The Affair at Grover Station is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Library in June 1900[1] in two installments, and reprinted in the Lincoln Courier one month later.[2] The story is about a geological student asking an old friend of his about the recent murder of a station agent.
The outer narrator meets with his old friend Rodgers by Sterling, Colorado, and asks about the murdered agent at Grover station. Rodgers explains that on 31 December there was supposed to be a ball at Cheyenne, Wyoming. His friend Larry asked him to ask Helen if she would be available to go with him. Helen replied that she had told Mr Freymark she would go with him, but she would cancel as Larry took precedence over him. Freymark then went to the station and overheard the two men make arrangements as to sending her flowers, and left saying he had heard what he wanted to hear. Later, Larry didn't turn up and Rodgers went to pick up Helen and told her Larry was late. At the ball, she danced with Rodgers until Freymark showed up and she danced with him. By the end of the night, Larry's spaniel Duke came hurtling at Freymark, who soon disappeared from the place. The next day, Rodgers went about the station and then up to Grover, Colorado. There, he found a blood stain on Larry's bed but thought it must have been nosebleed. During the night however, he got woken up by what looked like Larry's ghost, writing on the chalk board. The next morning, he realised the ghost had written the number of a train, where Larry's body was to be found in Omaha. Upon seeing the body, Rodgers realised the hands were stained by chalk. By then, Freymark had gone, never to be found again. The Division Superintendent did not believe him, after Freymark admitted to drinking brandy that night.
Mr Freymark He lived in Paris many years and therefore speaks several European languages. He likes to gamble at card games. Although he pretends to be a Jew, he is the son of a Chinese slavegirl his father bought when he was living there.
The plotline was partly taken from an 1893 short story by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.[3] Moreover, it has been noted for its trope of the grotesque, which will reappear in Cather's later novels.[3]
The story may have been inspired by Willa Cather's 1898 visit to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where her brother Douglass at the railroad station.[4] Moreover, Cather's sister has said the story was written with his help.[5]
The trope of the ghost has been deemed Jamesian.[5]
^Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 352
^Sheryl L. Meyering, A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Willa Cather, G.K. Hall & Co, 1995, p.1
^ abJames Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather - A Literary Life, University of Nebraska Press, 1989, page 146
^ abWilla Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, 'Introduction' by Mildred R. Bennett, page xxxv
^ abcMildred Bennett, Early Stories of Willa Cather, New York: Dodd, Mead, 1957, pp. 239-240
^Marilyn Arnold, Willa Cather's Short Fiction, Athens: Ohio University Press, 1984, pp. 35-36
External links
Full Text of Part One and Full Text of Part Two at the Willa Cather Archive
The Affair at Grover Station public domain audiobook at LibriVox
January 08, 2023
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The Affair at Grover Station is a short story by Willa Cather It was first published in Library in June 1900 1 in two installments and reprinted in the Lincoln Courier one month later 2 The story is about a geological student asking an old friend of his about the recent murder of a station agent The Affair at Grover Station by Willa CatherCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenre s Short storyPublished inLibraryPublication typeLiterary magazinePublication dateJune 1900 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Allusions to other works 4 Allusions to actual history 5 Literary significance and criticism 6 References 7 External linksPlot summary EditThe outer narrator meets with his old friend Rodgers by Sterling Colorado and asks about the murdered agent at Grover station Rodgers explains that on 31 December there was supposed to be a ball at Cheyenne Wyoming His friend Larry asked him to ask Helen if she would be available to go with him Helen replied that she had told Mr Freymark she would go with him but she would cancel as Larry took precedence over him Freymark then went to the station and overheard the two men make arrangements as to sending her flowers and left saying he had heard what he wanted to hear Later Larry didn t turn up and Rodgers went to pick up Helen and told her Larry was late At the ball she danced with Rodgers until Freymark showed up and she danced with him By the end of the night Larry s spaniel Duke came hurtling at Freymark who soon disappeared from the place The next day Rodgers went about the station and then up to Grover Colorado There he found a blood stain on Larry s bed but thought it must have been nosebleed During the night however he got woken up by what looked like Larry s ghost writing on the chalk board The next morning he realised the ghost had written the number of a train where Larry s body was to be found in Omaha Upon seeing the body Rodgers realised the hands were stained by chalk By then Freymark had gone never to be found again The Division Superintendent did not believe him after Freymark admitted to drinking brandy that night Characters EditThe outer narrator unnamed He went to Princeton University with Rodgers and is doing geological research off Sterling Colorado where he meets with Rodgers after years apart Terrapin Rodgers He went to Princeton University and now works at the railroad office at Cheyenne Wyoming Lawrence O Toole the murdered agent of Grover Station Rodgers calls him Larry Miss Helen Masterson She went to Wellesley and lived in Washington D C many years Mr Freymark He lived in Paris many years and therefore speaks several European languages He likes to gamble at card games Although he pretends to be a Jew he is the son of a Chinese slavegirl his father bought when he was living there John J Masterson Helen s father He was a United States senator from Wyoming Harry Burns a journalist for The Times and a cousin of Larry s He is the one who found out about Freymark s scandalous birth The dispatcher from Holyoke Colorado Connelly the station conductor Helena a friend of Helen s Laramie a friend of Helen s Allusions to other works EditThe Bible with Jacob Laban and Padan aram Allusions to actual history EditCharles Stewart Parnell is said to have been Larry s hero Literary significance and criticism EditThe plotline was partly taken from an 1893 short story by Dorothy Canfield Fisher 3 Moreover it has been noted for its trope of the grotesque which will reappear in Cather s later novels 3 The story may have been inspired by Willa Cather s 1898 visit to Cheyenne Wyoming where her brother Douglass at the railroad station 4 Moreover Cather s sister has said the story was written with his help 5 The trope of the ghost has been deemed Jamesian 5 Freymark seems to be a throwback to Yung in A Son of the Celestial 4 Larry to Reggie in The Fear That Walks by Noonday 5 The story has also been compared to My Antonia insofar as both pieces use an outer narrator and they open with a scene on a train 6 References Edit Willa Cather s Collected Short Fiction University of Nebraska Press Rev Ed edition 1 Nov 1970 page 352 Sheryl L Meyering A Reader s Guide to the Short Stories of Willa Cather G K Hall amp Co 1995 p 1 a b James Leslie Woodress Willa Cather A Literary Life University of Nebraska Press 1989 page 146 a b Willa Cather s Collected Short Fiction University of Nebraska Press Rev Ed edition 1 Nov 1970 Introduction by Mildred R Bennett page xxxv a b c Mildred Bennett Early Stories of Willa Cather New York Dodd Mead 1957 pp 239 240 Marilyn Arnold Willa Cather s Short Fiction Athens Ohio University Press 1984 pp 35 36External links EditFull Text of Part One and Full Text of Part Twoat theWilla Cather Archive The Affair at Grover Station public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Affair at Grover Station amp oldid 1110207437, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
