A Singer's Romance
"A Singer's Romance" | |
---|---|
Short story by Willa Cather | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Short story |
Publication | |
Published in | Cosmopolitan |
Publication type | Women's magazine |
Publication date | July 1900 |
A Singer's Romance is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Cosmopolitan in July 1900.[1]
Plot summary
Frau Schumann drops a bag in an attempt to get a man who has been stalking her to talk to her; he picks up the bag and gives it to her but remains silent. Later, she receives another letter from her husband, asking her for money for his doctor's bills. She knows he only needs the money for gambling as she has already sent him money for his doctor, but she sends him a cheque anyway. Antoinette then asks her if she wants champagne, but she says not as she has stopped drinking it since the stalker has been around - she wants to look good as she thinks he is a secret lover. Later however, she overhears the man telling Antoinette that she will understand if she leaves her, as Frau has been so kind to her. It is clear that the young man is Antoinette's suitor. Distraught, Frau orders a quart of champagne.
Characters
- Frau Selman Schumann, a German opera singer
- Mr Schumann, Frau Schumann's husband. He used to be her singing teacher, and he now gambles away her earnings in Monte Carlo.
- Antoinette, Frau Schumann's maid. A late French opera singer's daughter, she was 'rescued' by Frau Schumann from becoming a chorus girl.
- The Signorino, Antoinette's suitor.
Allusions to other works
- Frau Schumann is compared to a caricature by Aubrey Beardsley, and later to Valkyrie.
Literary significance and criticism
A Singer's Romance was a rewriting of Nanette: An Aside,[2] though with a different stance.
References
External links
- Full Text at the Willa Cather Archive
- v
- t
- e
- 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
- "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"
collections
- A Lost Lady (1934 film)
- O Pioneers! (1992 film)
- My Antonia (1995 film)
- The Song of the Lark (2001 film)
- O Pioneers! (2009 opera)