Ellen Glasgow Criticism
Ellen Glasgow (1874-1945), a prominent American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and autobiographer, is celebrated for her realistic and often satirical portrayal of Southern society during the transformative post-Civil War era. Her work critically examines a decaying Southern civilization grappling with industrialization and an emerging middle class, with particular focus on the role of women and their struggle for independence. Glasgow's literature is marked by a blend of realism and supernatural elements, creating a unique narrative style as exemplified in her collection The Shadowy Third and Other Stories. As noted in reviews, her ghost stories, such as those in The Shadowy Third, combine naturalism with the supernatural to produce a believably eerie atmosphere.
Born into a prominent Richmond, Virginia family, and largely self-educated, Glasgow faced personal challenges including depression and hearing loss. These experiences are reflected in her fiction, which often explores women's dilemmas related to marriage and career—a theme central to her story "A Woman of Tomorrow" and throughout her body of work. Her engagement to Henry Anderson, though it did not culminate in marriage, influenced her writing significantly, as suggested by Edgar MacDonald.
Despite her focus on novels, Glasgow did write short stories that reveal her keen observation of human manners and social dynamics, often highlighting strong female characters and the complexities of human consciousness, as discussed by Julius Rowan Raper. Although her short fiction was initially overshadowed by her novels, critical appreciation has grown over time, recognizing her stories for their psychological depth and feminist themes, as described in essays by Richard K. Meeker and others. Glasgow's innovative narrative techniques in her short stories were precursors to the more refined character explorations in her later acclaimed novels, like Barren Ground and Vein of Iron.
While primarily remembered as a novelist, Glasgow's short stories have gained acknowledgment for their insightful critique of gender dynamics and societal norms, echoing themes later developed in her novels.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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The Shadowy Third
(summary)
In the following early review of The Shadowy Third, the critic finds Glasgow's ghost stories uncommonly believable because of their blend of naturalism and supernaturalism.
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Gentleman, the Ladies!
(summary)
In the following excerpt from a review of the works of four women writers, Collins praises The Shadowy Third, comparing Glasgow's style and technique to that of Guy de Maupassant.
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Ghosts and Others
(summary)
In this excerpt from a review of four collections of stories about ghosts and the occult, Willcox admires Glasgow's ability to convey convincingly "place and speech" in her writing.
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Fiction of the War Years and After
(summary)
In this excerpt from the first book-length study of Glasgow's oeuvre, McDowell dismisses all but two of her short stories as insignificant.
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Introduction to The Collected Stories of Ellen Glasgow
(summary)
In the following essay, which is the earliest substantial consideration of Glasgow's short fiction, Meeker argues that the stories mark an important transition in Glasgow's development as a writer.
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The Words for Invisible Things: The Short Stories (1916-1924)
(summary)
In the first sustained piece of criticism on Glasgow's short stories since Richard K. Meeker's 1963 essay, Raper argues that Glasgow's stories were written during a time of aesthetic and emotional crisis and reflect her search for a new language to express the workings of the deepest reaches of human consciousness.
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Poems and Short Stories
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Thiébaux considers the chief interest in Glasgow's stories to be their treatment of themes developed more fully in her novels.
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The Years of the Locust
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Wagner maintains that Glasgow's short stories emphasize characterization—particularly strong women characters—rather than plot development and experiment with ideas subsequently integrated in her novels.
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The Daring Gift in Ellen Glasgow's 'Dare's Gift'
(summary)
In the following analysis of 'Dare's Gift,' Carpenter sees the story as not merely a tale of the supernatural but as an exploration of one woman's struggle to express her independence and individuality.
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Visions of Female Community in Ellen Glasgow's Ghost Stones
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Carpenter argues that Glasgow's ghost stories, which are particularly critical of men and sympathetic toward women, showcase her feminist concerns.
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Ellen Glasgow's Outline of History in The Shadowy Third and Other Stories
(summary)
In the following essay, Rainwater asserts that Glasgow's Gothic stories were influenced by the works of H. G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe.
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From Jordan's End to Frenchman's Bend: Ellen Glasgow's Short Stories
(summary)
In the following essay, MacDonald suggests that Glasgow's uneasy friendship with her one-time fiancé Henry Anderson unconsciously informs the themes of many of her short stories.
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The Shadowy Third
(summary)
- Further Reading