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Editha
"Editha" by William Dean Howells is a short story that critiques the romanticized notions of war and patriotism. The narrative centers around Editha, a young woman who encourages her fiancé, George, to enlist in the Spanish-American War, believing it to be a noble and heroic cause. However, when George is killed in battle, Editha is forced to confront the harsh realities of war and the consequences of her idealized views. Howells uses Editha’s character to explore themes of nationalism, idealism, and the emotional cost of war, offering a poignant commentary on the gap between romanticized perceptions of war and its true nature.
22 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1906
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About the author
William Dean Howells
1,183 books101 followersWillam Dean Howells (1837-1920) was a novelist, short story writer, magazine editor, and mentor who wrote for various magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine.
In January 1866 James Fields offered him the assistant editor role at the Atlantic Monthly. Howells accepted after successfully negotiating for a higher salary, but was frustrated by Fields's close supervision. Howells was made editor in 1871, remaining in the position until 1881.
In 1869 he first met Mark Twain, which began a longtime friendship. Even more important for the development of his literary style — his advocacy of Realism — was his relationship with the journalist Jonathan Baxter Harrison, who during the 1870s wrote a series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly on the lives of ordinary Americans.
He wrote his first novel, Their Wedding Journey, in 1872, but his literary reputation took off with the realist novel A Modern Instance, published in 1882, which described the decay of a marriage. His 1885 novel The Rise of Silas Lapham is perhaps his best known, describing the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur of the paint business. His social views were also strongly represented in the novels Annie Kilburn (1888), A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890), and An Imperative Duty (1892). He was particularly outraged by the trials resulting from the Haymarket Riot.
His poems were collected during 1873 and 1886, and a volume under the title Stops of Various Quills was published during 1895. He was the initiator of the school of American realists who derived, through the Russians, from Balzac and had little sympathy with any other type of fiction, although he frequently encouraged new writers in whom he discovered new ideas.
Howells also wrote plays, criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola, Giovanni Verga, Benito Pérez Galdós, and, especially, Leo Tolstoy, which helped establish their reputations in the United States. He also wrote critically in support of American writers Hamlin Garland, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sarah Orne Jewett, Charles W. Chesnutt, Abraham Cahan, Madison Cawein,and Frank Norris. It is perhaps in this role that he had his greatest influence. In his "Editor's Study" column at the Atlantic Monthly and, later, at Harper's, he formulated and disseminated his theories of "realism" in literature.
In 1904 he was one of the first seven people chosen for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, of which he became president.
Howells died in Manhattan on May 11, 1920. He was buried in Cambridge Cemetery in Massachusetts.
Noting the "documentary" and truthful value of Howells' work, Henry James wrote: "Stroke by stroke and book by book your work was to become, for this exquisite notation of our whole democratic light and shade and give and take, in the highest degree documentary."
In January 1866 James Fields offered him the assistant editor role at the Atlantic Monthly. Howells accepted after successfully negotiating for a higher salary, but was frustrated by Fields's close supervision. Howells was made editor in 1871, remaining in the position until 1881.
In 1869 he first met Mark Twain, which began a longtime friendship. Even more important for the development of his literary style — his advocacy of Realism — was his relationship with the journalist Jonathan Baxter Harrison, who during the 1870s wrote a series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly on the lives of ordinary Americans.
He wrote his first novel, Their Wedding Journey, in 1872, but his literary reputation took off with the realist novel A Modern Instance, published in 1882, which described the decay of a marriage. His 1885 novel The Rise of Silas Lapham is perhaps his best known, describing the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur of the paint business. His social views were also strongly represented in the novels Annie Kilburn (1888), A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890), and An Imperative Duty (1892). He was particularly outraged by the trials resulting from the Haymarket Riot.
His poems were collected during 1873 and 1886, and a volume under the title Stops of Various Quills was published during 1895. He was the initiator of the school of American realists who derived, through the Russians, from Balzac and had little sympathy with any other type of fiction, although he frequently encouraged new writers in whom he discovered new ideas.
Howells also wrote plays, criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola, Giovanni Verga, Benito Pérez Galdós, and, especially, Leo Tolstoy, which helped establish their reputations in the United States. He also wrote critically in support of American writers Hamlin Garland, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sarah Orne Jewett, Charles W. Chesnutt, Abraham Cahan, Madison Cawein,and Frank Norris. It is perhaps in this role that he had his greatest influence. In his "Editor's Study" column at the Atlantic Monthly and, later, at Harper's, he formulated and disseminated his theories of "realism" in literature.
In 1904 he was one of the first seven people chosen for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, of which he became president.
Howells died in Manhattan on May 11, 1920. He was buried in Cambridge Cemetery in Massachusetts.
Noting the "documentary" and truthful value of Howells' work, Henry James wrote: "Stroke by stroke and book by book your work was to become, for this exquisite notation of our whole democratic light and shade and give and take, in the highest degree documentary."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
February 3, 2022
Do people not realize you're supposed to not like Editha? Why all the low ratings & then the "I hated Editha" explanation... the reader's loathing of Editha was the point of this story. It's supposed to highlight the atrocious romanticizing of war that was rampant at the end of the nineteenth-century. It's very much an anti-war story, with the only voice of reason being George's mother, Mrs. Gearson.
February 13, 2020
I think some users missed the point of this story lol
September 20, 2018
I did not like this story. I get what it's trying to say and what it's trying to do, but I honestly hate Editha and her messed up idea of love. I honestly just wanted to reach into the story and shake some sense into her.
September 17, 2010
I wanted to punch Editha in the face.
August 21, 2016
I loved this short story. It's like an anti-war satire. I was amazed but delighted at the amount of sarcasm the soldier and his mother had. Editha is a shit person but a good character for the story.
February 25, 2015
Editha in Howells short story represented the Americans who believed that war is about glory and honouring their country -and a great portion of them nowadays if you ask me-, doing good by getting freedom to other nations!!
Howells was a realistic who didn't believe in war, and he brought Editha the idealist who sent her fiancee George to war for some "Glory"/"Honour"/"Your Duty toward your Country" nonsense without even considering the consequences of killing or being killed, and even if he was against it he went (and I have no idea why, did he love her that much that he compromised his principals or maybe he was just a pussy coward!!). George went to war for his Editha and died, and even she was so sad (like she didn't know!!) she fulfilled his final wish and went to see his mother. The woman who was sad for her son but more happy that he was killed before he killed someone else, and she blamed Editha when she received the letter Editha wrote to George threatening to leave him if he don't go to war!!
Editha felt sorry about George's mother anger but she was more egoistic, and she ended up seeing her as an ungrateful old lady!!
And nothing changed, Editha is Editha except that poor George died.
Howells was a realistic who didn't believe in war, and he brought Editha the idealist who sent her fiancee George to war for some "Glory"/"Honour"/"Your Duty toward your Country" nonsense without even considering the consequences of killing or being killed, and even if he was against it he went (and I have no idea why, did he love her that much that he compromised his principals or maybe he was just a pussy coward!!). George went to war for his Editha and died, and even she was so sad (like she didn't know!!) she fulfilled his final wish and went to see his mother. The woman who was sad for her son but more happy that he was killed before he killed someone else, and she blamed Editha when she received the letter Editha wrote to George threatening to leave him if he don't go to war!!
Editha felt sorry about George's mother anger but she was more egoistic, and she ended up seeing her as an ungrateful old lady!!
And nothing changed, Editha is Editha except that poor George died.
July 15, 2020
Editha is a brilliant portrait of a woman’s blind patriotism. The way Howells comments on the media’s reinforcement of ideological idealism is a timely statement. This is an American tragedy that speaks for our times. Based on the Goodreads rating, this short story is underrated.
January 16, 2017
I am yours, for time and eternity--time and eternity.
August 3, 2011
This book shows the true ignorance and selfishness that exists in our culture.
February 2, 2022
she’s a disgusting person
November 6, 2024
I had to read this short story for a university course and at first I thought I didn’t really like it but it actually caught my attention. The short story is anoint patriotism and moral conflict. Editha romanticizes war and wants George, her partner, to go to war even though he doesn’t want to. Editha‘s character is blinded by her views on heroism pressures George into enlisting to war. Her lack of empathy and her ignorance made her hard to sympathize with.
The story serves as a timeless critique of blind patriotism and the costs of sacrificing one’s values for love.
The story is super short so you should give it a try.
The story serves as a timeless critique of blind patriotism and the costs of sacrificing one’s values for love.
The story is super short so you should give it a try.
September 7, 2011
Stereotypical sugar-coated romance. Open-minded woman urges lawyer beau to join the war because apparently fierce, unquestioning patriotism is the only key to her heart. Lawyer beau has misgivings?! Well, I daresay open-minded woman must call off the engagement to give lawyer beau time to think about what exactly he wants. (Seriously, sweetheart, what the hell daring acts of patriotism have you done to make you Uncle Sam's #1 Niece?) Open-minded woman feels a little bad when lawyer beau is on the casualty list, so she goes to take care of lawyer beau's mother, only to get a very stern, very unexpected talking to from the woman. Open-minded woman skulks in shame until an artist painting her refers to lawyer beau's mother as vulgar; only then is she liberated enough to freely be pretty and open-minded and, for whatever ill-conceived reasons unbeknownst to me, the epitome of patriotism.
Editha, Uncle Sam wants YOU to get your act together, pronto!
Editha, Uncle Sam wants YOU to get your act together, pronto!
July 5, 2013
I actually agreed with Mrs Gearson. I mean it's good to serve your country and protect your nation, but I don't like the notion of war, so I agreed with Mrs Gearson. I liked how she was glad her son was shot before he shot other people, and how she thought of all the innocent families of the other soldiers. It shows her selflessness, and I really respect her.
However, I didn't really Editha. I enjoyed the polite but loving relationship between her and George, but I think she's probably one of the only women who will happily and willingly let her beloved go to war, and loved him more for going to war as it showed his patriotism and loyalty to their country. And the way she easily forgave herself, and how she made an excuse for Mrs Gearson 'magnanimously', I didn't like that at all. Who does she think she is, allowing herself to forgive Mrs Gearson for being frank and truthful?
However, I didn't really Editha. I enjoyed the polite but loving relationship between her and George, but I think she's probably one of the only women who will happily and willingly let her beloved go to war, and loved him more for going to war as it showed his patriotism and loyalty to their country. And the way she easily forgave herself, and how she made an excuse for Mrs Gearson 'magnanimously', I didn't like that at all. Who does she think she is, allowing herself to forgive Mrs Gearson for being frank and truthful?
September 26, 2014
This is probably cheating but I am going to count what I am reading for school (except for poetry, because I don't even like to read it let alone review it) so that I still make my book goal for the year. I have 4 classes and two are lit classes so I am pretty sure I won't have time to read anything that is not on a syllabus in the next few months. This was a pretty decent story about how we fail to see war for what it really is. It has one really nice moment where it is pointed out that we mourn our own fallen soldiers but fail to recognize or care that we are sending their sons and fathers home to equally broken-hearted wives and mothers and children.
January 9, 2017
Short, quick read. Reflective of the literary movement of the late 19th century contrasting romanticism with realism. I really liked the 'twist' at the end.
March 8, 2013
Non dulce non decorum ... est pro patria mori :/ :/
March 17, 2015
I kind of like it , it was not bad . Yet , she was indeed a person who wanted "impose" her thoughts , opinion etc ..
February 1, 2016
Someone Editha needs to be punched in the beginning to see if she changes her mind about war. Such a terrible end! WTF, people!
March 11, 2016
A short, well written story, that gives a look into the thoughts of a couple at the start of war. A quick read and worth it.
February 25, 2020
Another American Lit class read that I enjoyed. It was a very touching little story; Howells didn't shy away from a realistically unhappy ending.
April 9, 2012
I liked this story in the way I like the message and its imagery and it's well written. However, the story drives me nuts. It's the kind of story that gets its point across by showing the wrong way. Editha bugs the hell out of me. I think that she doesn't know what she's talking about and she's not a good person and the worst thing about her is is she didn't learn her lesson. She doesn't live in the real world and she didn't realize her mistake. The maddening part is not the character Editha herself, but I know Editha's in real life.
Oh, btw: this story is about war and about living not in romantic idealism, but in the real world right now and paying attention to what's happening and our choices.
Oh, btw: this story is about war and about living not in romantic idealism, but in the real world right now and paying attention to what's happening and our choices.
February 9, 2011
Howells' critique of romanticism shares certain parallels with the masterpiece of American realist fiction, Twain's Huck Finn, chiefly the movement from romantic perception to horrifying, darkly satiric realism and back again. But where Huck overcomes the reemergence of Tom Sawyer's absurd inability to distinguish fiction from reality, Editha traps herself in her insular self-delusion. Howells doesn't have Twain's touch, though, and the short story barely justifies its minuscule length with prose that only occasionally rises above stiff, unengaging description. I enjoyed it more for the ideas than the actual execution, but Howells floats the story with some well-staged ironies.
March 2, 2020
Editha is a short story by realist American writer William Dean Howells about a lady who pushes her fiancé to go to war to be worthy of her, even though he is a conscientious objector. This is a harsh story where Editha’s personality is revealed as cruel and narcissist.
I think this short story illustrates some interesting points De Beauvoir makes in The Second Sex about how women’s subaltern condition makes them narcissist and cruel when they push their men to be super achievers as they live vicariously through the men’s lives. Howells is a talented writer who is quite harsh with his characters and also questions the glory of war and imperialism in this short story.
I think this short story illustrates some interesting points De Beauvoir makes in The Second Sex about how women’s subaltern condition makes them narcissist and cruel when they push their men to be super achievers as they live vicariously through the men’s lives. Howells is a talented writer who is quite harsh with his characters and also questions the glory of war and imperialism in this short story.
September 27, 2015
A very powerful piece of anti-war writing - a bitter one at that. It's also a good piece to analyze regarding roles of men and women as soldiers, wives, and mothers during wartime at the time, which, arguably, is a fine piece to critique from a feminist perspective. I'm particularly intrigued to look at the characters of this story as representations and symbolizations of ideals and ideas instead of them being physical human beings. Editha being the absurdity of idealism and patriotism embodied, for example - in an interestingly feminine way.
January 26, 2014
I liked the story, it was annoying has hell to read Editha quoting the papers and not sharing a word of her own to justify her reasons for supporting the war. I especially cringed at her audacity to think Gearson should join the war to be even more worthy of her. The best part was the end of course- Mrs. Gearson telling Editha off was satisfying, then became tarnished when she decided to forgive her. Who is Editha to forgive her?
It should've been the other way around I think.
It should've been the other way around I think.
June 6, 2011
This story invoked emotions! I wanted to shake some sense into this young woman, Editha. She reminded me somewhat of Scarlett O'Hara. Both were selfish women and determined to have their own way. I applauded the mother for telling Editha how wrong she was. It did no good, however, because Editha didn't change, just as Scarlett didn't change.
January 18, 2017
Pretty strong anti-war piece. Editha convinces her beloved to fight in a war, only for him to be killed and for her to be confronted with the fact that war is nothing to glamorize. The ending was not a favorite of mine, but I manage to get from it the fact that as a country, we realize the horrors of war but are okay with sending off our men and women to fight and kill for us.
April 5, 2011
Editha got off too easy. It was all too easy for her to forgive herself.
February 15, 2014
Okay wanted to slap Editha and Gearson for not standing up to her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews