BLIND VISION
Plot.
Initial Incident: Esmé attempts to fly to Brander, dying. Motivation for the incident lies in Esmé’s friendship for Brander.
Steps toward Dramatic Climax: Esmé is attacked by a German plane; in the struggle the two planes fall inside the German lines. Esmé is tortured. At length, he consents to take up a photographer.
Dramatic Climax: Esmé throws out the photographer.
Steps toward Climax of Action: He arrives inside the lines of the allies. He tells his story to Marston, his friend, who shocked at Esmé’s defection, declares him a murderer. Esmé, in turn, is appalled; he is unable to understand Marston’s different code. Marston walks out of the tent.
Climax of Action: Esmé returns to the German lines, to “render a life for a life.”
Dénouement: Marston finds Esmé’s note. In a revulsion of feeling, he recognizes that he has failed his friend.
Presentation. The story is told by Marston to a nurse, some time after the event. From Marston’s point of view, therefore, the tale gains pathos, since his regret is still as unceasing as unavailing. Further, the method allows the reader a large share in constructing the story; and, best of all, by changing the chronological order of the events to the logical (they are also chronological as far as Marston is concerned), the author gains suspense. Reticence characterizes the handling of the uglier details, which every reader will fill in for himself. The enveloping action closes with the breaking of the wine-glass. (Compare query, page 34.)
Characterization. The tragic failure of friendship, in the struggle with conflicting ideals of honor, gives the story its poignancy. It belongs in the group, therefore, with “The Knight’s Move,” by Katherine Fullerton Gerould, and “Greater Love—,” by Justus Miles Forman. If the ideal of the mental man is typified by his appearance and behavior, how well has Miss Freedley succeeded in the creation of Esmé and Marston? To what extent has she indicated the reaction in each after crucial moments? How far has she subdued the outer “I” narrator? If anticipated sympathy on her part motivates Marston’s telling her the story, has the author justified the hypothesis?