The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton (originlly published in The Speaker, June 20, 1896, as "The Speaker;" reprinted in the author's collection The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories, 1905)
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (1857-1948) was an independent, outspoken, sometimes eccentric, oft-times controversial writer of some fifty books over a career that lasted from 1882 to 1946. She refused to meet Oscar Wilde because she thought he was unattractive, openly questioned Edith Wharton's authorship of The House of Mirth, and famously rejected Andrew Bierce when he tried to kiss her, then embarrassed him publicly by spreading the story. George Atherton, a man who was courting Gertrude's mother, ended up preferring Gertrude. After he had proposed to her six times, they eloped in 1876 and moved to San Francisco to live with his domineering mother. Gertrude was bored to tears and felt stifled. She began to write to assert some independence. Her young son died of diptheria and her husband of eleven years died at sea, leaving Gertrude to support herself and her daughter. Her mother-in-law agreed to raise the daughter and Gertrude was left to pursue an independent life.
Her writing covered novels, short stories, essays, and articles about feminism, politics, and war. She was a strong feminist and, sadly, white supremacist. Her writing about sexual matters were a matter of some talk in her day. She is perhaps best known today for her then-controversial 1923 quasi-science fictional novel Black Oxen, about a woman who is rejuvenated by X-rays directed to her gonads; the book is supposedly semi-autobiographical. She felt that the constant (and destructive) battle between the sexes could only be resolved through true sexual equality.
On the trip to England, "after reading up on the local history, she learned of the River Wharfe and a spot known as the Strid. Its rapids are deceptively narrow and shallow, but the powerful undercurrent is dangerous and hids a vast network of underwater caves and tunnels." The result of all of this was one of her most powerful stories. "The Striding Place" is one of her most reprinted stories -- and for good reason. You can read it at the link,
Enjoy.
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/StriPlac.shtml
Once again, you've chosen a writer I've never heard of...but want to read! Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton sounds like a true original. I had to chuckle when I read she refused to meet Oscar Wilde because she thought he was unattractive!
ReplyDeleteA feminist should not be a racist in my world.
ReplyDeleteNor should anti-racists be male chavinists, nor should either be, say, anti-LGBQT+ nor ableist nor religious nor ethnicity bigots, etc., but thus are too often our partial allies in the world. I've liked what little I've read by Atherton.
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