The Lost Phoebe (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Theodore Dreiser
- First Published: 1916
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The late 1800's or early 1900's
- Setting: A farm in the American Midwest
- Principal Characters: Henry Reifsneider, Phoebe Reifsneider
- Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Suicide, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Ghosts or apparitions, Midwest, Farms, farmers, or farming, Death or dying, Hallucinations or illusions
- Locales: Midwest (U.S.)
The Story
Henry Reifsneider was born on a rural farm in the American Midwest where the population is steadily decreasing. His family lived on it for generations, but his children either have moved away or have died. Henry's farm, which he and his wife, Phoebe, now maintain, is in decline. The buildings and even the furniture inside the house are in decay. The fields produce poorly; the animals decrease in number each year; and the apple orchard, full of gnarled old trees, is decomposing.
The story opens with this dismal setting, but the characters’ relationship...
[The entire page is 1415 words long]
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