Honorable Mention!
The Tension of Love and Honor, Balkum, Lesleigh
School of Humanities
Professor: Dr. Doni Wilson
Although many scholars argue that William Dean Howells’ short story, “Editha,” is an argument against the Romantic movement, this analysis is insufficient. Howells specifically dismisses not the Romantics, but those who romanticize war, which includes not only the Romantics, but also the Cavaliers of the seventeenth century, such as Richard Lovelace, whom Howells quotes. It is not surprising that Howells chose this particular aspect of Romanticism to criticize. Howells had seen the horrors of war and, unlike the Romantics and Cavaliers, was not at all inclined to Romanticize its glories or heroes. Through my research and analysis, I will prove that Howells uses a Romantic character, Editha, in order to counter the glorification of war which the Romantics and Cavaliers espoused by focusing on the realistic consequences of forcing those who were not meant for war to fight for honor.
