William Dean Howells

"Editha" by William Dean Howells begins with an extremely idealistic view of war. Through Editha the reader is drawn into a world full of excitement and grandeur with none of the realistic consequences found in real life. She wants George to go off to war because, in her eyes, it would be romantic. She could pine for her love while he was away fighting for a "just" cause. And if he returned wounded it would be all the more romantic because she could rush to his side and tend to her "hero" as a mother tends to her child.

As the story progresses George is persuaded by Editha to go and fight for his country. She, again in the throes of her fantasy, convinces him to go by stressing the fact that nothing bad could possibly happen because once the opposing army sees his troupes they will retreat without a fight. All will be well and George will have the badge of a hero.

But things don't go according to Editha's plan. When George is quickly killed without a chance to prove his patriotism she is shocked into reality by the situation. She meets with George's mother to give her the news and is justly chastised Editha for sending George into the war in the first place. Editha's fantasy world is shattered. After this meeting she sinks into a deep depression and withdraws from the world.

Editha's depression lasts until, later in the story, she is having her portrait painted. The artist is of the opinion that George's mother was speaking out of vulgarity and her comments should be disregarded. This is enough to raise Editha's spirits and send her back into her glamorous fantasy world where she can once again live without regard to the consequences of life.

I found Howell's writing to be very base and topical. The character of Editha was explored on the surface without any real depth into what made her tick. This may have been the purpose of Howells though. Maybe Editha was simply a base and topical character who had no real depth. She was so deep in her fantasy world that she had no real personality to be explored.