Historical Context
The Chicago Renaissance
Throughout much of the twentieth century, New York City has been regarded as the literary epicenter of the United States. However, around the time of the First World War, this honor belonged to Chicago. Sherwood Anderson was a key member of a collective of writers and editors known as the Chicago Renaissance or Chicago Group, which thrived from approximately 1910 to 1925. This group also included poets Carl Sandburg and Edgar Lee Masters, as well as novelist Theodore Dreiser. Initially, these writers concentrated on Midwestern themes and primarily reached a Midwest audience, but their influence rapidly expanded.
Chicago was also the base for Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, edited by Harriet Monroe. Established in 1912, it became one of the pioneering so-called little magazines, which were noncommercial literary magazines dedicated to innovative writing. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Sandburg made his debut in the pages of Poetry, and the magazine also featured early works by Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, and T. S. Eliot. Just down the street from Monroe’s office were the offices of Margaret Anderson (no relation to Sherwood Anderson), who edited The Little Review. During its fifteen-year run, it emerged as one of the most significant little magazines and later operated out of New York and Paris. In 1918, The Little Review began the first American publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, which was so controversial that issues were seized and burned by the United States Postal Service. Sherwood Anderson contributed to the first two issues of The Little Review in 1914. His short story "Paper Pills," which follows "Hands" in Winesburg, Ohio, was first published in the Little Review in 1915.
Anderson lived and wrote amid this vibrant period in Chicago. He and the other members of the Chicago Group were socially connected, collaborated on projects, read each other’s work aloud, and engaged in discussions about politics and art. They rejected what they considered the outdated literary forms of the nineteenth century, experimenting with free verse poetry and fiction that defied traditional plot structures. They opposed the "genteel" nineteenth-century writers who believed that literature should focus on optimistic themes and wholesome characters, instead exploring flawed and troubled characters involved in controversial behaviors.
Among the fiction writers of the Chicago Group, Anderson was the most daring in terms of subject matter and form, according to Welford Dunaway Taylor in Sherwood Anderson. He wrote about sex with a candor that shocked his contemporaries and embraced episodic structures for his fiction. Taylor notes that even the editor of Masses, the progressive magazine where "Hands" first appeared, "is said to have felt that some of the Winesburg stories were formless. After publishing two, the magazine stopped accepting them."
When Anderson arrived in Chicago at the opportune moment, he discovered a talented and supportive circle of friends who helped him shape his art and career. Together with his colleagues, he managed to bridge two worlds, addressing sophisticated urban issues and ideas while grounding his work in the small-town Midwest.
Psychology
Just as Anderson and his peers were striving to revolutionize literature in the early twentieth century, Sigmund Freud was transforming the understanding of human psychology. His numerous books, such as The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) and Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex (1910), were widely read and discussed across Europe by both professionals and laypeople. By around 1914, Freud’s theories had even permeated the Midwest. Anderson and the other members of the Chicago Renaissance engaged in discussions about the latest psychological theories, alongside socialism and literary criticism.
The emergence of these new, controversial...
(This entire section contains 681 words.)
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theories, combined with the publication of a collection of unconventional short stories, proved irresistible to critics. Critics, unable to find any other explanation for Anderson's focus on mentally unstable characters, quickly labeled him a "Freudian." However, Anderson consistently maintained that he had never actually read Freud. Rex Burbank, in his bookSherwood Anderson, concludes that "Anderson repeatedly rejected Freudian formulas, for he resisted what he regarded as the oversimplification of the human mind and heart." Nevertheless, because both Freud and Anderson wrote about neurotic individuals, readers have often linked Anderson's works with Freudianism.
Style and Technique
"Hands," a distinctive story by Sherwood Anderson, invites readers into a world where narrative style, symbolism, and plot defy traditional expectations. Through an episodic plot structure and a unique approach to narration, Anderson crafts a complex psychological portrait centered on Wing Biddlebaum. The recurring imagery of hands serves as a potent symbol, highlighting themes of isolation and misunderstanding.
Point of View and Narration
"Hands" unfolds through a third-person perspective, narrated by an observer who remains detached from the emotional depths of the characters. This narrator paints a vivid picture of Wing Biddlebaum's physical presence, yet only offers fleeting glimpses into his internal world. For instance, while the narrator notes Wing's anxious pacing on the veranda in anticipation of George Willard's visit, the emotional impact of a woman mocking his baldness is left unspoken. Instead, the focus is on Wing's physical response — his "nervous little hands fiddled about the bare white forehead as though arranging a mass of tangled locks." The narrator details only the surface level, as seen when Henry Bradford's assault on Myers is described solely through "the frightened face of the schoolmaster."
During a pivotal scene where George almost broaches the subject of Wing's hands, the narrative perspective subtly shifts. The focus remains on Wing, but George's vision of the surrounding fields and his attentive listening to Wing's "long, rambling talk" becomes apparent. Although George's reactions are largely unspoken, Wing's visible "look of horror," his "convulsive movement," and the tears that follow reveal his emotional state. Notably, after Wing departs, the story briefly grants access to George's internal monologue, where he reflects on "the terror he had seen in the man’s eyes," marking the sole moment where thoughts are explicitly conveyed.
The narrative then retreats to its original distance, maintaining a vague depiction of Wing's thoughts and feelings. As Wing progresses through his solitary evening routine of eating, cleaning, and undressing, he appears almost mechanistic, emotionally numb.
Symbolism
The imagery of hands permeates the narrative, heralding an abstract symbol that resonates throughout the story. As noted in Robert Allen Papinchak's analysis in Sherwood Anderson: A Study of the Short Fiction, the words "hand" and "hands" recur thirty times within the brief text, underscoring their symbolic significance. Wing's hands are both his unique trait and the source of his notoriety — whether celebrated for picking strawberries or condemned for touching students.
Ultimately, the hands symbolize Wing's disconnect from both himself and the world around him. They seem to act independently, inciting his alarm and awe at the "quiet inexpressive hands of other men." The narrative draws attention to hands used against Wing — whether in violence, as "fists to beat Wing," or in threat, "a rope in his hands." Wing's conscious effort to avoid touching his friend further encapsulates his profound loneliness and isolation, reinforced by the narrator's assertion: "The story of Wing Biddlebaum is a story of hands." Anderson's pioneering use of recurring imagery to cultivate symbolic meaning has become a hallmark of short fiction.
Episodic Plot
"Hands" challenges conventional plot expectations with its episodic structure, a feature of Winesburg, Ohio that perplexed early critics. Traditional plots prioritize action over character development, often featuring a series of connected events to create suspense or resolve a mystery. However, Anderson's narrative doesn’t align with this standard, leading some to claim that no plot exists at all. The story begins and ends with Wing alone, yearning for George's company, while the intervening sections reflect on their friendship, their shared walk, and Wing's backstory as Adolph Myers in Pennsylvania.
Despite the absence of direct causal links between these episodes, they coalesce into a cohesive psychological portrait rather than a conventional plot. Anderson believed this episodic structure mirrored the nuanced, sometimes disjointed, tapestry of human experience. The seemingly isolated scenes create a "dominant impression" and a psychological unity that defy traditional narrative arcs, resonating with Anderson's innovative approach to storytelling.
Compare and Contrast
1890s: The "public highway" connecting the town to the berry fields in Winesburg, Ohio, is a dirt path. Field workers travel by wagon, and goods are transported by train.
1990s: While unpaved roads and freight trains still exist in rural Midwest areas, they have largely been replaced by paved roads used by trucks.
1890s: Strawberries are cultivated nationwide and harvested by local day laborers. The fictional Wing Biddlebaum manages to pick one hundred and forty quarts in a single day.
1990s: Most large-scale strawberry farms are now located in California. While strawberries are still hand-picked to avoid bruising, the work is primarily done by migrant laborers, many from Mexico.
1890s: Schools, like Adolph Myers’ in the story, typically have one teacher for all grades, with minimal direct supervision.
1990s: With the exception of the most isolated areas, American schools are generally larger, with multiple teachers per building and extensive bureaucracies responsible for hiring, supervising, and disciplining staff.
1890s: The fictional Winesburg Eagle, similar to many small-town newspapers, is operated by just two men: an owner/editor and a reporter.
1990s: Most small-town newspapers now have larger staffs, and many have either gone out of business or been acquired by large multimedia corporations. However, the Internet enables small groups to produce online publications with much wider circulation than the small print newspapers of a century ago.
Adaptations
Recently, two full-length audio editions of Winesburg, Ohio have been released. In 1995, Audio Bookshelf published a version narrated by Terry Bregy. This edition comprises four cassettes with a total runtime of six and a half hours, including an introduction to Anderson and his work. In 1997, Recorded Books released another version, narrated by George Guidall. This edition includes five cassettes with a total duration of seven and a half hours.
Bibliography
Sources
Anderson, David D., Critical Studies in American Literature, University of Karachi, 1964, pp. 108–131; reprinted in Critical Essays on Sherwood Anderson, edited by David D. Anderson, G. K. Hall, 1981, p. 167.
Burbank, Rex, Sherwood Anderson, Twayne, 1964, pp. 65, 117.
Frank, Waldo, ‘‘Winesburg, Ohio, After Twenty Years,’’ in Story, Vol. 19, No. 91, September–October, 1941, pp. 29–33.
‘‘A Gutter Would Be Spoon River,’’ New York Sun, June 1, 1919, p. 3.
Mencken, H. L., ‘‘Novels, Chiefly Bad,’’ in Smart Set, Vol. 59, August, 1919, p. 142.
Papinchak, Robert Allen, Sherwood Anderson: A Study of the Short Fiction, Twayne, 1992, pp. 8–9.
Rideout, Walter B., ‘‘The Simplicity of Winesburg, Ohio,’’ in Shenandoah, Vol. 13, Spring 1962, pp. 20–31; reprinted in Critical Essays on Sherwood Anderson, edited by David D. Anderson, G. K. Hall, 1981, pp. 146, 150–151.
Small, Judy Jo, A Reader’s Guide to the Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson, G. K. Hall, 1994, p. 37.
Taylor, Welford Dunaway, Sherwood Anderson, Frederick Ungar, 1977, pp. 29, 37.
Further Reading
Howe, Irving, Sherwood Anderson, William Sloan Associates, 1951. This is a highly engaging critical biography by someone who admired Anderson’s early works but was deeply disappointed by his later ones. Howe does not specifically discuss ‘‘Hands,’’ but he dedicates a chapter to the influences and themes of Winesburg, Ohio. It remains the most significant book-length study on Anderson.
Papinchak, Robert Allen, Sherwood Anderson: A Study of the Short Fiction, Twayne, 1992. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of all of Anderson’s short stories. Papinchak uses ‘‘Hands’’ to exemplify Anderson’s ‘‘representative stylistic technique,’’ highlighting the recurrent use of hands as a symbol and the author’s clear and straightforward prose style.
Small, Judy Jo, A Reader’s Guide to the Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson, G. K. Hall, 1994. In a valuable chapter on ‘‘Hands,’’ Small discusses the story’s composition, Anderson’s influences, the publication history, connections to other Anderson works, and significant critical responses.
White, Ray Lewis, ed., The Merrill Studies in ‘‘Winesburg, Ohio’’, Charles E. Merrill, 1971. This is a concise but essential collection of background information and critical essays, including an analysis of Anderson’s writing process by William L. Phillips, several contemporary book reviews, and brief, accessible critical articles on themes, imagery, and symbolism.
———, Sherwood Anderson: A Reference Guide, G. K. Hall, 1977. This annotated bibliography lists over 2,500 pieces of criticism published between 1916 and 1975, including non-English language critiques. It features citations with brief summaries of twenty-three reviews of Winesburg, Ohio from 1919.
