Show Boat (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edna Ferber
- First Published: 1926
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Regional fiction
- Subjects: Middle classes, Midwest, Women, Working class, Romanticism
- Locales: Chicago, IL, Mississippi River
Show Boat, an interesting portrayal of family dynamics and the conflict between romantic adventure and responsibility, begins with the birth of Kim Ravenal on the show boat known as the Cotton Blossom Floating Palace Theatre. As in So Big, the story quickly moves backward—in this case, all the way back to the courtship of Kim's grandparents, Parthenia Ann (known as Parthy) and Captain Andy Hawks.
In Parthy, Ferber describes a stern, domineering, Puritanical mother figure who nags her husband but also provides him with home cooking, order, and comfort. Captain...
[The entire page is 982 words long]
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