Eudora Welty shows in this book that she is perhaps the quietest and subtlest feminist of the twentieth century. Hardly anyone would suspect that a feminist subtext underlies this novel; in 1946 such plots were uncommon. Yet the book is decidedly unconventional from the beginning: It identifies no conflicts, posits no problems. No dominant male figure appears until the novel is well advanced, and when he does, he has lost control of the situation. Not that the novel denies the reality of male dominance. In fact, it asserts it; as often as not, male characters act in complete disregard of their female counterparts. The novel shows, however, that this is not the only, or even the determinant, sphere of relevance.

This appears in the central event of the novel, the wedding of Dabney and Troy Flavin. From the beginning it is clear that Dabney is flouting family protocol by giving herself to a mere overseer. Her father feels betrayed by Troy, who apparently insinuated his way into the house in order to subvert the family. Shelley believes that her sister is disgracing herself and defying her father. Yet Dabney sees in Troy what the family sees in George: character worth passionate attraction. Finally, on the eve of the wedding Shelley goes to the office to summon Troy to the rehearsal. There she stumbles into a knife fight between two field hands, which is broken up by Troy. At that moment Shelley recognizes the kind of mastery she had earlier noted in George. She no longer objects to the wedding.

A similar resolution occurs in the inset story detailing the separation of Robbie and George. Shortly after George informs Ellen of Robbie’s flight, she meets a mysterious girl in the forest. When she returns, George tells her that he had met the girl the day before and had slept with her. Ellen makes no comment about this, apparently accepting it as part of the male prerogative, something women simply have to accept. Shelley, moreover, knows all the time where Robbie is hiding, but she refuses to tell George, because like everyone else in the family she believes that George has married beneath himself. When Troy meets Robbie at the store, however, he resolves things simply by inviting her to his wedding as an equal. She cannot refuse this, although she does insist on walking all the way to the farm in the stifling afternoon sun. Once there, she finally reveals what had prompted her anger.

It was what happened at the trestle: Instead of saving himself with her, George jeopardized his life for the disabled Maureen, who had no concept of the danger; worse, he could laugh about it afterward. Although she cannot quite find the words, it seems that she objects to George’s willingness to sacrifice their love for a little-valued member of his family, thus trivializing their relationship. The family rallies to support George: How can she insult him like that after he has done her the supreme honor of marrying her? At that point Robbie stuns everyone by disclosing that she married him because he had begged her; he could not live without her. At this point Ellen recognizes the truth. As George enters, she tells him both that he does not need to be forgiven for anything and that he has made his wife suffer. Then she falls senseless to the floor.

George shows his own awareness by playing up to Robbie, cajoling her into reacceptance. He has not changed or relented; he would do the same thing again. Like Ellen, however, he now recognizes Robbie as...