Where is the guide (page 292) first mentioned? Why is this an instance of good workmanship?
Is it better that Minnie drop out of the story, not to reappear?
“Minnie stood on the stairway and looked down at him, the light from the candle in her hand flickering over her.” (Page 287.) See the query on “The Waiting Years,” page 173.
FEET OF GOLD
Classification. This is one of a series of stories centering around the life of Ferdinand Taillandy, a lovable hero akin to William J. Locke’s “Beloved Vagabond” and “Aristide Pujol.” In such a series it is not necessary or even desirable that the short-story type be sought. All the narratives, from start to finish, as a complete series, are more likely to reveal a general structure culminating in a climax (which will probably require a whole story) than any one of them is likely to possess definite and clear-cut mechanism.
The three necessary stages of narrative, according to Aristotle, are beginning, middle and end. These stages, as to action, are well-defined in the present story. But one feels at the beginning that here is a hero brought over from a preceding adventure, as one knows at the end that he is off for new experiences. Is the action in regard to Diane complete?
Plot.
Initial Incident: Taillandy meets Diane. No particular struggle is initiated, however. Taillandy merely takes Diane under his protection, here in Paris, and after some days leaves with her in a two-wheeled cart.
Climax of Action: Diane is restored to her mother; Taillandy again becomes a wanderer.
Body of Story: Among the chief points of interest are Taillandy’s reversion to the boulevardier type, and his writing the poem inspired by Diane. Mention others.