The Treasure of Far Island

1902 short story by Willa Cather

"The Treasure of Far Island"

Short story by Willa Cather
Country| United States
Language| English
Genre(s)| Short story
Publication
Published in| New England Magazine
Publication type| Literary magazine
Publication date| October 1902

"The Treasure of Far Island" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in New England Magazine in October 1902.[1]

## Plot summary

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Douglass Burnham returns home in Empire City, Nebraska, after a fifteen-year hiatus. He is picked up from the train station by his father and his old friend Rhinehold. At home, his mother is cooking dinner. The next day, they go to a party with other locals, and he meets his old friend Margie; they talk about the old days. She admits she heard of one of his plays when she was in New York City once, and even walked past him on the streets but didn't say hello as he seemed busy. He begs her to go back to Far Island, a sandbar where they used to play as children. Despite her dislike of mosquitoes, they venture out and dig out an old 'treasure' they had buried in childhood. They reflect on the fantasy games they used to play, feeling that it is still real.

## Characters

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* Douglass Burnham, a playwright. He is from Empire City, Nebraska, and has been living in New York City for fifteen years. He has also been to Italy, particularly the Maremma.
* Mr Burnham, Douglass's father.
* Mrs Burnham, Douglass's mother.
* Rhinehold Birker, a childhood friend of Douglass and Margie's. He has always lived in Empire City, aside from his going to Arizona for treatment.
* Mrs Governor
* Margie Van Dyck, a childhood friend of Douglass's.
* Edith Grew, a woman who likes to announcing her engagements to men every so often.
* Temp, a childhood friend of Douglass and Margie's. He now lives in the Philippines.
* Bake, a childhood friend of Douglass and Margie's. He now has a cattle ranch in Wyoming.
* Mac, a childhood friend of Douglass and Margie's. He is now a government clerk in Washington, D.C.
* Jim, a childhood friend of Douglass and Margie's. He is now keeps his father's hardware store.
* Ned and Shorty, childhood friends of Douglass and Margie's. They died on a catboat on the Hudson River.
* Pagie

## Allusions to other works

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* The story starts with a quotation from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, whose novel Treasure Island led to the story's title.
* Greek mythology is mentioned throughout the story, with especial allusions to Anchises and Apollo, Helen of Troy, Arcadia, Ida, Thracia, Orpheus.
* The Bible is mentioned, namely with Eden.
* Children's literature is mentioned with Alice in Wonderland.
* More literature is mentioned with John Keats's May Day Ode, and William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, with the Montagues and the Capulets, and The Tempest, with Miranda.
* The discovery of the Venus de Milo is alluded to.
* Sinbad the Sailor is also mentioned.

## Allusions to actual history

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* Mary Tudor is said to have been fond of Calais.

## Literary significance and criticism

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* It has been suggested that the island in the story was a place on the Republican River where the Cather children liked to play.[2][3] It is also mentioned in Chapter VII of The Hired Girls, in My Ántonia.[2]

## References

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1. ^ Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 282
2. ^ a b Kari Ronning, Willa Cather, My Ántonia (Willa Cather Scholarly Edition), University of Nebraska Press, 1995, page 456
3. ^ James Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather - A Literary Life, University of Nebraska Press, 1989, page 125

## External links

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* 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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