A Death in the Desert
"A Death in the Desert" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Scribner's in January 1903[1].
Plot summary
Everett is on a train from Holdrege, Nebraska to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Characters
- Everett Hilgarde
- Charley Gaylord
- Two girls on the train.
- Adriance Hilgarde
- Katharine Gaylord
- Maggie Gaylord
- The Parson
- Diana, a chaste actress in New York City.
Allusions to other works
Moreover, Gussie Davis's song In The Baggage Coach Ahead is mentioned - albeit 'in' is elided[2].
Literary significance and criticism
It has been argued that the title of the story was influenced by Willa Cather's reading of Robert Browning[3].
Allusions to Alexandre Dumas, fils' La dame aux camelias and Lucretius's De rerum natura have also been found[4].
References
- ^ Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 217
- ^ Stouck, David, 'Review of The Troll Garden, by Willa Cather', Great Plains Quarterly, 4:278
- ^ Bernice Slote, 'Willa Cather and Her First Book', Willa Cather, April Twilights, University of Nebraska Press, 1968, page xi
- ^ Woodress, James, The Troll Garden by Willa Cather, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983b, p. 126
External links
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Short stories: |
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Non-fiction: |
- On Writing
- Not Under Forty
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Collaborations: |
- The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science
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