Tag: Katherine Anne Porter
‘The Grave’ by Katherine Anne Porter
The Grave by Katherine Anne Porter, 1935 Continue reading
‘The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall’ by Katherine Anne Porter
The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter, 1931 Continue reading
November 2015 favorites
November 2015
The November stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.
- ‘A Conversation With My Father’ by Grace Paley
- ‘The Warm Fuzzies’ by Chris Adrian
- ‘Kid MacArthur’ by Stephanie Vaughn
- ‘Kneel To The Rising Sun’ by Erskine Caldwell
- ‘Over The River And Through The Wood’ by John O’Hara
- ‘We’re On TV In The Universe’ by Stephanie Vaughn
- ‘Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog’ by Stephanie Vaughn
- ‘I Bought A Little City’ by Donald Barthelme
- ‘Sweet Talk’ by Stephanie Vaughn
- ‘Yao’s Chick’ by Max Apple
- ‘The Battle Of Fallen Timbers’ by Stephanie Vaughn
- ‘Collectors’ by Daniel Alarcon
- ‘The Great Mountains’ by John Steinbeck
- ‘Last Day In The Field’ by Caroline Gordon
- ‘Ann Mary; Her Two Thanksgivings’ by Mary Wilkins Freeman
- ‘Business Talk’ by Max Apple
- ‘Theft’ by Katherine Anne Porter
- ‘Zelig’ by Benjamin Rosenblatt
- ‘Brothers And Sisters Around The World’ by Andrea Lee
- ‘The Kitchen Baby’ by Angela Carter
- ‘The Best Girlfriend You Never Had’ by Pam Houston
- ‘Cinnamon’ by Neil Gaiman
‘Theft’ by Katherine Anne Porter
Theft by Katherine Anne Porter, 1930 Continue reading
August 2014 favorites
August 2014
The August stories ordered solely on my personal tastes.
- ‘Bright And Morning Star’ by Richard Wright
- ‘Symbols And Signs’ by Vladimir Nabokov
- ‘The Chrysanthemums’ by John Steinbeck
- ‘Free Fruit For Young Widows’ by Nathan Englander
- ‘The School’ by Donald Barthelme
- ‘The Night The Bed Fell’ by James Thurber
- ‘My First Goose’ by Isaac Babel
- ‘The Wood Duck’ by James Thurber
- ‘The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber
- ‘The Fireman’s Wife’ by Richard Bausch
- ‘The Killers’ by Ernest Hemingway
- ‘In The Penal Colony’ by Franz Kafka
- ‘He’ by Katherine Anne Porter
- ‘The Rich Brother’ by Tobias Wolff
- ‘Lovers Of The Lake’ by Sean O’Faolain
- ‘First Love’ by Vladimir Nabokov
- ‘The Mysterious Kor’ by Elizabeth Bowen
- ‘Thirst’ by Ivo Andric
- ‘In Another Country’ by Ernest Hemingway
- ‘The Iron City’ by Lovell Thompson
- ‘Dusky Ruth’ by A.E. Coppard
- ‘The Odour Of Chrysanthemums’ by D.H. Lawrence
- ‘The Door’ by E.B. White
- ‘The Camberwell Beauty’ by V.S. Pritchett
- ‘The Fly’ by Katherine Mansfield
- ‘Christ In Concrete’ by Pietro di Donato
- ‘American Express’ by James Salter
- ‘The Piano’ by Anibal Monteiro Machado
- ‘The Greatest Man In The World’ by James Thurber
- ‘Men’ by Kay Boyle
- ‘A Couple Of Hamburgers’ by James Thurber
‘He’ by Katherine Anne Porter
He by Katherine Anne Porter, 1927
The magic trick:
Letting the full emotional weight of the story only hit when the He character’s perspective is considered
Porter capitalizes “He” and “His” every time He is mentioned throughout the story. (Jesus, anyone?) For all that spotlight, His perspective is never considered until the very end. It’s a remarkable subterfuge by Porter.
Mrs. Whipple certainly thinks she is caring about her son the entire time, but, in fact, her concerns are rooted only in what people will think of her family. She wants to love Him, but mainly because she wants to keep her neighbors from ever saying that she didn’t love Him. The neighbors, meanwhile, are just as judgmental as she fears and offer no help to the family.
I won’t ruin it here for those who haven’t read the story, but sufficed to say, Mrs. Whipple faces her guilt in the end, as do the neighbors. She finally considers (is forced to recognize) His point of view for the first time, and the revelations are heartbreaking. I dare say even the hardest of the hard out there, those who equate sentimentality with crimes against the state, will be reaching for the tissue box. And that’s quite a trick on Porter’s part.
The selection:
“It’s the neighbors,” said Mrs. Whipple to her husband. “Oh, I do mortally wish they would keep out of our business. I can’t afford to let Him do anything for fear they’ll come nosing around about it. Look at the bees, now. Adna can’t handle them, they sting him up so; I haven’t got time to do everything, and now I don’t dare let Him. But if He gets a string He don’t really mind.”
“It’s just because He ain’t got sense enough to be scared of anything,” said Mr. Whipple.
Short Story Magic Tricks 