THE LOST PHOEBE
Starting Point. The beginning of this story lay in a bit about an insane man in Missouri, a story which came to Mr. Dreiser quite ten years before he developed it. The story quality testifies to the value of the long dormant period.
Setting. Study the narrative, observing with respect to place that although you may feel you have your mind on the exact locality, it presently flits to another probable setting. This is because Mr. Dreiser attaches no importance to the locality of his short stories, so long as the incidents are American—and either urban or rural. The gain is, of course, in favor of the essential nationality; the loss is to the individual community. Does the first grasp of setting bring with it the atmosphere of the narrative?
Classification. A story of a search, at last successful. It may be classed, also, as a story of the supernatural, wherein the vision is one of a crazed brain. So beautifully has the author handled the fancy and the vision, however, that the reaction on the reader causes wonder as to whether sanity and insanity are not relative, or even interchangeable.
Presentation. By the omniscient author, who exercises omniscience particularly over the mind of the main character.
Characters. Henry Reifsneider, Phoebe Ann (his wife), and background characters of the community folk. These last exist to give verisimilitude, for contrast, and as plot pivots. Cite an instance for each use.
Plot.
Initial Incident: Phoebe dies.
Steps toward the Dramatic Climax: Henry “sees” Phoebe until his mind gives way from brooding. He is possessed of a fixed idea: Phoebe left because he “reproached her for not leaving his pipe where he was accustomed to find it.” He searches for her (immediate first steps given in detail) nearly seven years.
Dramatic Climax: He finds her.
Steps to the Immediate Climax of Action: He follows her to the edge of the cliff; he sees her below among the blooming apple trees.
Climax of Action: He leaps over the cliff.
Dénouement: He is found, a smile upon his lips.
Details. Study the presentation of Henry, which gives so clear an impression of his unbalanced mind. Study the motivation for this insanity, the author’s analysis of Henry’s psychology, Henry’s acts, and his speeches. What contributory effect has the calling for Phoebe?
Would you agree that atmosphere is the dominant element in the story? Is a supernatural story likely to be one of atmosphere? Why?
Study the way in which the author has made vivid the picture of the Reifsneider home. Observe the skill with which he has contrasted the dull, even sordid, realism of the actual setting with the beauty of Henry’s visions. Why should the final one be the most beautiful? What color words do you find? How does color, or lack of it, aid in the unified effect?
Read Mr. Dreiser’s “Free” (see volume bearing this title) and compare it with “The Lost Phoebe.” Which do you regard as the more significant story?
LA DERNIÈRE MOBILISATION
This is a sketch, wherein the mist, the fog, the forest, and the shadowy figures combine with the muffled sounds into a dim monotone. It is a picture galvanized into life. Notice that the narrative tense is not preferred.
The meaning of the sketch emerges in the last sentence. It is the idea which lends significance to the picture.