Editha Analysis

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William Dean Howells’s “Editha” is about a couple named Editha Balcom and George Gearson who adore each other, but are completely divided on the issue of the war. Editha holds a much more favorable view of the war and hopes for George to share her perspective. However, George has complete disdain for the war, going as far as saying that all wars make him sick. Editha writes a letter to George, telling him that she will always love him, but that she cannot marry a man who does not put his country first. But before she can give him the letter, George, who was out drinking, volunteers to enlist in the war and is chosen to be made captain. Before he leaves for war, he tells Editha to not forget his mother. There are “not many letters” while he …show more content…

For centuries, war has been a popular theme in the arts: paintings, books, sculptures, films, and music have all been ordained to celebrate the life of a solider, so therefore people have come to romanticize the idea of war. In the story, for example, Editha thinks of George as nearly the perfect man, but admits that it would have been better if he had been a “hero,” given that she had “believed in the war from the beginning” (1492). Editha adores George and thinks of him very highly, as most Romantics do of others whom they admire, but her attitude towards the war seems to match the love she has for George. Both have a rightful place in her heart. This shows that Editha is not only the romanticist when it comes to war, but it also shows that she is quite patriotic. When she is writing a letter to George, for instance, she says that she loves George but that she must marry a man who puts his country first and foremost (1494). This is a clear display of patriotism, and with patriotism comes a certain type of Romanticism, a type that is not fully Romantic but that exhibits the Romantic characteristics of love and emotion—emotional attachment, that is—to one’s country. Furthermore, the view of going to war for “liberation of oppressed people” and for “liberty and humanity” are all ideals that have been held quite strongly to support war, but this also creates a vibrant, and even aesthetic, image that only heightens the appeal of the war. Howells may suggest this appeal has the power to triumph even the tragedies that stem from war, such as even after the death of George, Editha is not shaken up for long, and continues on with her life and again lives "in the

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