Death of an Infant
by Lydia Sigourney
DEATH found strange beauty on that polish’d brow,
And dash’d it out. There was a tint of rose
On cheek and lip. He touched the veins with ice,
And the rose faded. Continue reading Death of an Infant
Tag Archives: Death
The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley
“The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley,” a thoroughly reworked version of his New Yorker story “Mother Coakley’s Reform” (March 18, 1944), is an example of Gill’s exploration of the life of Catholic clergy in his fiction and is set in a monastery in a Carolina town. The narrative tone is warm and somewhat whimsical in telling the story of a nun struggling with sins of pride, envy, and greed stemming from, of all things, her competitiveness on the tennis court and a priest facing two specific weaknesses of his own. The hopefulness of faith and the capacity for change make this a meaningful pairing with “The Knife.” Continue reading The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley
The Knife
“The Knife,” originally published in The New Yorker (March 16, 1940), is described by John Updike as “a desolating sketch of faith’s clash with reality.” Themes familiar in Gill’s fiction and derived from personal experience motivate this story: namely, coping with the untimely death of a young mother and the role of Catholicism in that process. Continue reading The Knife
The Trouble of One House
The chapters selected for this anthology come late in the book. Elizabeth has just died and family members arrive that evening to visit. These two chapters explore the tensions in the family and the internal conflicts experienced by Elizabeth’s husband, Doctor Thomas Rowan. Readers may find it helpful to refer to the cast of characters below for an orientation to the selected chapters. Continue reading The Trouble of One House