| Author |
Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 |
| Title |
Youth and the Bright Medusa
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 78.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
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| Contents |
Coming, Aphrodite! -- The diamond mine -- A gold slipper -- Scandal -- Paul's case -- A Wagner matinée -- The sculptor's funeral -- "A death in the desert."
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| Credits |
E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Project Gutenberg Beginners Projects, Mary Meehan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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| Summary |
"Youth and the Bright Medusa" by Willa Cather is a collection of short stories penned in the early 20th century. The stories explore themes of youth, aspiration, and the complex relationships within the arts, focusing particularly on characters navigating the challenges of life in the artistic milieu of their time. At the start of the collection, the story "Coming, Aphrodite!" introduces Don Hedger, a struggling painter living in a dreary New York studio. His solitary existence is interrupted by the arrival of a new neighbor, Eden Bower, a young woman aspiring to be a singer. Don is drawn to her beauty and vitality but also feels the weight of his own artistic struggles and insecurities. As he grapples with his feelings and his identity as an artist, the initial interaction between Eden and Don reveals a tension between their contrasting worlds and aspirations, setting the stage for the evolving dynamics in their relationship. The opening portion thus establishes a rich backdrop for exploring themes of desire, ambition, and the often painful journey toward self-discovery in the realm of art and passion. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
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| Subject |
Short stories, American
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
13555 |
| Release Date |
Sep 30, 2004 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Dec 18, 2020 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
87 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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