This month’s story for the Willa Cather Short Story project is “Ardessa,” published in May 1918.

Earlier this month, I shared the image below in the reminder post and wrote that the caption made me smile. But then I wondered, “Is Becky’s savagery hyperbole referring to her ignorance of office protocol and culture, or is something darker lurking between the lines?”

Something darker is lurking between the lines, and at times, it is even blatantly on the page. “Ardessa” is primarily a story about the clash between old ways of doing business and new priorities. How Ardessa sets herself apart from other women at work is blatant. There’s also an undercurrent reflecting how white christian people and culture are defined against others.

Ardessa, the human card catalog

Ardessa Devine is a middle-aged woman set in her ways. Her job as assistant to Marcus O’Mally, the wealthy owner of The Outcry, is cushy. She does her few tasks, delegates other work, and then reads and embroiders in her office most of the day. Ardessa taught O’Mally everything he initially needed to know about the business, particularly the social relationships. “She was the card catalogue of his ever-changing personal relations” (104). She keeps banker’s hours, is condescending toward fellow employees, and even O’Mally is afraid of her.

The quip about Becky being as ignorant as a “young savage” indicates Ardessa’s condescension and racism. Becky is described as a “thin, tense-faced Hebrew girl of eighteen or nineteen” (106). She’s a hard worker who wants to learn as much as possible. Ardessa throws the work she doesn’t want to do onto Becky and gives her orders about decorum and clothing.

Their relationship is initially symbiotic: Ardessa doesn’t want to do certain tasks, and Becky wants to get as much experience as possible. “Becky felt that her job depended on Miss Devine, and she was so glad to have it that she scarcely realized she was being bullied” (107). Ardessa’s plan eventually backfires on her.

Becky is compared to a very specific “savage,” a Kaffir girl. This blatant racial slur is later reinforced when Becky asks Ardessa if she may wear white shoes to work. Ardessa demeans Becky, telling her she’d never be able to keep them clean (even though other women wear them in factories). Becky looks at her feet, which are too large, and her legs, which are too long. Aredessa then criticizes Becky’s new “open waist.” There will be no access to whiteness or choice in clothing for Becky, who Ardessa puts in the role of Black servant or slave.

Secondhand virality

I imagine Dr. Freud would have noted the scene where O’Mally implements an uncomfortable assignment for Ardessa. It’s an attempt to get her to do the work she should be doing. O’Mally cannot deal with her tears, let alone look at her, so instead, he stares out his window until she leaves, getting some secondhand virality by watching a skyscraper being built.

Ardessa is a bully. She knows she cannot compete in the changing business world and fears O’Mally’s death. Her condescension is an attempt to mask her fear and maintain the status quo. She is more of a sympathetic character than either O’Mally or Henderson, the male head of the business department. Neither man does much work, and both push management problems onto others. Women, Jewish and Black women, ultimately do the work. Rena Kalski, another “young Hebrew,” is a leader who does the work of her boss and helps other women. She first helps Becky and then, surprisingly, Ardessa.

Sexual predation in the office

The most sinister lines of the story are between O’Mally and Henderson. O’Mally asks Henderson if he can use “an extra girl.” Henderson replies, “If it’s that thin black one, I can.” O’Mally’s response to this vile insinuation is to give Henderson “a wise smile” (112). What does that mean? A wise smile can mean a variety of things. Wise as he’s onto him, or wise like a wink between two creeps? Would O’Mally turn the other way if Henderson were to abuse or attack this woman?

This story seemed simple and straightforward upon first reading it. But upon a second reading and reflection, the racial elements stuck out more, as did the misogyny. Some descriptors I jotted down are: great medicine man, Buddhas, cloistered women, sultan’s bride, and bartered bride.

The Novel Démeublé

I wonder, if Cather had written this story later in her career, would she have dropped the racist and sexist descriptors? Although they are culturally relevant and revealing, some also seem like clutter, bringing to mind her 1922 essay, “The Novel Démeublé.” That there are only four years between the story and the essay surprised me. The gist of the essay is that novels are too cluttered with details.

It annoys me when scholars write disdainfully about writers writing for money as if they can survive on air. Cather’s trio of “Office Wives” stories are said to have been written for money and have been dismissed as not artful enough to deserve attention. (“The Bookkeeper’s Wife” and “Her Boss” are the other two stories.) In the case of “Ardessa,” I can see that perhaps she did write it quickly for money. No judgment, of course. She had to pay the rent. Does this even matter? Not to me. I am attracted to a story for its content more than its style. Often, it’s the messier stories rather than the stylistically smooth ones that are more interesting to discuss.

What do you think?

If you read “Ardessa” what is your reaction to the story? If you haven’t read it, what are your thoughts about the issue of writing for money vs writing art?

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The work cited is:
Cather, Willa. Uncle Valentine and Other Stories : Willa Cather’s Uncollected Short Fiction, 1915-1929. University of Nebraska Press, 1973.

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!