Willa Cather Short Story Project Response Post

Did you have a chance to read “On the Gulls’ Road” yet? If not, you can read it on the Willa Cather Archive: https://cather.unl.edu/writings/shortfiction/ss007

The seagulls flying in the image above illustrated the title of “On the Gulls’ Road” when it first appeared in McClure’s Magazine in December 1908 as seen below. The artist was not listed. It is interesting to note that the story has a subtitle, “The Ambassador’s Story.”

As you can see, Cather was still using Sibert in her name, which she would later drop.

Speaking of dropping, in the reminder post for “On the Gulls’ Road,” I wrote about Sarah Orne Jewett’s comments to Cather that she could drop the masquerade of the male narrator. I read the story a second time with Jewett’s advice in mind. I wonder if Cather did any editing in response to Jewett’s letter.

The subtitle makes it clear that the narrator is male. Only men were ambassadors back in 1908, a reality readers would have known in 1908. It wasn’t until 1949 that the U.S. saw its first female ambassador, Eugenie Anderson.

The opening scene is coded with masculine signs of the time period such as a man in his study being visited by another man on a matter of business. Later, the narrator throws his cigar over the ship’s railing. There have always been women who smoke cigars, but conventional stories in popular magazines aimed at aspirational middle class whites probably would not depict a woman smoking a cigar in public. But other than these two instances, and the glaring subtitle, the story about the narrator and his love, Alexandra Ebbling, is rather gender-neutral.

Jewett’s use of masquerade was an appropriate word choice. Masquerades are easily dropped, accidentally forgotten at key moments, or easily seen through.

Shut the box

There is a moment when the narrator quickly shuts a box he’s holding as the housekeeper, Mrs. Hemway, walks in. The box was a gift from Alexandra. The narrator closes the box to “defeat her disapproving gaze.” Why would the housekeeper’s gaze be disapproving? Is there something queer going on? Does Mrs. Hemway not approve of the long, thick coil of red hair contained within? Isn’t it socially acceptable for a man to moon over a lock of hair and a portrait of a woman? Perhaps the housekeeper thinks he is wasting his life longing for a dead woman instead of seeking a living spouse. But what if it is a woman mooning over another woman?

I’m not saying Cather intended to write or revise the story to be about two women, but if the storyline is based on how she would interact with another woman, consciously or unconsciously placing herself in the shoes of the narrator, perhaps keeping the gender of the narrator out of the main part of the story came naturally. Queer people have been talking “around” and avoiding gender labels when telling stories in mixed company for a long time.

Later novels

There are glimpses of Cather’s later techniques and themes in this story. For one, there’s the male narrator telling a story about a woman he loved twenty years ago, which is exactly the set up of My Antonia (1918). In that novel, the narrator is given a male name, Jim. In Cather’s second novel, O Pioneers! (1913), the protagonist is also named Alexandra.

There are also strong vibes of A Lost Lady (1923). The unnamed narrator in “On the Gulls’ Road” is in misery and thinks, “Why should she be silently taking leave of the world at the age when I was just beginning it, having had nothing, nothing of whatever is worth while?” It sounds like a lament Niel Herbert could make about Marian Forrester. A Lost Lady is another story about a young man, Niel, who pines after a married women, Marian. Whereas Marian Forrester is coming down in station due to financial circumstances, cultural change, and the death of her husband, Alexandra Ebbling is dying from heart disease (literally and perhaps figuratively). Both the unnamed narrator and Niel are naive and idealistic young men.

I’ll die in a fishing town/cornfield

I was also struck by Alexandra saying that, “I have never really got out of Finmark, of course. I shall live and die in a fishing town on the Arctic Ocean, and the blue seas and the pink islands are as much a dream as they ever were” (italics added). This brought to mind a letter Cather wrote to a friend in 1912. She wrote, “I used always to be sure that I’d never get out, that I would die in a cornfield. Now I know I will get out again, but I still get attacks of fright. I wish I didn’t” (italics added. Letter to Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant).

There are so many interesting things to think about in “On the Gulls’ Road.” I haven’t even touched upon the sea imagery and women’s hair. Compared to some of the stories we’ve read earlier this year, you can see Cather’s growth as a writer. I know I’ve said this before throughout this reading project, but it is fascinating to read through a writer’s complete works to see how they work over ideas and themes that are important to them.

What did you think about this story? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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New to this blog? Learn more about the Willa Cather Short Story Project here. In a nutshell, we read one Cather short story a month. I remind everyone of what story we’re reading on the second Wednesday of the month and then share a response on the fourth Wednesday of the month. Jump in anytime!