The Minneapolis journal., 1904-08-20

Rarely has the moral struggle of
woman been drawn with greater skill and
subtlety than in The Woman With the
Fan by Robert Hichens. The story is that
OF the strife of the angel versus the siren
IN the character Of Lady Holme. Lady
Holme is beautiful woman of the Lon
don smart set" "a distinctly ugly set
from the moral point of view of this
book) She Is conscious of her beauty
put falls at first to recognize that she
possesses also rare charm of personality
which flashes out now and then disclosing
a finer and better side Of her nature, to at
Least two or three discerning friends, tho
It is only dimly perceived by her husband.
she believes she attracts only by her
physical beauty. It is this inner person
allty which is the angel, this outer which
Is the siren. The picture of the sway now
her nature in the environment of the Lon
don smart, tho not a cheerful one, is as
well executed as any we have seen in
fiction in many a long day.
Lady Holme, the siren. walks perlously
near the precipice, but always the white
angel within keeps her from getting too
near An indiscreet, tho harmless, act
brings on quarrel in her presence be-
tween her husband and another man. She
1ees to her own room, and there
The gold things on the dressing -table-bottles,
brushes, boxes trays-looked offensive. They
were like lies against life. frauds. Everything
in the pretty room was like a lie and fraud
There ought to be dirt and ugliness about her.
She ought to stand with her feet in the mud
and look on blackness. The angel in her shud-
dered at the siren in her now, as at witch
with power to evoke Satanic things, and she
forgot the trembling Of her hands in the sensa.
tion of the trembling of her SOUL
But in time she calls upon the angel
| within her, and there is triumph Of the
angelic in her nature. It is an evidence
ir,f 1,@ etrN 49,, - 1, -
that the discovery brings a distinct sense
| of relief to the reader, and with that
something Of real admiration for the
woman.
| But at this point comes catastrophe
A motor car in which she is riding skids
on the wet street and is overturned. Lady
Holme is injured. Her face, once re.
garded as the most beautiful in London
is left disfgured, almost grotesquesly dis
| torted Her husband, who is big, sci
fish animal, yet generous and perhaps ad
| mirable as some lords CO. has not beer
allowed to see her following the acciden
until one day, realizing her disagreement il
! hopeless, she sends for him. He comes
into the room, but before he approa che
near enough to see clearly the change
/ she stops him.
'Do you understand?'' she said.
Understand what?
1 THAT I'm altered, that the accidents altere
me-very much
81 know The doctor said something. Blu
you look all right"
From there
4 The trembling seized her again.
We'll butt can't be so bad"
| 1T is. Don't move, Fritz
| "You-do you care for me -
'.Of course do old girl. Why, you know
. Suddenly she turned round, stood up and face
him desperately.
:. do you care for me. Fritz?' she said.
) There dead silence 1t seemed to las
J for long while. At length it broken b
a womans voice crying:
u F'Fritz--Fritz-it isn't my fault! It isn't N
4 fault!''
Good God!'' Lord Holme said slowly
"Good God!-the doctor didn t-Oh-wait
'rl minute
:. A door opened and shut. He gone.
$ Where now. are those who told her the
!. recognized and loved the white angel !
: : her ma ture regardless Of the external beat
!. I.ty of her face? Where is the white ang
: itself? Will it survive the loss Of h,
; husband thru the loss of her beauty?
The situation may seem an unnatur
+, one. It is unusual, but not inconsistent
!. depicted.
One would like the story better, if tt
: end (Which is not that quoted above
: were different. 1t might have been be
ter and finer. We might add that tt
y design of the binding might have been
: :, better taste, and the title. might have bee
: improved upon, for ''the woman with Il
fan" had in reality very little to do Wi
the case, and could as we'll have bee
dispensed with, so far as the interest
= the story goes.