Sarah Orne Jewett
Sarah Orne Jewett
1849-1909
Born in South Berwick, Maine, daughter of obstetrician
Inspired by Harriet Beecher’s Stowe’s Main novel The Pearl of Orr’s Island (1862), she began to write regionalist fiction about coastal Maine
Her work was published and encouraged by William Dean Howells, editor of Atlantic Monthly
Her most famous work: The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), a collection of interconnected sketches about coastal MaineFrom 1881 to her death in 1909, Jewett had close domestic relationship with Annie Adams Fields, widow of editor James T. Fields: they had a “Boston marriage”Relationships between mothers/daughters and among women figure prominently in her fiction. After the Civil War, which killed many men, American women faced new demands and opportunities to form relationships and communities
A White HeronA White Heron
Published in 1886
RegionalismRegionalism
outgrowth of Realism (ordinary people, ordinary situations)
tendency among certain authors to write about specific geographical areas
presentation of the distinct culture of an area, including its speech, customs, beliefs, and history
ImageryImagery
Refers to words or phrases that create images that appeal to one or more of the five senses
Can you find at least five vivid images within “A White Heron” ?