Chapter VIII: Psychological Studies 390 (13)

16. For five minutes the stairs were darker than ever. Then the assistant, a very young man, came out again, followed by the old woman with a candle. Mrs. Manders listened in the upper dark. “He’s sinking fast,” said the assistant. “He _must_ have a stimulant. Dr. Mansell ordered port wine. Where is it?” Mrs. Curtis mumbled dolorously. “I tell you he _must_ have it,” he averred with unprofessional emphasis (his qualification was only a month old). “The man can’t take solid food, and his strength must be kept up somehow. Another day may make all the difference. Is it because you can’t afford it?” “It’s a expense--sich a expense, doctor,” the old woman pleaded. “An’ wot with 'arf-pints o’ milk an’--” She grew inarticulate, and mumbled dismally.

17. “But he must have it, Mrs. Curtis, if it’s your last shilling: it’s the only way. If you mean you absolutely haven’t the money--” and he paused a little awkwardly. He was not a wealthy young man--wealthy young men do not devil for East End doctors--but he was conscious of a certain haul of sixpences at nap the night before; and, being inexperienced, he did not foresee the career of persecution whereon he was entering at his own expense and of his own motion. He produced five shillings: “If you absolutely haven’t the money, why--take this and get a bottle--good: not at a public-house. But mind, _at once_. He should have had it before.”

18. It would have interested him, as a matter of coincidence, to know that his principal had been guilty of the selfsame indiscretion--even the amount was identical--on that landing the day before. But, as Mrs. Curtis said nothing of this, he floundered down the stair and out into the wetter mud, pondering whether or not the beloved son of a Congregational minister might take full credit for a deed of charity on the proceeds of sixpenny nap. But Mrs. Curtis puffed her wrinkles, and shook her head sagaciously as she carried in her candle. From the room came a clink as of money falling into a teapot. And Mrs. Manders went about her business.

19. The door was shut, and the stair a pit of blackness. Twice a lodger passed down, and up and down, and still it did not open. Men and women walked on the lower flights, and out at the door, and in again. From the street a shout or a snatch of laughter floated up the pit. On the pavement footsteps rang crisper and fewer, and from the bottom passage there were sounds of stagger and sprawl. A demented old clock buzzed divers hours at random, and was rebuked every twenty minutes by the regular tread of a policeman on his beat. Finally, somebody shut the street-door with a great bang, and the street was muffled. A key turned inside the door on the landing, but that was all. A feeble light shone for hours along the crack below, and then went out. The crazy old clock went buzzing on, but nothing left that room all night. Nothing that opened the door....

20. When next the key turned, it was to Mrs. Manders’s knock, in the full morning; and soon the two women came out on the landing together, Mrs. Curtis with a shapeless clump of bonnet. “Ah, 'e’s a lovely corpse,” said Mrs. Manders. “Like wax. So was my 'usband.”

21. “I must be stirrin’,” croaked the old woman, “an’ go about the insurance an’ the measurin’ an’ that. There’s lots to do.”

22. “Ah, there is. 'Oo are you goin’ to 'ave,--Wilkins? I 'ad Wilkins. Better than Kedge, _I_ think: Kedge’s mutes dresses rusty, an’ their trousis is frayed. If you was thinkin’ of 'avin’ mutes--”

23. “Yus, yus,”--with a palsied nodding,--“I’m a-goin’ to 'ave mutes: I can do it respectable, thank Gawd!”

24. “And the plooms?”

25. “Ay, yus, and the plooms too. They ain’t sich a great expense, after all.”

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS FOR STUDY

1. What are the points of similarity between the Character-Study and the Psychological Study?

2. Define (a) Psychology, (b) Realism.

3. Does Markheim’s change of heart seem to you to be genuine? Give your reasons.

4. Analyze his motives fully.

5. Is the supernatural element convincing?

6. Could conscience produce the same effect as the Visitant?

7. What impression did Stevenson seek to convey by “Markheim”?

8. Fully analyze the thoughts, feelings, and motives of the mother.

9. Can you detect Morrison’s motive in writing “On the Stairs”?

10. Fully analyze one other psychological study, from any source.

TEN REPRESENTATIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES

“A Coward,” Guy de Maupassant, translated in _The Odd Number_.

“Another Gambler,” Paul Bourget, translated in _Stories by Foreign Authors_.

“La Bretonne,” André Theuriet, translated in _Short-Story Masterpieces_.

“The Song of Death,” Hermann Sudermann, translated in _The Indian Lily_.

“The Recovery,” Edith Wharton, in _Crucial Instances_.

“Billy-Boy,” John Luther Long, in volume of same title.

“The Executioner,” Honoré de Balzac, translated in _Masterpieces of Fiction_.

“The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, _Harper’s Magazine_, vol. 81, 553.

“The Lady or the Tiger,” Frank R. Stockton, in volume of same title.

“The Man Without a Country,” Edward Everett Hale, in _Short Story Classics, American_.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

An extended list of books and magazine articles on the short-story will be found on pages 375-378, 426-431 of the present author’s _Writing the Short-Story_, New York, Hinds, Hayden and Eldredge (1909), xiv+441 pp. Most of the bibliographical references here appended also appear in the revised edition of _Writing the Short-Story_ (1918). Magazine articles have not been included, as they may be found listed in the cumulative periodical indexes. For several years, _The Writer’s Monthly_, Springfield, Mass., a periodical for literary workers, has printed monthly a list of magazine articles of interest to writers.

_Notes on the Influence of E. T. A. Hoffman on Edgar Allan Poe_, G. Gruener, Modern Language Association of America (1904).

_How to Write_, Charles Sears Baldwin. Macmillan (1906). Chapters on “How to Tell a Story,” and “How to Describe.” Based upon Bible narratives.

_The Art of the Short-Story_, George W. Gerwig. Werner (1909). A brief general study. Out of print.

_The Short Story in English_, Henry Seidel Canby. Holt (1909). An exhaustive examination into the origin and development of the form.

_A History of Story Telling_, Arthur Ransome. Stokes (1909).

_Studies in Several Literatures_, Harry Thurston Peck. Dodd, Mead (1909). Chapters on “Poe,” and “The Detective Story.”

_The Art of Writing_ (also issued under the title, _The Art of Short Story Writing_), George Randolph Chester. The Publishers Syndicate (1910). A collection of brief notes on all phases of the title-subject.

_The Fiction Factory_, John Milton Edwards (pseudonym). Editor Co. (1911). “The author tells how he conceived, planned, wrote and sold $100,000 worth of manuscripts.”

_The Craftsmanship of Writing_, Frederic Taber Cooper. Dodd, Mead (1912). These papers appeared serially in _The Bookman_, New York.

_The Plot of the Short Story_, Henry Albert Phillips. Stanhope-Dodge (1912). The technique and mechanics of plot.

_The American Short Story_, C. Alphonso Smith. Ginn (1912). An American reprint of one of the author’s lectures delivered as Roosevelt Professor at the University of Berlin.

_The Art and Business of Story Writing_, W. B. Pitkin. Macmillan (1912).

_The American Short Story_, Elias Lieberman. Editor Co. (1912).

_The Art of Story Writing_, J. Berg Esenwein and Mary Davoren Chambers. Home Correspondence School (1913). A study of the shorter fictional forms--the anecdote, fable, parable, tale, sketch, and short-story--with outlines for study and instruction.

_The Technique of the Mystery Story_, Carolyn Wells. Home Correspondence School (1913).

_Art in Short Story Narration_, Henry Albert Phillips. Stanhope-Dodge (1913).

_The Art of Writing_, Preface to “The Nigger of the Narcissus,” Joseph Conrad. Doubleday (1914).

_Short Stories in the Making_, Robert Wilson Neal. Oxford University Press (1914).

_The Author’s Craft_, Arnold Bennett. Doran (1914)

_The Art of the Short Story_, Carol Grabo. Scribner (1914).

_The Modern Short-Story_, Lilian Notestein and Waldo H. Dunn. Barnes (1914).

_On the Art of Writing_, A. Quiller-Couch. Putnam (1916).

_The Contemporary Short Story_, Harry T. Baker. Heath (1916).

_The Short-Story_, Barry Pain. Doran (1916). Reprint of an earlier English edition.

_The Thirty Six Dramatic Situations_, Georges Polti. Editor Co. (1916).

_A Handbook of Story Writing_, Blanche Colton Williams. Dodd, Mead (1917).

_Children’s Stories and How to Tell Them_, J. Berg Esenwein and Marietta Stockard. Home Correspondence School (1917).

_Helps for Student-Writers_, Willard E. Hawkins. The Student-Writer Press (1917).

_The Technique of Fiction Writing_, Robert Saunders Dowst. Editor Co. (1917).

Besides the edited collections of miscellaneous short-stories included in the first edition of _Writing the Short-Story_, which need not be reproduced here, are the following. In most instances the collections are prefaced by introductory notes by the editors named.

_The Best American Tales_, W. P. Trent and John Bell Henneman. Crowell (1907).

_International Library of Fiction_ (3 vols.), William Patten. Collier (1910).

_The Great English Short-Story Writers_ (2 vols.), William J. and Coningsby W. Dawson. Harper (1910).

_The Lock and Key Library_ (10 vols.), Julian Hawthorne. This is an expansion of the six-volume edition of _Mystery and Detective Stories_ (6 vols.). Review of Reviews Co. (1912).

_Short-Story Masterpieces, French_ (2 vols.), J. Berg Esenwein. Home Correspondence School (1912).

_Short-Story Masterpieces, Russian_ (2 vols.), J. Berg Esenwein. Home Correspondence School (1913).

_A Collection of Short Stories_, L. A. Pittenger. Macmillan (1913).

_A Study of the Short Story_, Henry S. Canby. Holt (1913).

_A Book of Short Stories_, Stuart P. Sherman. Holt (1914).

_Types of the Short-Story_, Benjamin A. Heydrick. Scott, Foresman (1914).

_The Short-Story_, E. A. Cross. McClurg (1914).

_Modern Short Stories_, Margaret Ashmun. Macmillan (1914).

_Short Stories_, Leonard Moulton. Houghton, Mifflin (1915).

_Short Stories for High Schools_, Rosa M. R. Mikels. Scribner (1915).

_Elements of the Short Story_, E. E. Hale, Jr., and F. T. Dawson. Holt (1915).

_Short Stories from “Life,”_ T. L. Masson. Doubleday (1916).

_Short Stories and Selections, for Use in Secondary Schools_, Emilie K. Baker. Macmillan (1916).

_Representative Short Stories_, Nina Hart and Edna M. Perry. Macmillan (1917).

_The Best Short Stories of 1915, and The Yearbook of the American Short Story_, E. J. O’Brien. Small, Maynard (1916).

Similar collections by the same editor have been issued for 1916 and 1917, and others for later years are to follow.

_Atlantic Narratives_, Charles Swain Thomas. Atlantic Monthly Press (1918).

_Index to Short Stories._ Ina TenEyck Firkins. Wilson.

INDEX

In this index, names of authors are printed in small capitals and titles of books in italics; titles of short-stories are enclosed in quotations, and general persons and subjects are in Roman type. It has not seemed necessary to index titles and authors which are merely included in biographical and bibliographical notes.

A

Action, 2, 3.

ADDISON, JOSEPH, xix.

Adventure (see Action), xvi, 3.

Anecdote, xvi, xvii, xx.

_Arabian Nights_, xviii.

B

BALDWIN, CHARLES S., xxiv.

BALZAC, HONORÉ DE, xx, 134, 253.

BARRIE, JAMES M., 133, 215-249.

BARRETT, CHARLES RAYMOND, xxiii.

BEERS, H. A., 300.

BERANGER, 320.

Bibliography of Short-Story, xxi, 433.

BIERCE, AMBROSE, 72.

BOCCACCIO, xviii;
_Decameron_, xvii;
_Rinaldo_, xvii.

BURKE, EDMUND, 132.

BURTON, RICHARD, 32.

BUTLER, ELLIS PARKER, 133.

C

CANBY, H. S., xxiv, 32, 33, 75, 76, 149, 258, 301, 302.

Characters, 4, 354, 355, 356.

Character Studies, 353-389.

CHAUCER, GEOFFREY, xviii,
_Canterbury Tales_, xvii,
_Pardoner’s Tale_, xvii.

CHESTERTON, GILBERT K., 424.

CODY, SHERWIN, xxiii.

Comedy, 192.

_Conte dévot_, xvi, xvii.

Contributory incident, 21, 199.

COPPÉE, FRANÇOIS, 134, 368-388.

“Courting of T’Nowhead’s Bell, The,” 219-249.

CRAWFORD, F. MARION, 72.

CRAWFORD, V. M., 137, 138.

Crisis, xxvi, 355.

CROSS, J. W., 252.

CURTIS, GEORGE WILLIAM, 70.

D

DAUDET, ALPHONSE, 133-147.

DEFOE, DANIEL, xix.

Denouement, xxvi.

Detective Story, xix.

Developing incident (see contributory incident).

DYE, CHARITY, xxiii.

E

EDGEWORTH, MARIA, _Moral Tales_, xix.

Egyptian tales, xv, xvi.

ELIOT, GEORGE, 252.

Emotion, Stories of, 131-190.

Episode, xvii, xix.

Essay-Stories, xix.

_Esther, Book of_, xvi.

Exercises, xxxi, 67, 129, 189, 249, 290, 351, 388, 431.

F

_Fabliau_, xviii.

FAGUET, ÉMILE, 6.

“Fall of the House of Usher, The,” 320-351.

Fiction, Art of, xiii.

FLAUBERT, GUSTAVE, 32, 33.

G

Ghosts, 70.

_Golden Ass, The_, Apuleius, xvi.

_Graham’s Magazine_, xxii, 295.

GRENIER, EDOUARD, 7.

GRISWOLD, HATTIE T., 218.

_Guardian_, xix.

H

HAMILTON, CLAYTON, 354.

HAMMERTON, J. A., 218.

_Handbook of Literary Criticism_, 31.

HARTE, BRET, 133, 253, 254.

HAWTHORNE, JULIAN, 70, 258.

HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, xix, xxii, xxiii, 33, 71, 75, 297-319.

HENRY, O., 193-215.

HIGGINSON, THOMAS WENTWORTH, xxiii.

HOFFMAN, E. A., xix, 75.

Homeric stories, xv.

Humorous Stories, 191-250.

HUTTON, R. H., 301.

I

_Idler_, xix.

Impressionistic Stories, 293-352.

INDEPENDENT, xxiii.

IRVING, WASHINGTON, xix, 71;
_Rip Van Winkle_, xviii.

J

JACOBS, W. W., 108-129.

JAMES, HENRY, 137, 149, 279.

JESSUP, ALEXANDER, xxiv.

JOHNSON, SAMUEL, xix.

K

KING, GRACE, 6, 7.

KIPLING, RUDYARD, 31, 133, 147-189, 258.

L

LANG, ANDREW, 32, 75.

“Last Class, The,” 134, 136, 139-147.

LE GALLIENNE, RICHARD, 150, 258, 300.

LEMMON, LEONARD, 258.

LEWIN, WALTER, 257, 258.

LEWIS, E. H., xxiii.

_Lippincott’s Magazine_, xxiii.

Local color, 8, 254 (see setting).

“Lodging for the Night, A,” 32, 34-67.

LONGFELLOW, H. W., 299.

M

MABIE, HAMILTON WRIGHT, 279.

MCINTYRE, MARION, 137.

MACLAREN, IAN, 216.

“Mateo Falcone,” 8-29, 134, 254.

MATTHEWS, BRANDER, xxiii, 75, 280, 370, 371.

“Markheim,” 32, 33, 393-422.

MAUPASSANT, GUY DE, vii, xxix, 133, 196, 254, 277-290, 356-368.

MÉRIMÉE, PROSPER, xix, xx, 4, 8-29.

Milesian Tales, xvi.

MILLER, MERION M., 370.

“Moonlight,” 253, 278, 281-290.

“Monkey’s Paw, The,” 110-129, 134.

MORRISON, ARTHUR, 422-431.

Mystery and Fantasy Stories, 69-130.

N

NATHAN, G. J., 196.

NODIER, CHARLES, xix.

Novel, xiii.

Novelette, xx, xxvii.

_Novella_, xvii, xviii.

O

O’BRIEN, FITZ-JAMES, 72.

“On the Stairs,” 393, 425-431.

“Outcasts of Poker Flat, The,” 253, 258-277.

P

PATER, WALTER, 392.

PECK, HARRY THURSTON, 197.

PELLISSIER, GEORGES, 7.

PERRY, BLISS, 2, 392.

PHELPS, WILLIAM LYON, 31.

“Piece of String, The,” 356-368.

Plot, xxv.

Plot incident, 11.

POE, EDGAR ALLAN, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxv,
30, 72-107, 134, 294, 295, 296, 320-351.

Psychological Studies, 391-432.

“Purloined Letter, The,” 72, 75-107.

PUSHKIN, xix.

Q

Questions, see Exercises.

R

_Rambler_, xix.

“Ransom of Red Chief, The,” 198-215.

Representative Stories, Lists of, 68, 130, 190, 250, 290, 351, 389, 432.

RIIS, JACOB, 424.

Romanticism, 31.

ROZ, FIRMIN, 280.

_Ruth, Book of_, 133.

S

Sadness in Stories, viii.

SAINTSBURY, GEORGE, 7.

SANDERSON, ROBERT, 370.

_Saturday Review_, xxiii.

Scenario, xvi, xxvii.

SCOTT, SIR WALTER, xix.

Setting, Stories of, 251-290.

SHERAN, WILLIAM H., 31.

_Short History of French Literature_, 7.

Short-Story, origin of, xx;
defined, xxv, xxvi;
Study of, xiii, xiv.

Sketch, xxviii, 355.

SMITH, C. ALFONSO, xxiii.

SMITH, LEWIS W., xxiii.

_Spectator_, xix.

SPIELHAGEN, FRIEDRICH, xxiii.

STEELE, RICHARD, xix.

STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS, 29-67, 393-422.

Story-tellers, xv, xvi.

“Substitute, The,” 371-388.

SYMONS, ARTHUR, 138, 279.

T

Tale, xv, xvii, xx, xxvii, 355.

_Taller_, xix.

TIECK, J. L., xix, 75.

To Teachers, vii.

TRENT, W. P., 137.

TWAIN, MARK, 193.

V

VOLTAIRE, xix, 72.

W

WARD, ARTEMUS, 193.

_Warner Library_, 6, 7, 218, 280, 370.

WEISS, JOHN, 192.

“White Old Maid, The,” 302-319.

WHITE, WILLIAM ALLEN, 193.

“Without Benefit of Clergy,” 134, 148-189.

_Writing the Short-Story_, vii, ix, xi, xxvi, 133, 253, 255.

Z

_Zadig_, xix, 72.