The Burglar's Christmas

Last updated
"The Burglar's Christmas"
Short story by Elizabeth L. Seymour (Willa Cather)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Short story
Publication
Published in Home Monthly
Publication typeWomen's magazine
Publication date1896

"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, [1] her cousin's name. [2]

Contents

Plot summary

Out in Chicago on Christmas Eve, two shabby-looking men are considering getting food after they have not been eating for days. Crawford is too tired to walk however, so the other man goes off by himself. Crawford considers stealing the food as he cannot pay for it, but when a woman drops a parcel he gives it to her instead of running off with it. He feels as if he is a failed thief, in the same manner as he has failed at everything - college, journalism, real estate, performing. He then walks into a house in an attempt to steal the jewellery, and his mother finds him there. She says she forgives him for everything; his father remains distant. They have dinner and he feels warm again.

Characters

Allusions to other works

Literary significance and criticism

It has been argued by critic Sharon O'Brien that this rewriting of the prodigal son theme bears some resemblance to Willa Cather's own relationship with her mother. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>O Pioneers!</i> 1913 novel by Willa Cather

O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. It was her second published novel. The title is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman entitled "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" from Leaves of Grass (1855).

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

"A Death in the Desert" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Scribner's in January 1903.

"Nanette: An Aside" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Courier on 31 July 1897 and one month later in Home Monthly.

"The Bookkeeper's Wife" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Century in May 1916.

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

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

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

"A Night at Greenway Court" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Nebraska Literary Magazine in June 1896. Four years later a revised version was published in the Library.

"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.

"The Affair at Grover Station" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Library in June 1900 in two installments, and reprinted in the Lincoln Courier one month later. The story is about a geological student asking an old friend of his about the recent murder of a station agent.

"The Namesake" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in March 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>My Mortal Enemy</i> 1926 novel by Willa Cather

My Mortal Enemy is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926.

"The Fear That Walks By Noonday" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in The Sombrero, a yearbook published by the University of Nebraska in 1894.

References

  1. Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 November 1970, page 585
  2. William M. Curtis and Willa Cather, The World and the Parish: Willa Cather's Articles and Reviews 1893-1902, Volume 1, University of Nebraska Press, 1970, page 307
  3. James Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather - A Literary Life, University of Nebraska Press, 1989, page 122