The Affair at Grover Station
Encyclopedia
The Affair at Grover Station is a short story by Willa Cather
. It was first published in Library
in June 1900 in two instalments, and reprinted in the Lincoln Courier one month later.
, and asks about the murdered agent at Grover
station. Rodgers explains that on the 31st of December there was supposed to be a ball at Cheyenne, Wyoming
. His friend Larry asked him to ask Helen if she would be available to go with him. Helen replied that she had told Mr Freymark she would go with him, but she would cancel as Larry took precedence over him. Freymark then went to the station and overheard the two men make arrangements as to sending her flowers, and left saying he had heard what he wanted to hear. Later, Larry didn't turn up and Rodgers went to pick up Helen and told her Larry was late. At the ball, she danced with Rodgers until Freymark showed up and she danced with him. By the end of the night, Larry's spaniel
Duke came hurtling at Freymark, who soon disappeared from the place. The next day, Rodgers went about the station and then up to Grover, Colorado
. There, he found a blood stain on Larry's bed but thought it must have been nosebleed
. During the night however, he got woken up by what looked like Larry's ghost, writing on the chalk
board. The next morning, he realised the ghost had written the number of a train, where Larry's body was to be found in Omaha
. Upon seeing the body, Rodgers realised the hands were stained by chalk. By then, Freymark had gone, never to be found again. The Division Superintendent did not believe him, after Freymark admitted to drinking brandy
that night.
. Moreover, it has been noted for its trope of the grotesque
, which will reappear in Cather's later novels.
The story may have been inspired by Willa Cather's 1898 visit to Cheyenne, Wyoming
, where her brother Douglass at the railroad station. Moreover, Cather's sister has said the story was written with his help.
The trope of the ghost has been deemed Jamesian
.
Freymark seems to be a throwback to Yung in A Son of the Celestial
, Larry to Reggie in "The Fear That Walks by Noonday
". The story has also been compared to My Antonia
insofar as both pieces use an outer narrator and they open with a scene on a train.
Willa Cather
Willa Seibert Cather was an American author who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, in works such as O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours , a novel set during World War I...
. It was first published in Library
Library (journal)
-Overview:The magazine was only published over the course of six months, until it ran out of funds.Willa Cather published five original short stories , sixteen articles and seven poems...
in June 1900 in two instalments, and reprinted in the Lincoln Courier one month later.
Plot introduction
A geological student asks an old friend of his about the recent murder of a station agent.Plot summary
The outer narrator meets with his old friend Rodgers by Sterling, ColoradoSterling, Colorado
The City of Sterling is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,777 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sterling is located at...
, and asks about the murdered agent at Grover
Grover, Colorado
Grover is a Statutory Town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The population was 153 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grover is located at ....
station. Rodgers explains that on the 31st of December there was supposed to be a ball at Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
. His friend Larry asked him to ask Helen if she would be available to go with him. Helen replied that she had told Mr Freymark she would go with him, but she would cancel as Larry took precedence over him. Freymark then went to the station and overheard the two men make arrangements as to sending her flowers, and left saying he had heard what he wanted to hear. Later, Larry didn't turn up and Rodgers went to pick up Helen and told her Larry was late. At the ball, she danced with Rodgers until Freymark showed up and she danced with him. By the end of the night, Larry's spaniel
Spaniel
A spaniel is a type of gun dog. It is assumed spaniels originated from Spain as the word spaniel may be derived from Hispania or possibly from the French phrase "Chiens de l’Espagnol" . Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of dense brush. By the late 17th century spaniels had become...
Duke came hurtling at Freymark, who soon disappeared from the place. The next day, Rodgers went about the station and then up to Grover, Colorado
Grover, Colorado
Grover is a Statutory Town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The population was 153 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Grover is located at ....
. There, he found a blood stain on Larry's bed but thought it must have been nosebleed
Nosebleed
Epistaxis or a nosebleed is the relatively common occurrence of hemorrhage from the nose, usually noticed when the blood drains out through the nostrils...
. During the night however, he got woken up by what looked like Larry's ghost, writing on the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
board. The next morning, he realised the ghost had written the number of a train, where Larry's body was to be found in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
. Upon seeing the body, Rodgers realised the hands were stained by chalk. By then, Freymark had gone, never to be found again. The Division Superintendent did not believe him, after Freymark admitted to drinking brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
that night.
Characters
- The outer narrator, unnamed. He went to Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with Rodgers and is doing geological research off Sterling, ColoradoSterling, ColoradoThe City of Sterling is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,777 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sterling is located at...
, where he meets with Rodgers after years apart. - Terrapin Rodgers. He went to Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and now works at the railroad office at Cheyenne, WyomingCheyenne, WyomingCheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
. - Lawrence O'Toole, the murdered agent of Grover Station. Rodgers calls him Larry.
- Miss Helen Masterson. She went to Wellesley and lived in WashingtonWashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States located north of Oregon, west of Idaho and south of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by...
many years. - Mr Freymark He lived in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
many years and therefore speaks several European languages. He likes to gamble at card games. Although he pretends to be a Jew, he is the son of a ChineseChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
slavegirl his father bought when he was living there. - John J. Masterson, Helen's father. He was a United States Senator from WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. - Harry Burns, a journalist for The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and a cousin of Larry's. He is the one who found out about Freymark's scandalous birth. - The dispatcher from Holyoke, ColoradoHolyoke, ColoradoThe City of Holyoke is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Phillips County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,261 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Holyoke is located at ....
- Connelly, the station conductor.
- Helena, a friend of Helen's.
- Laramie, a friend of Helen's.
Allusions to other works
- The Bible, with JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, LabanLaban (Bible)Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...
, and Padan-aram.
Literary significance and criticism
The plotline was partly taken from an 1893 short story by Dorothy Canfield FisherDorothy Canfield Fisher
Dorothy Canfield Fisher was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early decades of the twentieth century. She was named by Eleanor Roosevelt as one of the ten most influential women in the United States...
. Moreover, it has been noted for its trope of the grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
, which will reappear in Cather's later novels.
The story may have been inspired by Willa Cather's 1898 visit to Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
, where her brother Douglass at the railroad station. Moreover, Cather's sister has said the story was written with his help.
The trope of the ghost has been deemed Jamesian
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
.
Freymark seems to be a throwback to Yung in A Son of the Celestial
A Son of the Celestial
A Son of the Celestial is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published on 15 January 1893 in The Hesperian.-Plot summary:In San Francisco, Yung and Ponter share their penchant for both Sanskrit and opium. When Yung fails to understand Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Ponter blames the...
, Larry to Reggie in "The Fear That Walks by Noonday
The Fear That Walks by Noonday
The Fear That Walks By Noonday is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Sombrero in 1894.-Plot summary:A team of football players have a talk before a game against the 'Injuns'. One player, Fred, passes out...
". The story has also been compared to My Antonia
My Ántonia
My Ántonia |accent]] on the first syllable of "Ántonia"), first published 1918, is considered one of the greatest novels by American writer Willa Cather...
insofar as both pieces use an outer narrator and they open with a scene on a train.