Action and Immobility in "Editha"

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at how, in his short story "Editha," William Howells paints a picture of the raging battle between realism and romanticism through a war-torn couple, George Gearson and his fiance, Editha. The paper analyzes the diction, tone, syntax and imagery to determine Howell's views on romanticism and realism. Specific attention is paid to the actions Mrs Gearson makes and their significance, since she is actually immobile.

From the Paper:

"In his short story "Editha," William Howells paints a picture of the raging battle between Realism and Romanticism on the canvas of a war-torn couple, George Gearson and his fiance Editha. Howells uses the character of Mrs. Gearson, the realist mother of George crippled with age but by no means weak, to convey two points to the reader: that one cannot (and should not) have all of one (Realism or Romanticism) and none of the other, and that it is the beliefs that make the man."

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