Questions
What is the importance of the story's opening image of a
"stairway leading up" (122)?
What does the story gain by Anderson conflating Elizabeth's romantic
encounter with Dr. Reefy and her encounter with death? In terms of plot,
how much time separates these two events?
Because Elizabeth, Dr. Reefy, and George all appear in other stories, there are,
according to Small, "no extended treatments of this story" (188). Can
the message and themes of this story be reckoned clearly apart from the other
stories?
Rigsbee claims that George is "able to
see the spiritual essence of his mother's womanhood" (185). How would
you support and define such a claim?
Critical Sources
- Papinchak, Robert Allen. Sherwood Anderson: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1993.
- Rigsbee, Sally Adair. "The Feminine in Winesburg, Ohio." Studies in American Fiction 9 (Fall 1981(: 233-44. Rpt. Winesburg, Ohio. Ed. Charles E. Modlin and Ray Lewis White. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1995. 178-88.
- Small, Judy Jo. A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson. New York: G. K. Hall, 1994.