The Bookkeeper's Wife
"The Bookkeeper's Wife" | |
---|---|
Short story by Willa Cather | |
Text available at Wikisource | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Publication | |
Published in | Century |
Publication type | Illustrated monthly magazine |
Publisher | The Century Company |
Publication date | May 1916 |
"The Bookkeeper's Wife" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Century in May 1916.[1]
Plot summary
Percy Bixby, a bookkeeper, steals money from his company to pretend he earns $50 a week and seduce Stella Brown. Once, he visits her and they talk about their honeymoon; she seems pleased. She will marry him instead of Charles Gaygreen, who is wealthier.
Later, the new boss at his company notices Percy doesn't take holidays, and shies away from him. Percy ends up admitting he stole money before getting married. Back home, his wife wants to go to the theatre and he explains what has happened. She says she will take up work in Charles Greengay's company and stay with the Burks. Finally, Percy has moved into a boarding house and tells his boss he can pay him less for the debt to be paid back more quickly, as he doesn't need as much money any more.
Characters
- Percy Bixby, a bookkeeper.
- Stella Brown
- Mrs Brown, Stella's mother.
- Charles Greengay, a businessman.
- Oliver Remsey, Junior, Percy's new boss.
- Mrs Remsey, Oliver Remsey Junior's mother.
- Mr Melton, a lawyer.
- The Burks, friends of Stella's.
Major themes
- Marriage
References to other works
- Percy is said to be reading James Bryce's The American Commonwealth.
Literary significance and criticism
It has been noted that the story was influenced by John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.[2]
The story has been singled out for portraying a "new woman", that is one who is financially independent.[3]
Other critics have dismissed it as it was only written by Cather to earn money.[4]
References
- ^ Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-29, University of Nebraska Press; Dec 1973, page 97
- ^ Slote, Bernice, 'Introduction', Willa Cather, Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973, p. xi
- ^ Bradford, Curtis, "Willa Cather's Uncollected Short Stories", American Literature, 1955, 26:546
- ^ Stouck, David, Willa Cather's Imagination, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1975, p.78
External links
- Full Text at the Willa Cather Archive
- v
- t
- e
- Alexander's Bridge
- O Pioneers!
- The Song of the Lark
- My Ántonia
- One of Ours
- A Lost Lady
- The Professor's House
- My Mortal Enemy
- Death Comes for the Archbishop
- Shadows on the Rock
- Lucy Gayheart
- Sapphira and the Slave Girl
- Hard Punishments
- "Peter"
- "Lou, the Prophet"
- "The Elopement of Allen Poole"
- "A Tale of the White Pyramid"
- "A Son of the Celestial"
- "The Clemency of the Court"
- "The Fear That Walks by Noonday"
- "On the Divide"
- "A Night at Greenway Court"
- "Tommy, the Unsentimental"
- "The Princess Baladina – Her Adventure"
- "The Count of Crow's Nest"
- "The Burglar's Christmas"
- "The Strategy of the Were-Wolf Dog"
- "A Resurrection"
- "The Prodigies"
- "Nanette: An Aside"
- "The Way of the World"
- "The Westbound Train"
- "Eric Hermannson's Soul"
- "The Dance at Chevalier's"
- "The Sentimentality of William Tavener"
- "The Affair at Grover Station"
- "A Singer's Romance"
- "The Conversion of Sum Loo"
- "Jack-a-Boy"
- "El Dorado: A Kansas Recessional"
- "The Professor's Commencement"
- "The Treasure of Far Island"
- "A Death in the Desert"
- "A Wagner Matinee"
- "The Sculptor's Funeral"
- "Flavia and Her Artists"
- "The Garden Lodge"
- "The Marriage of Phaedra"
- "Paul's Case"
- "The Namesake"
- "The Profile"
- "The Willing Muse"
- "Eleanor's House"
- "On the Gulls' Road"
- "The Enchanted Bluff"
- "The Joy of Nelly Deane"
- "Behind the Singer Tower"
- "The Bohemian Girl"
- "Consequences"
- "The Bookkeeper's Wife"
- "The Diamond Mine"
- "A Gold Slipper"
- "Ardessa"
- "Scandal"
- "Her Boss"
- "Coming, Eden Bower!"
- "Uncle Valentine"
- "Double Birthday"
- "Neighbour Rosicky"
- "Two Friends"
- "The Old Beauty"
- "Before Breakfast"
- "The Best Years"
collections
- A Lost Lady (1934 film)
- O Pioneers! (1992 film)
- My Antonia (1995 film)
- The Song of the Lark (2001 film)
- O Pioneers! (2009 opera)