My Mortal Enemy
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 First edition | |
| Author | Willa Cather |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 1926 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Text | My Mortal Enemy at Wikisource |
My Mortal Enemy is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926.[1]
Plot summary
Myra and her husband Oswald return to their fictional hometown of Parthia,
Ten years later, Nellie moved into a shabby flat in a little town on the west coast, and bumps into the Henshawes. Myra is now bedridden and Oswald works full-time; their upstairs neighbours are atrociously noisy, regardless of Myra's illness. Nellie takes to visiting her at tea-time; she also takes her out by the sea. Myra expresses her regrets over her husband. (If she had not married him, her great-uncle would have bequeathed her his fortune. Instead, she eloped and he gave it away to the church.) Oswald takes to having lunch with a young woman. Once, Nellie asks her why she is so harsh on her husband, and Myra dismisses her. Shortly after, her condition gets worse. She dismisses everyone and runs away; she is found dead by the seaside the following day. Her husband expresses no remorse about his wife; he loved her despite her difficult conduct. After her death he moves to Alaska and later Nellie hears about his death.
Characters
- Myra Henshawe, maiden name Driscoll. She lives in New York City. She was brought up by her great uncle.
- Oswald Henshawe His mother was German and his father an Ulster Protestant who didn't get on with Myra's great-uncle. He went to Harvard and then New York City.
- Aunt Lydia She has three sons.
- Cousin Bert
- Nellie Birdseye. Later Myra calls her Mrs Casey.
- Willy Bunch, the janitor's son.
- John Driscoll, Myra's father. He died when she was very young.
- Uncle Rob
- Ewan Gray, a stage actor. He is Scottish and was reportedly wild in his youth.
- Esther Sinclair, a woman of good family whom Ewan likes.
- Mrs Hewes, Madame Modjedska's housekeeper.
- Anne Aylward, a poet.
- Jefferson de Angelais, a stage actor.
- Helena Modjeska, Countess Bozenta-Chlapowska.
- Emelia, a Polish singer.
- Coquelin, an actor.
- The Poindexters, upstairs neighbours.
- Biddy Stirling, a librarian.
- Father Fay, a Catholic priest, who gives Myra the last rites.
- Billy, the son of a friend of Myra's, who killed himself at age 23 because of a 'sordid love affair'.
- A young woman whom Oswald goes to the restaurant with while his wife is ill.
Allusions to other works
- The Bible is mentioned with regard to the Sacred Heart.
- Literature is mentioned with regard to King John, Heinrich Heine, and Walt Whitman.
- Drama is mentioned with regard to Sarah Bernhardt's Hamlet.
- Music is mentioned with regard to .
Literary significance and criticism
Cather scholar Laura Winters suggested that the novel 'represents the bitter apotheosis of the issues of exile Cather worked on all of her life'.[2]
Literary analyst Merrill Skaggs identified editor
References
- ^ "And Death Comes for Willa Cather, Famous Author". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 25 April 1947.
- ^ Laura Winters, Willa Cather: Landscape and Exile, Susquehanna University Press, January 1994, page 54
- ^ Viola Roseboro': A Prototype for Cather's "My Mortal Enemy", by Merrill M. Skaggs, in Mississippi Quarterly; Winter 2000-2001, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 5-21
External links
The full text of My Mortal Enemy at Wikisource- Full text at Gutenberg Australia
My Mortal Enemy public domain audiobook at LibriVox
