The Best Years (story)
"The Best Years" | |
---|---|
Author | Willa Cather |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Short story |
Published in | The Old Beauty and Others |
Publication type | Short story collection |
Publication date | 1948 |
The Best Years is a short story by Willa Cather, first published after her death in the collection The Old Beauty and Others in 1948.[1] It is her final work,[2] and was intended as a gift to her brother, Roscoe Cather,[3][4] who died as it was being written.[5] Set in Nebraska and the northeastern United States,[6][7] the story takes place over twenty years, tracing the response of Lesley Ferguesson's family to her death in a snowstorm.[8][9]
The short story carries images or "keepsakes" from each of her twelve published novels and the stories in Obscure Destinies.[10] In keeping with her own literary tradition, the story has been described as being steeped in a "sense of place", where "land and physical realities" work alongside (both influencing and being influenced by) the characters and their emotions.[8][11] It also deals with what Cather described as the "accords and antipathies" of family relationships, including those between generations,[12][13][14][15] and the feelings of loss that accompany these relationships.[16][17][18] It has been described as her "final achievement" in pursuing the mystery genre,[19] and as "a rich portrait" by scholar Ann Romines.[20] It has been said to be "richer in domestic feeling than anything else she ever wrote",[21] but it has also been completely ignored by some scholars,[8] or seen as "a slackening into self-indulgence",[22] "minor",[23] "bad" or centered on "sentimental" "self-pity".[24]
The story draws heavily on Cather's own life,[25][26] and is among her most autobiographical of stories.[27][28] Her friend and teacher, Evangeline "Eva" King, is the model for the character Evangeline Knightly.[29][12] According to Cather, after she moved with her family to Red Cloud, Nebraska, King, as a principal of the high school, was "the first person who interviewed the new county pupil" and "was the first person whom I ever cared a great deal for outside of my own family."[30] It has also been suggested that her brother, James Cather, served as a model for the character of Bryan Ferguesson; similarly, her brother John "Jack" Cather may be the basis for Vincent Ferguesson,[31] and Roscoe Cather is Hector.[5] Her own childhood home—in particular, the attic[32]—is also depicted in the story, chiefly as small and overcrowded.[33][34]
While much of Cather's writing has been described as male-centered, "The Best Years" continues her end-of-life tradition of exploring mother-daughter relationships through the lens of women, rather than men, with careful use of a female protagonist.[35]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.