A Singer's Romance

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A Singer's Romance
Author Willa Cather
Genre Romance
Published July 1900 in Cosmopolitan Magazine
Media type Short story

A Singer's Romance is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in July 1900. [1]

Willa Cather American writer and novelist

Willa Sibert Cather was an American writer who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918). In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours (1922), a novel set during World War I.

<i>Cosmopolitan</i> (magazine) Fashion magazine for women, owned by Hearst Communications

Cosmopolitan is an international fashion magazine for women that was formerly titled The Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan magazine is one of the best-selling magazines and is directed mainly toward women readers. Jessica Pels is an appointed editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. The magazine was first published and distributed in 1886 in the US as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and since 1965 has become a women's magazine. Often referred to as Cosmo, its content as of 2011 includes articles discussing relationships, sex, health, careers, self-improvement, celebrities, fashion, horoscopes, and beauty. Published by Hearst Corporation, Cosmopolitan has 64 international editions, including Armenia, Australia, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Latin America, Malaysia, the Middle East, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom and is printed in 35 different languages and distributed in over 110 countries.

Contents

Plot summary

Frau Schumann drops a bag in an attempt to get a man who has been stalking her to talk to her; he picks up the bag and gives it to her but remains silent. Later, she receives another letter from her husband, asking her for money for his doctor's bills. She knows he only needs the money for gambling as she has already sent him money for his doctor, but she sends him a cheque anyway. Antoinette then asks her if she wants champagne, but she says not as she has stopped drinking it since the stalker has been around - she wants to look good as she thinks he is a secret lover. Later however, she overhears the man telling Antoinette that she will understand if she leaves her, as Frau has been so kind to her. It is clear that the young man is Antoinette's suitor. Distraught, Frau orders a quart of champagne.

Characters

Germany Federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Monte Carlo Quarter and ward of Monaco

Monte Carlo officially refers to an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter, which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins, and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille, Monaco-Ville, La Condamine, and Monte Carlo.

Allusions to other works

Aubrey Beardsley English illustrator and author

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A. McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis.

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses.

Literary significance and criticism

A Singer's Romance was a rewriting of Nanette: An Aside, [2] though with a different stance.

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References

  1. ↑ Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 338
  2. ↑ Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, 'Introduction' by Mildred R. Bennett, page xxix
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