The Wide Net And Other Stories

An excellent collection of short stories awaits you. Eudora Welty, one of my favorite authors, has crafted a body of work that is truly remarkable. She draws inspiration from her own life experiences in Mississippi, infusing her stories with a rich sense of place.

Her ability to bring the landscapes, cultures, and people of Mississippi to life on the page is truly a gift. The settings in her stories become characters in their own right, adding depth and authenticity to the narratives. Whether it's the small towns, the rural countryside, or the bustling cities, Welty's descriptions make you feel as if you are right there, experiencing it all firsthand.

Her sense of place is so powerful that it not only enhances the stories but also gives us a deeper understanding of the people who inhabit them. Through her writing, we can see the joys, sorrows, and struggles of the Mississippi residents, and gain a greater appreciation for their way of life. If you haven't yet discovered the works of Eudora Welty, I highly recommend that you do so. You won't be disappointed.

Earlier I reviewed the title story (see below) before I had finished reading the entire collection.

Now I have completed all eight stories and can affirm that the title story was an excellent predictor of the great enjoyment I would experience while reading the remainder of the collection.

I didn't rate this book of short stories initially because I had just finished the second one, which happens to be the title story, "The Wide Net." It is about a young man who becomes enraged with his pregnant wife and decides to go on an all-night binge. At least, that's how it ultimately turned out. The next morning when he returns home, his wife is absent.

"Then when he got back to the front room he saw she had left him a little letter in an envelope. That was doing something behind someone's back. He took out the letter, pushed it open, held it out at a distance from his eyes.... After one look he was scared to read the exact words, and he crushed the whole thing in his hand instantly, but what it had said was that she would not put up with him after that and was going to the river to drown herself.

"'Drown herself... But she's in mortal fear of the water!'"

The young husband then commences gathering a group of people to assist him in dragging the Pearl River for his wife. "The Wide Net" refers to one owned by a local doctor, and since it is the widest possessed by anyone in the area, it is borrowed for the task.

Eudora Welty had the ability to write humorously and also to write sorrowfully, and sometimes she accomplished both within the same story. Is "The Wide Net" a comedy? Or a tragedy? Or perhaps both? I'm not going to disclose. However, here is an instance of the lyricism of the word pictures with which she描绘s the landscape:

"In Dover it had rained, and the town looked somehow like new. The wavy heat of late afternoon came down from the watertank and fell over everything like shiny mosquito-netting. At the wide place where the road was paved and patched with tar, it seemed newly embedded with Coca-Cola tops. The old circus posters on the store were newly gone, only bits, the snowflakes of white horses, clinging to its side. Morning-glory vines started almost visibly to grow over the roofs and cling round the ties of the railroad track, where bluejays lighted on the rails, and umbrella chinaberry trees hung heavily over the whole town, dripping intermittently upon the tin roofs."

Read as part of The Collected Stories.

Welty's writing is indeed solid. However, I firmly believe that without some form of background knowledge, it is nearly impossible to fully understand and ultimately relish the stories in this collection. This is because, in most cases, they are not as straightforward as they might seem. I, unfortunately, lacked that crucial background knowledge. As a result, I can truthfully state that the deeper meaning of these stories eluded me. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to consistently unpack the underlying themes or read between the lines.

Is this the mark of great literature, the fact that it is so specifically localized? Perhaps it is a case of 'it's not the book, it's me'. But for an outsider from a different time and place, it is extremely challenging to appreciate what Welty is attempting to convey here.

Nevertheless, within this collection, my personal favourites were Livvie and At the Landing. These two stories managed to capture my attention and hold my interest, despite my struggles with the overall collection.

Eudora Welty is a renowned American writer, and "The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty" is a compilation that brings together some of her remarkable works.

This collection includes several captivating stories. "First Love" likely delves into the complex emotions and experiences of young love. "The Wide Net" might explore themes of connection and the reach of human relationships. "A Still Moment" could offer a poignant snapshot of a particular moment in time, filled with significance. "Asphodel" perhaps weaves a tale around this flower, carrying symbolic meanings. "The Winds" might use the element of wind to drive the narrative and evoke a sense of change or unrest. "The Purple Hat" could center around a mysterious or significant hat, adding an element of intrigue. "Livvie" might tell the story of a character named Livvie, with her own unique qualities and challenges. "At the Landing" might set the scene at a particular location, with various events and interactions unfolding.

Overall, "The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty" provides readers with a rich and diverse collection of tales that showcase her literary talent and unique perspective.

The Wide Net is Welty's second collection of stories. I have delved into her memoir One Writer's Beginnings, her Pulitzer prize-winning Optimist's Daughter, and several of her more renowned stories. However, this marked my initial encounter with one of her complete short story collections. My favorite within this collection was the eponymous story. In it, a质朴的 country man assembles a motley crew of other country fellows to search for his missing pregnant wife. It's actually a rather humorous tale, with characters so vivid they seem palpable. The river, the animals, and the trees remain vivid in my mind. Doc, the owner of the "wide net," has this precious monologue:

"'Any day now the change will come. It's going to turn from hot to cold, and we can kill the hog that's ripe and have fresh meat to eat. Come one of these nights and we can wander down here and tree a nice possum. Old Jack Frost will be pinching things up. Old Mr. Winter will be standing in the door. Hickory tree there will be yellow. Sweet-gum red, hickory yellow, dogwood red, sycamore yellow.' He went along rapping the tree trunks with his knuckle. 'Magnolia and live-oak never die. Remember that. Persimmons will all get fit to eat, and the nuts will be dropping like rain all through the woods here. And run, little quail run, for we'll be after you too" (48).

Can you get more Mississippi than that? Some of these stories, I confess, I couldn't have understood without the aid of Google. For instance, "First Love" is the author's imaginative account of Aaron Burr's secret meetings and subsequent capture and trial for treason near Natchez, Mississippi. "Asphodel" is rich in Greek mythology, and "A Still Moment" is a chance encounter between John James Audubon, a preacher, and a bandit. Still, some of these stories eluded my complete comprehension. They were dreamlike, generally mystifying, full of ambiguous signifiers, and perhaps allusions to sex and sexuality? I read these more for the emotions they evoked rather than attempting to fully fathom the literal meaning.

Welty's descriptions of nature are simply astounding, eerie, and mystical. "Late at night the whole sky was lunar, like the surface of the moon brought as close as a cheek" (19). These are the kinds of otherworldly images that will linger with me from this collection.

First Love - In a settler town at the very end of the Natchez Trace, a deaf-mute orphan named Joel describes a series of meetings between Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, who take refuge in his room. To fully appreciate this story, one needs to have a basic understanding of history. It's a tale that weaves together elements of mystery and the backdrop of a bygone era.

The Wide Net - William Wallace Jamieson ponders the possible suicide by drowning of his young, pregnant wife, Hazel. She left him a note blaming him for abandoning her by staying out all night drinking with his friends. William Wallace then calls his friends for help, setting the stage for a story filled with drama and emotional turmoil.

A Still Moment - A priest, a scientist, and a murderer meet on the road. This encounter leads to a series of events that explore the nature of faith, knowledge, and morality. The story is concise yet packs a powerful punch, leaving readers with much to思考.

Asphodel - Three old-maids have a picnic and reminisce about Miss Sabina, who was married off to Mr. Don McInnis by her father and told to "submit." After her husband cheats on her and her three children die in adulthood, Miss Sabina looks upon the town with hatred and wields power over all. It's a story of love, loss, and the consequences of a life lived under duress.

The Winds - Josie and her siblings are awakened by their parents in the middle of the night during a storm. The chaos and uncertainty of the situation add an element of excitement and adventure to the story, as the family must face the challenges presented by the powerful winds.

The Purple Hat - A bartender, a casino employee, and a heavily drinking customer are in a bar discussing a middle-aged woman with a purple hat who gambles with younger men's money. They talk about her with the disgust appropriate for a woman of no great beauty, but who is still a "ghost" enjoying money and sex. The story delves into themes of perception, judgment, and the darker side of human nature.

Livvie - Livvie married the much older Solomon, and now he is on his deathbed. The story explores the complex emotions and relationships that come into play during this difficult time, as Livvie faces the prospect of losing her husband and moving on with her life.

At the Landing - Sheltered and protected by her rich grandfather, Jenny falls in love with Billy. Their relationship blossoms despite the obstacles in their way, including the expectations and prejudices of society. It's a sweet and charming story of young love that will warm the hearts of readers.

As I experience Eudora Welty, I am acutely aware that there is a great deal that I am missing. I continue to hold onto the hope that one day I will be able to return to her books and bestow upon them the star ratings that I firmly believe they must deserve. But for now, her short stories mostly remain an enigma to me.

"The Wide Net and Other Stories" was published in 1943. This book was read as a part of "The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty". The setting for the stories is the Natchez Trace of Mississippi. The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail was an old 500-mile footpath that ran through Choctaw and Chickasaw lands, connecting Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. Today, there are four separate trails totaling 65 miles, administered by the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The book of stories set on the Natchez Trace begins with "First Love". It is not possible to simply read this story without any background knowledge. At least, I couldn't. I tried, but just couldn't figure out what was going on. What did Aaron Burr have to do with Mississippi? I had to ask Google! Unless you have the information stored in your head, the research slows you down. The cadence of the lines is lost in the stop and start. There is a rhythm that almost demands to be read aloud to be fully experienced.

In reading Welty's stories, you will likely be reminded of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Clearly a Southern writer like them, Welty respects her often peculiar characters. She uses sly humor effectively, as in the title story "The Wide Net", where a bridegroom searching the river for his presumably drowned wife manages to haul up a large number of fish to be sold on the streets of town. Each of her main characters is memorable, with the finely drawn quirkiness that makes them unique individuals.

Another story is "The Purple Hat", which is only six pages long. Although I have no idea what it means, I know what happens and can tell you. Two men come into a bar during a thunderstorm and sit at opposite ends of the bar. One man is fat and talkative, while the other is thin, young, and unshaven. The only other person there is the bartender who serves them each a drink. The fat man launches into a story about a woman in a purple hat who has come into the Palace of Pleasure every day for thirty years and meets a young man there. The fat man claims that she is a ghost and he has seen her murdered twice. He tells the story of the murders. The cathedral bell chimes at 5 o'clock and the young, thin man gets up and leaves the bar without saying a word. The fat man shortly after pays the bar bill and also leaves the bar, but not before saying he will be back tomorrow to continue the story.

The six pages are filled with descriptions, verbal and nonverbal interactions, and mystery. And there you have it. No car chases. And, just like that, we are on to the next story. Another mystery of meaning that will have to wait until another day to be deciphered.

How do you read Eudora Welty? Her words seem magical at times, promising more than I can know. I will put her on the shelf with hope and expectation. Surely there is a way to understand her. As someone else said some time ago: "When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it." Or maybe: "Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

Sophisticated, but less enjoyable to me than her debut in A Curtain of Green.

“At the Landing” was truly superb. It was like a gut-punch, hitting me right in the core with its powerful and emotional impact. The story had a way of drawing me in and making me feel every moment as if I were there.

“Asphodel” was also a remarkable piece. It was a solid dark comedy that managed to blend humor and darkness in a unique and captivating way. The characters and their situations were both absurd and relatable, making it a truly engaging read.

Overall, while this work was sophisticated and well-written, it didn't quite have the same charm and enjoyment factor for me as her debut. However, the quality of “At the Landing” and “Asphodel” cannot be denied, and they are definitely值得欣赏的 works in their own right.