Comprehensive Summary and Analysis of William Dean Howells Editha
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Comprehensive Summary of
William Dean Howells
Editha
William Dean Howell's "Editha" is a story of a woman who selfishly sends her fianc to war to satisfy her personal perception of the perfect man.
The title character is Editha Balcom. She is the wife of George Gearson the other main character in the story. Editha first hears of the war when her and George are having a discussion on the veranda of her house. Editha was excited to hear of the war. When George tells her she says exclaimed "How glorious!" George was not very excited about the thought of war. Editha then begins to try and contain herself from urging George to war but, it is very hard for her not to because she believed that if he went to war it would complete her ideal of the perfect man in her eyes. She then talks about her and George's courtship and how he had not really done anything to win her he just asked for her love on the way home from a concert and she gave it to him. The she thinks to herself about George going to war and how that would be the equivalent of him doing that spectacular thing to win her love even though she had already professed it to him...