Pale Horse, Pale Rider (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Katherine Anne Porter
- First Published: 1938
- Type of Work: Three Short Novels
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Family or family life, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Love or romance, Suicide, Murder or homicide, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Guilt, West, U.S., Emotions, Reality, War, Farms, farmers, or farming, New Orleans, Death or dying, World War I, Hallucinations or illusions, Colorado, Southwest, Soldiers, Suffrage or voting rights, Life and death, Romanticism, Reporting or reporters, Texas, Horses, Women’s rights, Influenza, Racing
- Locales: South (U.S.), New Orleans, LA, Colorado, Texas
OLD MORTALITY centers on Miranda’s memories of childhood. She remembers especially how her family idealized Aunt Amy, making her a legend of Southern womanhood after the Civil War. Ironically, Amy is shown to be a free-spirited woman who was trapped into a conventional marriage. When Miranda sees how Amy is trapped, her faith in romantic legend is shaken. Miranda wants to be free of convention. She wants to be an airplane pilot, to know the truth about her own life, and still to be loved by her family. This short novel shows the degree to which Miranda is caught between these contrary...
[The entire page is 682 words long]
