Eric Hermannson's Soul

"Eric Hermannson's Soul" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in April 1900.[1]

Plot summary

In rural Nebraska, Eric Hermannson gives up on girls after seeing a rattlesnake whilst on a date with Lena, and stops playing the violin shortly after; he becomes a good Free Gospeller as his mother wants him to be. Later, Wyllis comes back with his sister Margaret. She sings to Eric, thus reawakening his passion for music. Later, she is riding a mustang from St. Anne back to her village with Eric. She asks him to go to a dance and he agrees, although this would breach his Church's covenant. The horses go wild, and he saves her from injury. Back in her house, she receives a letter from her fiancé from the East Coast. Later at the ball, Margaret and Eric dance together, then go out and up a hill. She tells him she is soon to leave and never come back again. After she has left, Eric talks to his pastor and confesses to dancing.

Characters

Allusions to other works

Allusions to actual history

Footnotes

  1. Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 379

External links

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