1879 novel by William Dean Howells
The Lady of The Aroostook is a novel written by William Dean Howells in 1879. It was published in Cambridge, Massachusetts by H. O. Houghton and Company.
Plot summary.
Lydia Blood, a young woman from South Bradfield, Massachusetts, lives with her Aunt Maria and her grandfather, Deacon Latham. Lydia possesses beauty, intelligence, and a beautiful singing voice that she hopes to pursue as a career. Her Aunt Josephine, from her father's side of the family in Venice, Italy, invites her to live with her and pursue her singing career. Lydia and her grandfather travel to Boston to board the ship "Aroostook", captained by Captain Jenness, who assures Lydia that she will be comfortable on the ship. Lydia is the only woman on board, which worries her aunt Maria, but Minister Goodlow and Deacon Latham assure her that Lydia will be fine.
On the ship, Lydia meets two men, Mr. James Staniford and Mr. Charles Dunham, who had previously encountered her in Boston. They are curious about Lydia's reason for traveling to Europe at such a young age and view her with a mix of interest and condescension. Staniford is intrigued by Lydia and finds her fascinating, seeing her as book smart but lacking common sense due to her sheltered life. He starts flirting with her and feels the need to protect her from her "helpless loneliness."
During their voyage, Staniford and Lydia spend time together, but Lydia also develops a friendship with another passenger, Mr. Hicks. Staniford becomes jealous and confronts Lydia about her relationship with Hicks. However, as the weather worsens, Staniford falls ill and becomes distant towards Lydia. When a storm hits, Hicks gets drunk and starts causing trouble. Staniford threatens him, but Hicks challenges him to a fight. In the scuffle, Hicks accidentally falls overboard, and Staniford jumps in to save him. They both survive, but Lydia locks herself in her room and keeps her distance from Staniford and Hicks.
When the ship reaches Messina, Staniford offers Hicks money to leave the ship and go back to Boston. Lydia sees this as an act of kindness, but Staniford believes it is worth more than what he lent Hicks. Staniford and Dunham decide to stay in Messina while the ship undergoes repairs. Staniford is confused by Lydia's anger towards him and wonders why she isn't congratulating him. He realizes that Lydia is growing and changing, and he doesn't fully understand her.
Themes.
"The Lady of the Aroostook" is a novel about the passage of innocence to experience for a young girl and also about the breaking of old customs and traditions. At the beginning of the novel Lydia is a young innocent girl who has had little to no interactions with men. Throughout her journey on the "Aroostook" and her interactions with Staniford in particular, she begins to fall in love and pass from an innocent young girl to an experience mature woman. The love between Lydia and Staniford is considered to be very taboo at the time, not only because of how they came to be in love, during a journey in which Lydia was the only female on board the ship, but also because of the difference in their age and their status in society. The love and the bond between them breaks the previous barriers that had been set up by outdated customs and traditions.
Critical reception.
"The Publishers' Weekly" published on February 15, 1879, wrote about the upcoming book, "The Lady of The Aroostook" by William Dean Howells. They wrote that few readers think it will be his best work, but nevertheless Howells is a wonderful writer and "anyone who fails to read this, or any of Mr. Howells' stories, misses a great pleasure."
Other.
William Dean Howells was published by H.O. Houghton and Company. Houghton was the cofounder of Houghton Mifflin and was also mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts; the city where he published Howells’ novel. Howells had a tenure as a writer for and an editor for the "Atlantic Monthly". He published "The Lady of the Aroostook" over a period of twelve months in the "Atlantic Monthly".
References.
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