Annie Howells and The Vacation of the Kelwyns
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8895985 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James A Doyle (0000-0002-4083-8786, corresponding author), James Doyle |
| Year | 1979 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 125-136 |
| Publication date | 1979-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Review of American Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-7720 • E-ISSN: 1710-114X |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/cras-010-02-01 |
| OpenAlex | W2051820903 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
William Dean Howells' posthumously published novel The Vacation of the Kelwyns (1920), as Richard Chase has pointed out, is a charming narrative with a "pervasive quality of reminiscence, calm wisdom, and idyllic pleasure in life."1 Based loosely on the author's recollections of the summer of the American Centennial, the novel was obviously inspired by the same over- whelmingly retrospective mood reflected in his five volumes of personal reminiscences beginning with A Boy's Town (1890) and ending with Years of My Youth (1916). In form and style The Kelwyns is very discursive and informal, although its leisurely digressions and frequent authorial comments consort quite agreeably with the languid atmosphere which pervades the work as a whole. It is possible, furthermore, to discern considerable unity in the three motifs which Ho wells brings together into a suggestive, interconnected pattern. These three motifs include the familiar study of commonplace people and incidents which was Howells' most prominent stock in trade, a semi-allegorical love story ending in a reconciliation of contrasting character types, and certain extraordinary elements which seem related to the literary traditions of the romance. Parallels and antecedents for these three elements can be found in varying proportions in Howells' earlier work, and theoretical justification for their use in The Vacation of the Kelwyns can be discovered in his eclectic statements about the art of fiction. But the unusual form and tone of the novel can also be partially explained by an appeal to its biographical background. Specifically, the meaning of The Vacation of the Kelwyns is illuminated by various records relating to the author's relationship with his younger sister Annie
Aesthetics · Art · Character (mathematics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Narrative · Parallels · Pleasure · Reminiscence · Romance · Style (visual arts · Tone (literature · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Irish and British Studies · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |