The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-11-14
the NEWEST NOVELS.
LEr son MAN PVT AsuNpER. by pa

sill King s- -A
Peirina Faneuil is an. uncommoniy IN
terssting woman. II may he believed, TO
recall some interesting women OF note In
fiction. that Charles Reade would have
reioiced In her. Dickens would have pitied.
Thackery seoffed aud hearty old Anthony
Trollope been puzzled over such one as
Petrins. TO Henry James she might like
~ seem crude and elemental The simple
minded reviewer finds I'm her what seems
10 him a good deal OF wOmanliness such
as is To be met with everyday Ia some
measure. She in study worth while, but
not because SHE requires too much
thought to fathom. rsther because she ~
quite consistent i'm her Inconsistency. She
possesses largely developed, the faculty
alleged To- be strong in. II ~ u peculiar 10
womankind. OF changing her mind. IL
costs her considerable suffering I'm the
crucial instances where this faculty "
demonstrated One OF the men I'm the
book describes her as a pagan. Puritan
and paradoXical as that sounds, Petrlna
demonstrates that she is II. She did not
know what sin was. until she herself SIN
ned. ON the other hand, self-denial was
word OF which she did not know the
meaning and selfdiscipline was not IN the
language she spoke. Petrinas nature,
moreover was perfectly simple In its com
plexity That is she is wholly intelligihle
when she displays the most extraordinary
opposltes of temperament. Like most hu-
man beings there are two of her--perhaps
even three. four. Of her
This ispa novel of divorce AZ It's title
may suggest. IL anything is designed in
the way Of sermon "a we'll as a radical
study OF the subject II is that husband
and wife once made are made for good
unless one or the other dies-div0rce laws
are by no means sufficient 10 break the
ties So woman who divorces her hus-
band and a husband who divorces his wife
in the story md only misery and misery
intensified when they marry again. The
second marriage state particularly only
strengthens = longing FOR the original
companiOnship. As an argument. perhaps
this might he weakened by the reflection
that man or woman divorced VINO han
the hardihood 20 marry again might r"a-
sonably he deemed TO bs free from the
workings OF the finer sensibilites We
don't really know about this and IL really
| doesn't affect the interest OF Mr.. KING :
story TO urge that his types are particular
Irafher than general and as such render
! his sermon providing he intends ser
| mon not necessarily convincing. The mo-
! tives that prompt Petrina 10 second
marriage are very human and pertecily
pIausfble without makigs one think hard
OF her. IL acute suffering resulted III
enough cases as II does In this story
1 why that would DO more to straishten
| the divorce business out than any reNi-
! sion OF church canons or radical leglsla-
| ton.
| Petrina suffers. indeed she deserves
| to- although the reader Is not unlikely "a
! feel other than kindly disposed 10 her II
| her unhappiness. The divorced fellow shs
marries suffers extremely. too. hut ina
| is not 10 be wondered at for he was des
| perately I'm love with his first wife. worth
! less as she was. Petrina evidently dldh
/ know how much she loved her real nus
| band until he had deserted her ano sh'
| didn't fully realize Il until she had mar
| ried the other man. There are An inter
| esting variety OF divorced couples In th'
| story-one that is brought together for :
| re-marrisge ny their enterprising daugh
! ter who makes that salutary end her op
! iect I'm life when she grows up. Then INT
! girl herself. strangely enough. having se
cured the reriating OF her parents, zoe
off and msrries a man who Is divorced
SO we get divorce in many phases. Tn
! point is. OF course, that in none or ~
phases is anything but unhappines
found from one effect or another
This new problem" novel Is a spirite
niece OF workma anship. The pages has
with clever. but not too clever dialogue
The characters are greatly varied an
each one Is distinguished and worth while
At the very outset the reader sees troubl
ahead for Petriua Faneuil and Henr
| Vassal although each OF them looks con
fdently and with apparent reason Tor per
| feet happiness. But II Is early evideh
| that III Petrina fancies she has selected
| man OF pliable nature she ~ seriousi
| mistaken For Nassail let's IL out 10 IN
| reader in conversation with his chur
| that he has strong notions OF the rela
| tions that should exist I'm respect 10 wh
| should be the head OF the dual existenc
| and Il never occurs 10 him thatt the WON
| an was designed To occupy the chiefs po
| sition. Petrina not only holds contrar
| view but il never occurs 10 her thar ne
| lover Is the kind OF a chap 20 ofer anyre
sistence, much less 10 have pronounce
| ideas OF his own on the subject All 9
which fs developed deliciously with niue
! bunor and the readers interest ~ stiint
lated vastly as the possibilities ard prot
abilities open up. And when The CHINA
comes there il the especially fine touch 2
nature I'm the grief Of the woman that IN
man did not compel her TO submit ~ hi
instead OF literally leaving her 70 haN
her own way. And IN all this fine coined
there is not the least trace or cynicisn
which il remarkable and is certainly r.
freshing Let Not Man Put Asunder
! Number 10 in the Hsrper's America
Novel Series which are in course OF pa,
lication. one for each month OF the Gu
rent year. published by Harper an
Brothers. Price N.ND