Coming, Eden Bower!

Last updated

Coming, Eden Bower! is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Smart Set in August 1920, [1] and it was republished in Youth and the Bright Medusa under the title of Coming, Aphrodite, with minor alterations. [1]

Contents

Plot summary

Don Hedger, an unknown painter, lives in a Washington Square. A new neighbour, Eden Bower, moves in. She upbraids him for showering his dog in the bath tub. Later he gets to doing some cleaning and finds a hole through the closet, which looks onto her room. He spies on her whilst she is doing yoga. Later he stalks her and she shows an interest in his paintings. They go to a restaurant together and become friends.

One day, he goes to Coney Island to see a model of his, and she joins him. They go up in a balloon and she feels special until he tells her an atrocious story about Aztecs, which puts a damper on the whole day. Back in New York, they both sit on the roof and talk.

Sometime later, she is back from Burton Ives's, a successful painter who has suggested helping him. Don gets angry with her as he deems Burton Ives to be a bad painter. He decides to leave to Long Island for a while, but eventually comes back because he wants to see her again. However, by then she has gone to Europe.

Years later, Eden is back in New York after having great success in Paris. Whilst driving by Washington Square, she remembers her friend of old, and meets with Gaston Jules to ask him if her friend has gone up in the world. Don, she learns, is now a successful painter, even all the way to Paris, although he is considered avant-garde more than anything.

Characters

Allusions to other works

Allusions to actual history

Literary significance and criticism

It has been suggested that the story was influenced by Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem Eden Bower, the singer Mary Garden and also Pierre Louys's novel Aphrodite . [2] Others have put forth that the dog Caesar may have been taken from Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman's short story A New England Nun. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Alexanders Bridge</i>

Alexander's Bridge is the first novel by American author Willa Cather. First published in 1912, it was re-released with an author's preface in 1922. It also ran as a serial in McClure's, giving Cather some free time from her work for that magazine.

The Burglar's Christmas is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in 1896 under the pseudonym of Elizabeth L. Seymour, her cousin's name.

The Dance at Chevalier's is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Library in 1900 under the pseudonym of Henry Nicklemann.

Jack-a-Boy is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Saturday Evening Post in March 1901.

"A Wagner Matinee" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Everybody's Magazine in February 1904. In 1906, it appeared in Cather's first published collection of short stories, The Troll Garden.

Ardessa is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Century in May 1918.

Her Boss is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Smart Set in October 1919.

The Joy of Nelly Deane is a short story by American writer Willa Cather. It was first published in Century in October 1911.

The Bohemian Girl is a short story by Willa Cather. It was written when Cather was living in Cherry Valley, New York, with Isabelle McClung whilst Alexander's Bridge was being serialised in McClure's. It was first published in McClure's in August 1912.

On the Gulls' Road is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in December 1908.

On the Divide is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Overland Monthly in January 1896.

Tommy, the Unsentimental is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in August 1896.

The Count of Crow's Nest is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in October 1896.

"A Resurrection" is a short story by American writer Willa Cather. It was first published in Home Monthly in April 1897.

"Eric Hermannson's Soul" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in April 1900.

The Profile is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in June 1907.

The Garden Lodge is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Troll Garden in 1905

The Marriage of Phaedra is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Troll Garden in 1905

The Treasure of Far Island is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in New England Magazine in October 1902.

<i>Youth and the Bright Medusa</i>

Youth and the Bright Medusa is a collection of short stories by Willa Cather, published in 1920. Several were published in an earlier collection, The Troll Garden.

References

  1. Thurin, Erik Ingvar, The Humanization of Willa Cather: Classicism in an American Classic, Lund, Sweden: Lund University Press, 1990, pp. 224-226
  2. Petry, Alice Hall, "Caesar and the Artist in Willa Cather's 'Coming, Aphrodite!' ", Studies in Short Fiction, 1986, 23:311