of
the
gipsy. At

same time, Gringoire caught sight of the

hooded man's partner, Quasimodo, who
struck Gringoire a terrible blow.

The

been

fol-

rider

demanded

he

witch,
Frollo,

It was Captain Phoebus

de Chateaupers. From that moment Esmerelda was hopelessly in love with
Phoebus.
to discover
Gringoire did not bother

of her rescuer,

the plot behind the frustrated kidnapbut had he known the truth he
ing,

might have been more frightened than

he was. Quasimodo's hooded companion
had been Claude Frollo, archdeacon of
Notre Dame, a man who had once been a
but who now,
pillar of righteousness,
because of loneliness and an insatiable
thirst for knowledge and experience, had
succumbed to the temptations of necromancy and alchemy.
had befriended Quasimodo
Frollo
when the hunchback had been left at
the gates of Notre Dame as an unwanted
slavbaby, and to him Quasimodo was

He acted without question

ishly loyal.
when Frollo asked his aid in kidnaping
the beautiful gipsy.

Frollo,

mired Esmerelda from a

having adplanned

distance,

to carry her off to his small cell in the

cathedral, where he could enjoy her
charms at his leisure.

As Quasimodo and

Frollo hurried back

to the cathedral, Gringoire continued

disrepu-

and convicted them with

regard for justice. Quasimodo had

seen in his role as the Prince of

The
name

that

in a

Paris.

Fools and had been watched as he stood

before the gipsy girl while she danced.
It was rumored that Esmerelda was a

came

free the girl or pay with his life.

attackers Bed. Esmerelda asked the

them,

tried
little

riding
lowing moment a horseman
from the next street. Catching sight of
Esmerelda in the arms of the black-

hooded man, the

of

Captured by
thugs, he was threatened with death if
none of the women in the thieves' den
would marry him. When no one wanted
the pale, thin poet, a noose was lowered
about his neck. Suddenly Esmerelda

out Paris, though there were some who

a witch, so great was
thought the girl
her power in captivating her audience.
Late that night the poet Grmgoire

he saw Esmerelda hurrying ahead

quarter

on

and most

of Paris suspected that

Quasimodo's only associate, was

a sorcerer. Consequently Quasimodo was
brought into a court, accused of keeping
questionable company, and sentenced to
a severe flogging and exposure on the
endured his disgrace,
pillory. Quasimodo
but after his misshapen back
stoically,
had been torn by the lash, he was overcome with a terrible thirst. The crowd
stones.
They hated
jeered and threw
and feared Quasimodo because of his

ugliness.

Presently Esmerelda

mounted the

scaf-

and put her flask to Quasimodo's

blackened lips. This act of kindness
moved him deeply and he wept. At that
same time Frollo had happened upon the
and
scene, caught sight of Quasimodo,
Later Quasimodo was
fold

departed quickly.
to

remember

this betrayal.

One day Phoebus was

entertaining a
the square
lady in a building overlooking
where Esmerelda was dancing. The
with Phoebus that
gipsy was so smitten
she had taught her goat to spell out his
name with alphabet blocks. When she
this trick, the
had the animal

perform

a witch and a sorceress.

lady called her
But Phoebus followed the gipsy and ar-

her for
ranged for a rendezvous with
the following night.

1670

Gringoire,

meet

Frollo,

meanwhile,

happened

who was

to

Quasimodo hid her in his own cell,

where there was a mattress and water,
and brought her food. He
the

jealous of the poet

rumored to be Esmerelda's

because he was
husband. But Gringoire explained that
Esmerelda did not love him; she had

kept
her pursuers did
sanctuary, they could net
reach her. Aware that she would be terrified of him if he
stayed with her, he
entered her cell
only to bring her his
door locked so that
break the

cell

eyes

and heart only

Phoebus.
preserve Esmerelda for

for

Desperate to

himself, Frollo trailed the

young gallant
and asked him where he was going. Phoebus said that he had a rendezvous with
Esmerelda. The priest offered him money

own

girl

really

<

he learned that

Esmerelda,

the cathedral. Frollo was jubilant. Quasimodo, however, barred and bolted the
doors. When the crowd charged

Frollo

leaped from concealment and wounded

Phoebus with a dagger. Esmerelda could

great
the cathedral with a battering ram, Quasimodo threw huge stones from a tower

not see her lover's assailant in the darkness and

when

she fainted Frollo escaped.

where builders had been working. The

mob persisting, he poured melted lead
Then the mob
upon the crowd below.
secured ladders and began to mount the

crowd gathered, murmuring that the

sorceress had slain Phoebus. They took
the gipsy off to prison.
Now tales of Esmerelda's sorcery beto circulate. At her trial she was

convicted of witchcraft, sentenced to do

of Notre
penance on the great porch
Dame and from there to be taken to a

Greve and pub-

hanged.
not dead, but he
Captain Phoebus was
silence rather than implicate
had
licly

kept
himself in a case of witchcraft. When
Esmerelda was on her way to Notre

Dame, she caught sight of him riding on

his beautiful horse, and called out to
him, but he ignored her completely. She
then

she was doomed.

she came before Frollo to do
he offered to save her if she

felt that

When
penance,

but she refused. Quasiniodo suddenly appeared on the porch,

in his arms, and carried
took the

would be

his;

girl

her to sanctuary within the church.

Esmerelda was now safe as long as she
remained within the cathedral walls.

ladders

Quasimodo seized the

and pushed them from the wall. Hunbelow
dreds of dead and wounded lay
facade, but

gan

scaffold in the Place de

gipsy was

smothered rage, he freed the trembling

archdeacon and allowed him to run awav.
One day a mob gathered and demanded that the sorceress be turned from

was a poor ruse at best, but Phoebus

was not shy at love-making and he agreed

When

that the

until suddenly Quasimodo entered and

dragged the priest from the cell. With

It

was

knowing

near him in the cathedral, secured a key

to the chamber and stole in to see Esmerelda one night. She struggled hopelessly,

cover whether Esmerelda were really the

whose name Phoebus had mentioned.
girl

the

dinner.

Frollo,

in exchange for an opportunity to conceal

himself in the room where this rendezvous was to take place, ostensibly to dis-

to the bargain.

if

him.
the

tray.
The kings guards joined
that
Quasimodo, looking down, thought
Esmeito
arrived
had
protect
the soldiers
but to his
elda. He went to her cell,
door open and
the
found
he
amazement

Esmerelda gone.

to
had given Gringoire the key
the
led
had
poet
chamber and

Frollo

her

to her cell. Gnnthrough the cathedral

she must fly,
that
her
goire convinced
under siege She
was
church
the
since
and he led her

followed him trustingly,

was already waitto a boat where Frollo
violence or the
the
ing. Frightened by
fled. Once more, FroHo
priest,

Gringcto

if she would
him. Fleeing, she
be his but she refused
cell belonging to a
souohl refuge in a

offered to save Esmerelda

1671

madwoman.

There the

found

soldiers

her and dragged her away for her execution the next morning
o at dawn.

Quasimodo, meanwhile, roamed the

cathedral searching for Esrnereida. Making his way to the tower which looked

down upon

the bridge of Notre

Quasimodo came upon

Frolic,

Dame,

who

stood

shaking with laughter as he watched a

scene far below. Following the direction
the priest's gaze, Quasimodo saw a
gibbet erected in the Place de Greve and
of

on the platform a

woman

in white.

It

was Esmerelda. Quasimodo saw the noose

lowered over the girl's head and the platform released. The body swayed in the
morning

breeze.

Then Quasimodo picked

and thrust him over the wall

on which he had been leaning. At that
moment Quasimodo understood everything that the priest had done to ensure

up

Frollo

the death of Esmerelda.

He

looked at

the crushed
body at the foot of the
tower and then at the
figure in white
upon the gallows. He wept.
After the deaths of Esmerelda
and
Claude Frollo, Quasimodo was not to be
found. Then in the
reign of Charles
VIII the vault of Montfaucon, in which
the bodies of criminals

opened

to locate the

were

interred,

was

remains of a famous

who had been buried there.

Among the skeletons were those of a
woman who had been clad in white and
of a man whose
bony arms were

prisoner

wrapped
around the woman's
body. His
spine was crooked, one leg was shorter
than the other, and it was evident that
he had not been
hanged, for his neck
was unbroken. When those who distightly

covered these singular remains tried to

separate the two bodies, they crumbled

into dust.

HUNGER
ype of work: Novel
Author: Knut Hamsun (Knut
Pedersen Hamsund, 1859-19521
}
1

Type
Time

of plot: Impressionistic realism

of plot: Late nineteenth

Locale:

century

Norway

First published:

1890
Principal character;

THE NABBATOB,

young writer

Critique:

Hunger was
ately brought
of a wide

the

work

Hamsun

that immedi-

to the attention

literary audience, and the novel

has been reprinted and translated
many

times.

Realistic in
subject, its form and
treatment are
highly impressionistic.

Hamsun

has given us a
striking study
mind under stress, but it is
not a clinical study; it is an artistic
of a man's

piece

of literature.

The

book, she looked frightened and

they
hurried on.
Seeing them standing before
a

shop window,

and
was

six o'clock

and lay awake

eight.
Hungry, I
searched in my packet of odds and ends,
but there was not even a crumb of bread.
I knew that I should have
gone out early
to look for work, but I had been refused
so often I was almost afraid to venture

noon

until

out again.

couraged.
o

awoke at
bed

my

At

last I

took some paper and went

out, for if the weather permitted I could

write in the park. There were several
head for
good ideas in

my

newspaper

In the street an old

cripple with
a big bundle was
using all his strength

articles.

keep ahead of me.

When I caught up with him he turned
around and whined for a halfpenny to
buy milk. Not having a cent on rne, I
hurried back to the pawnbroker's dark
to

shop. In the hall I took off my waistcoat

rolled it in a ball. The pawnbroker

and

gave

me

one and

six for

He

stared at

me

it.

old cripple again and gave

penny.

found the

him

his half-

with his mouth

as I hurried
away.
one of them young, were
I told the
idly strolling about.
woman
that
she
would
lose her
young

open

Two women,

When

to

them again

thing.

my

paper.

All after-

I tried to brush them off.

Then
wrote an application for a
job as book-

After a day or two I went to

keeper.

man

see the

my

desire

in person.

to

my

was bom.

On

He

laughed

at

become a bookkeeper be-

cause I had dated

before

letter

1848, years

went home''

dis-

was a letter. I thought

my
a notice from my
landlady, for I was
behind in my rent But no,
my story
had been accepted. The editor saitl it
would be printed right away. He had
table

it

included a half sovereign in -payment

I had written a
masterpiece anc: I had a
half sovereign.

few weeks

later I

went out

for

an

evening walk and sat in a churchyard

with a new manuscript. At eight o'clock,
when the gates were closed, I meant to
go straight

home

to the vacant tinker's

workshop which I had permission to

occupy, but I stumbled around hardly
knowing where I was. I felt feverish
because I had not eaten for several days.
At last I sat down and dozed off. I
dreamed that a beautiful girl dressed in
silk waited for me in a doorway and

HUNGER
Inc.

went up

Little flies stuck to

Story:

in

younger woman that she

losing her book. She looked herself over in a bewildered
way; she had
no book. I kept
following diem, but
they put me down as a harmless madman.
In the park I could not write a
told the

by Knut Hamsun. Translated by George Egerton. By permission of the publishers, Alfred A, Knopf.
Copyright, 1920, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Renewed, 1948, by Alfred A. Snopf, Inc.

1673

me down

led

We

hand.

hall,

where she clasped me

me

adventurous

she holding my
went Into a crimson room
a

tightly

and begged

experiences,
that
myself,

me

and advised

so

was

to kiss her.

up
policeman woke
me to go to the police barracks as a
lied
homeless man. When I got there,
about my name and said that it was too
late for me to get back to my lodgings.

believed me and gave me a

In the morning, thinking
room.
private
E
was only a young rake instead of a
destitute, the police gave me no breakfast ticket. I cirank a lot of water but I

went

my

an editor who

to see

sketch on Corregio.

taste.

When

me

if

supper.

was

gone

prepared to leave, he

to

my poor garret or in
she lifted her veil, I saw she

special interest in

was the woman

fell

a florin for

lor

money
I

my

in the score.

a erown.

in

candle, but he
stared

my hand

for a

got out without betray-

About the time my money was

on a medieval play. The

started

landlady trusted me for quite a while,

for I explained that I would pay her as
soon as my play was finished One night
she brought a sailor up to my room and
turned me out, but she let me go down
and sleep with the family.
For some time I slept on a sofa in the
in a while a servant
entry way, and once
nervous
gave me bread and cheese. In my
condition it was hard to be meek and
came one evening
grateful. The break
when the children were amusing themthe nose
selves
sticking straws into
.

her and accompanied

days
spoke
her on her walk. She said she had no

When

ing myself.
I took a room in a real hotel and had
a chamber to myself and breakfast and

would look intently at my lodging for a

while and then pass on. After several

me.

convinced

night I went
below
to buy a
shop
I
had to write some-

boy was alone

stupidly at the
long time, but

lady in black stood every night on

corner by my tinker's garret. She

Toward

me change

gave

vance payment.
die

him

gave

needed money. He
was sure I could write it out. Although I
had not eaten a real meal for some time,
I thanked him and left without an ad-

also asked

thing.

kind, saying that he would like to publish my work but that he had to keep
his subscribers in mind. He asked if 1
could write something more to the com-

mon

She found

a fever.

to the little

candle, for

critically

He

had

to believe, hut
a

down

but the pawnbroker laughed at me. On

the way out I met a friend bringing his
watch to pawn. He fed me and gave me
I

story bard

shivered in bed.

could scarcely keep it down.

Faint with hunger, I cut the buttons
from my coat and tried to pawn them,

read

Much

She was sympathetic for a moment.

1 had to leave, for her mother was reher again.
turning, and 1 never saw
All day I
I awoke sick one morning.

officer

five shillings.

lookout for odd

acted queerly because I

of the time I was

so poor.

her.

The

the

told her the truth about

hungry that

my

on

girl,

by
and ears

of

the

who

on

lay

paralyzed

bed before

grandfather
the

fire.

protested against their cruel sport.

flew at me in a rage

landlady
ordered me out.

had followed and

wandered down

to

The
and

the docks and

spoken to about the book. She was

merry with me and seemed to enjoy my
company.
One night she took me to her home.
Once inside, we embraced; then we sat

got a berth on a Russian freighter going

I came back to the hotel
to

down and began

was

to talk. She confessed

was attracted to me because she
thought I was a madman. She was an

that she

England.

on the step met

possessions and
postman. He handed me a letter
addressed in a feminine hand. Inside

for

my

the

I
crumpled the
and
coin
together and threw
envelope
them in the landlady's face.

1674

half sovereign.