ENG 214 Paper 1 (Editha) PDF

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Summary

The essay has to do with the short story "Editha", one of the many stories/poems you may have to write on your paper one for the class. Question has to do with whether or not the author is a misogynist. Paper got a perfect score for the class and had pretty much no commentary....

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Shantalle Martinez ENG 214-C Question #8 [email protected]

“Editha” by William Dean Howells In the short story “Editha” by William Dean Howells, Howells clearly shows that he is not a misogynist. Instead, he shows throughout the story that he does not approve of a romantic’s behavior. The reason why I believe that Howells is not a misogynist and, instead, hates romanticism is because he gave power to Mrs. Gearson, a realist. Mrs. Gearson used irony whenever she would speak to Editha in such a way that Editha believed that “[T]he voice seemed to compassionate Editha” (Howells 20). This sense of irony represents the harsh reality that a realist faces and Howells seems to highlight this. In addition, Howells made Mrs. Gearson so powerful that “Editha’s face quivered, and her knees shook” (20). Editha’s state implies that Howells values realism and that one should face the reality, no matter harsh it is. By making Mrs. Gearson influential over Editha, to the point where Editha had doubt over her romantic behavior, Howells implies that he is not a misogynist.

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One of the many ways that Howells portrays his disdain for romanticism is by dramatizing Editha’s actions. When George visits Editha to break to her the news about war, Editha “kissed him back intensely, but irrelevantly, as to their passion and uttered from deep in her throat, ‘How glorious!’” (15). Howells details how a romantic dismisses the harsh reality of the world and instead glorifies it, to the point where Editha is more passionate about the idea of war than her own fiancé. This also leads the reader to believe that Howells thinks that the romantic’s glorification of tragedy is absurd. Another example of dramatization is when Editha became psychosomatic. While she was sick, Editha felt “a lift into clouds far above all grief, black clouds, that blotted out the sun” (19). Through dramatization, Howells is emphasizing how exaggerative peak romantic behavior truly is. Howells implies that it is absurd for a romantic to be satisfied and feel weightless immediately after a tragic incident. In addition, Howells may also be implying that a romantic’s point of view is only a delusion that is in their head through this scene. This may be drawn from the fact that psychosomatic symptoms are brought about psychologically from the patient, which may parallel a romantic’s optimistic view of the world. Howells also employs irony to portray his disgust towards romantics. In addition, upon reflection of her letter, Editha concluded that “she had worded her

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letter well… all had been implied and nothing expressed” (17). It’s ironic in the sense that Editha clearly stated in the letter that George must love and serve his country if he ever wants to marry Editha. This is an implication that a romantic tends to focus on words rather than actions, yet expects others to show their love for them. Howells, through the diction, implies that he doesn’t approve of this expectation of a romantic. Another way that Howells disapproves of romantic behavior is by underscoring the hypocrisy of romanticism. Editha’s father was discussing the war with his wife, he made a grammatical error by saying, “’I guess Gearson don’t think so either” (18). Editha completely ignores her father’s grammatical error. However, when Mrs. Gearson made an error by saying, “’What you got that black on for?’” (20), Editha and the colorist commented on how “vulgar” (21) Mrs. Gearson is. In my opinion, this is Howells emphasizing how hypocritical romantics can be cherry-picking what they want to hear and say. As a realist, Howells is implying through this scene that romantics should take reality as a whole and not just take the best parts of reality. In addition, Editha believes that George’s antiwar stance is a “congenital defect of that sort” (15). However, whenever she states something in support of the war, it echoes statements made by yellow journalism

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at the time. Howells is once again trying to convey the hypocrisy of romantics and their cherry-picking behavior to readers. In addition, Howells uses religious allusions and syntax to further imply that romantics pick and choose their “reality”. When discussing about the war, Editha claimed that “’God meant it to be war’” and then accused George of blasphemy (17). George then retorted “’I’ll try to believe in your pocket Providence’” (17). Howells, through the use of “pocket Providence”, is further implying that romantics use things when it is most convenient to them. In terms of syntax, Editha agrees with the slogan “Our country — right or wrong” (16). However, the slogan in its entirety states, “My country — right or wrong. Right to accept it, wrong to correct it”. Howells decisively leaves out the second half of the slogan, which I believe provides the true message of the slogan. By doing so, Howells is emphasizing to readers that romantics tend to choose their reality, something that he implies he hates throughout the story. Another method of conveying his disapproval of romanticism is through the symbolism of the beverages that Howells uses to depict romanticism and realism. Editha brought George and herself lemonade, with Howells describing it as “two tall glasses of clouded liquid” (16). Describing lemonade, which symbolizes romanticism, implies that a romantic’s judgment and perception of the world is

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clouded. It also implies how a romantic covers the bitterness of the world with sweetness. Howells leads readers to believe that he thinks that romantics refuse to look at the bitter reality of the world and that he hates this view of the world. Another use of symbolism with a beverage is when George drunkenly signed up to be a soldier, exclaiming, “’I wish I had some ice water!’” (18). Howells uses ice water to symbolize realism and implies that he believes that realism is clear and transparent, two attributes that seem to be valued.

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Works Cited Howells, William Dean. “Editha.” XanEdu American Literature, 2018, pg. 15-21.

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