Ardessa

1918 short story by Willa Cather

"Ardessa"

Short story by Willa Cather
Text available at Wikisource
Country| United States
Language| English
Genre(s)| Short story
Publication
Published in| Century
Publication type| Illustrated monthly magazine
Publication date| May 1918

"Ardessa" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Century in May 1918.[1]

## Plot summary

[edit]

An uppity woman, Ardessa, walks into the offices of "The Outcry", a weekly magazine. Later, she tells off Becky for her shoddy jobs, although it could be said she is bullying her. Miss Kalski gives her tickets for a show and Ardessa only lets her off because Mr Henderson will agree. Ardessa then goes on holiday and gets Miss Milligan to do her job whilst she is away. However, Marcus finds out Becky could be doing a better job and gets her to do it instead. When Ardessa is back, she is told to move to the business department, where she is humbled by Miss Kalski and Mr Henderson.

## Characters

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* The receptionist, an older man.
* Miss Ardessa Devine
* Marcus O'Mally, the proprietor and editor of "The Outcry", a national weekly. He comes from Goldfield, Nevada and owns a silver-mine in South Dakota.
* Mr Gerrard, a journalist.
* James, an office boy.
* Becky, the copyist.
* Miss Rena Kalski, a woman who works in the business department.
* Isaac Tietelbaum, Becky's father. He is a tailor. He has eight children.
* Mr Henderson
* Miss Milligan

## Allusions to actual history

[edit]

* Napoleon and Benjamin Disraeli are mentioned.

## Allusions to other works

[edit]

* The performing arts are mentioned with Sarah Bernhardt.
* Literature is mentioned with William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon.

## Literary significance and criticism

[edit]

The story was written by Cather solely to earn money while she was writing My Ántonia.[2] It was informed by her own journalistic experience at McClure's and her subsequent 'caustic' stance towards muckrakers.[3] It was also influenced by her work for the Home Monthly and the Pittsburgh Leader.[4]

Critics have added that she might have identified with either Becky[5] or Kalski.[6] The story has been construed as an attack on the American standardization that Cather hated.[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-29, University of Nebraska Press; Dec 1973, page 115
2. ^ James Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather - A Literary Life, University of Nebraska Press, 1989, page 286
3. ^ Hermione Lee, Willa Cather: Double Lives, New York: Pantheon, 1989, pp. 63-65
4. ^ Sheryl L. Meyering, A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Willa Cather, G.K. Hall & Co, 1995, p.4
5. ^ Bernice Slote, 'Introduction', Willa Cather, Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973, pp. xii-xiii
6. ^ Marilyn Arnold, Willa Cather's Short Fiction, Athens: Ohio University Press, 1984, p. 102
7. ^ Edward A. Bloom and Lillian D. Bloom, Willa Cather's Gift of Sympathy, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1962, p. 86

## External links

[edit]

* Full Text at the Willa Cather Archive

* v
* t
* e

Willa Cather

Novels|

* Alexander's Bridge
* O Pioneers!
* The Song of the Lark
* My Ántonia
* One of Ours
* A Lost Lady
* The Professor's House
* My Mortal Enemy
* Death Comes for the Archbishop
* Shadows on the Rock
* Lucy Gayheart
* Sapphira and the Slave Girl
* Hard Punishments

Short stories|

* "Peter"
* "Lou, the Prophet"
* "The Elopement of Allen Poole"
* "A Tale of the White Pyramid"
* "A Son of the Celestial"
* "The Clemency of the Court"
* "The Fear That Walks by Noonday"
* "On the Divide"
* "A Night at Greenway Court"
* "Tommy, the Unsentimental"
* "The Princess Baladina – Her Adventure"
* "The Count of Crow's Nest"
* "The Burglar's Christmas"
* "The Strategy of the Were-Wolf Dog"
* "A Resurrection"
* "The Prodigies"
* "Nanette: An Aside"
* "The Way of the World"
* "The Westbound Train"
* "Eric Hermannson's Soul"
* "The Dance at Chevalier's"
* "The Sentimentality of William Tavener"
* "The Affair at Grover Station"
* "A Singer's Romance"
* "The Conversion of Sum Loo"
* "Jack-a-Boy"
* "El Dorado: A Kansas Recessional"
* "The Professor's Commencement"
* "The Treasure of Far Island"
* "A Death in the Desert"
* "A Wagner Matinee"
* "The Sculptor's Funeral"
* "Flavia and Her Artists"
* "The Garden Lodge"
* "The Marriage of Phaedra"
* "Paul's Case"
* "The Namesake"
* "The Profile"
* "The Willing Muse"
* "Eleanor's House"
* "On the Gulls' Road"
* "The Enchanted Bluff"
* "The Joy of Nelly Deane"
* "Behind the Singer Tower"
* "The Bohemian Girl"
* "Consequences"
* "The Bookkeeper's Wife"
* "The Diamond Mine"
* "A Gold Slipper"
* "Ardessa"
* "Scandal"
* "Her Boss"
* "Coming, Eden Bower!"
* "Uncle Valentine"
* "Double Birthday"
* "Neighbour Rosicky"
* "Two Friends"
* "The Old Beauty"
* "Before Breakfast"
* "The Best Years"

Short story
collections|

* The Troll Garden
* Youth and the Bright Medusa
* Obscure Destinies
* The Old Beauty and Others
* Five Stories

Collection of poems|

* April Twilights

Collaborations|

* The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science

Adaptations|

* A Lost Lady (1934 film)
* O Pioneers! (1992 film)
* My Antonia (1995 film)
* The Song of the Lark (2001 film)
* O Pioneers! (2009 opera)

Related|

* Willa Cather Birthplace
* Willa Cather House
* Edith Lewis
* Willa Cather Foundation
* WILLA Literary Award

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