Much of Willa Cather’s writing develops an interest in the minds, ways, and lives of artists: This theme of contrast and discord between conflicting values is present in a number of ways in “Paul’s Case.” Although Paul is not an artist in the sense that he creates works of art, he has the kind of imagination that in a friendlier environment might have developed to enable him to convert the material of his real world into art. As it is, Paul’s case is painful and hopeless. The author shows the reader a world that is blatantly materialistic. The predominant color is gray, while Paul longs for the richness of purple, of light-reflecting crystal. It is sad that for Paul, and indeed for his world, money seems to be the only means to experience the felt life, the excitement of performance. Paul is a spectator. He has no interest in books, which might have helped him to imagine other possibilities. His is a solipsistic vision, stimulated by music that acts like an addictive narcotic on his nervous system and produces an excitement from which he recovers in a state of severe physical and emotional deflation. Paul’s teachers and family seem peculiarly insensitive to his condition, his needs, and his suffering.