Double Birthday

Willa Cather, 1929

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“Where could any girl find such a place to escape as to your mother’s house, full of chests of linen like this? All houses now are like hotels; nothing left to cherish.”

By the time the short story “Double Birthday” appeared in the pages of The Forum in February of 1929, Willa Cather was already well-known and widely published. One of Ours had earned the author a Pulitzer in 1923, and her novel Death Comes for the Archbishop was released in serial form in The Forum in 1927.

In many respects, Cather was approaching the zenith of her career that year, having been awarded an honorary degree from Yale University and elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1931, she appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

Accomplishment can give one a certain level of freedom to move about. It was at this time that Cather departed from the prairie themes found in earlier works (My Ántonia and O Pioneer), preferring to explore the complications of more cosmopolitan settings. She began using her writing to examine culture, nostalgia, memory, and spirituality.

It is no wonder, then, that “Double Birthday” found its way to the public via The Forum. For this story, Cather chose not a literary magazine per se, but rather one that was a hub for cultural and political debate.

Willa Cather here writes of the years after World War I; a time of necessary transitions as the formalities of life before the war became off-putting, excessive, and flat after so much destruction. Previously cherished traditions (“full of chests of linen like this”) teetered in purgatory, awaiting a new place to land. In this vein, the thrust of Cather’s narrative leans towards an acceptance of time’s arrow. Known as a pragmatist in her personal life, Cather’s tone is congruent with her likely approach to this phase of her life and to society at large.

Luncheon at Antino | Peder Severin Kroyer, c. 1890

Dour though the topic may be, Cather executes her tableau with terrific pace and scintillating wit. Please enjoy…

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Indulging: Marjorie Parmenter’s lament over the loss of putting fine things to use prompted me to dig my Mottahedeh teapot out of the china cabinet and get it in the daily rotation. I even had to remove the Bloomingdale’s sticker, there since the year my husband and I were engaged, over twenty years ago. The lovely little blue and white teapot is surely delighted to be fulfilling its destiny at last, and my evening routine is duly improved.

Savoring: Speaking of, my favorite tea these days is from Mertz Apothacary, a family-owned pharmacy in Chicago that I frequented when we lived there (around the same time I received our Mottahedeh china!). Happily, they are still open and have a wonderful selection of products in their online store, Smallflower. Their purification blend has real personality…great after a meal and more satisfying at night than a wimpy chamomile.

Listening: Dorothy Ashby’s Hip Harp is as cool as it gets (vinyl and Spotify) and a great complement to the vibe of Double Birthday. Incidentally, the opening song served as the inspiration for my selection of intro/outro music for this publication (although stock music honestly can’t hold a candle). Like most well-constructed albums, this is enjoyable beginning to end.