The San Francisco call., 1906-08-19

me awakening CT Helena
Richie" fulfils to high degree
all that good taste, good art and
good morals could demand in order to
q make II deserve a high place in the
class Of seventh -commandant novels
u rs literary art used with careful
skill for the high purpose of helping
TO conserve in the minds and hearts
OF men and women obedience to the
social Ideal OF respect for the marriage
bond. It is the art OF the book to make
the combination appeal to the mind
through its sense of logic and to the
heart through the emotions
The sinner whose peculiar type is
made a study in the story had entered
into the experience of sin, not by the
door Of reason but of emotion; she
could leave it only by the same DOOR"
She summed up her character in her
confession to the kind and wise old
pastor. Or. Lavendar. when she said
didn't ever want to be wicked; all
. wanted was TO be happy"
s. The word "aII" in that self-reveaI-
ing sentence expresses the essence OF
the woman's error which Margaret De-
land we'll uses all the space OF a novel
to explain TO US in a way that moves
the heart. Helena while morally asleep
based the conduct Of her life through
the unfortunate circumstances that
put her womanhood TO crucial test upon
her belief that what we call morality
was nothing but cowardly conven-
tionality>" Her awakening was II the
fact that marriage is what makes us
civilized If anybody Injuries marriage
We all pay"
The author makes the awakening of
Helena Richie come not from the logic
Of preaching. but from her love of the
little adopted boy who was placed un-
der her guardianship. but who through
this enthronement OF his brave little
7-year-old manhood became more truly
the womar's guardian than she was
his Very beautifully is this truth
brought out. The innocent child, by
winning her deepest affections, more
.ruly protected her from that paramour
whom she so passionately but misguid-
edly loved than could some mighty
the last he became her savior, or at
least the chief instrumentality through
which God wrought the miracle of her
salvation from false philosophy Of
Iifc and the deep wretchedness of heart
into which it had sunk her.
characteristic of this charming
woman IS that she held her head high
with that curious pride of caste in sin
which is so strongly felt by the woman
who is a sinner" She felt so sure that
II seeking her own happiness she was
p doing others no injury that it took
some very terrible events to convince
her OF her error
She is one OF those many women who
misinterpret the words of Christ when
he said OF Magdalene that her sins are
forgiven for "she loved much" Wise
old DR.. Lavendar had to be very gentle
in explaining TO her that this imputed
merit of loving much" meant the love
OF Goodness and not the sometimes easy
thing Of passionstely loving a man.
One OF the dreadful events which be-
gan her awakening to the response
bilities OF life was the suicide of the
innoeent-minded but mentail-- unbal-
anced youth who loved and adored her
under the impression that she was
not only a pure woman but one of
those so rarely and highly gifted so
that men may almost worship them.
The boy shot himlelf not merely
from love of her, not aheerly from dis
appointment that he could not possess
the air woman he desired, but because
the shock of the revelation of the i'm
pure life of the adoreC Helena shat
tered his ideal OF womanhood and
made him fear that all ideals might be
based on illusion since this most poet
icaIIy cherished one had proved TO be
lie If this is life" he said, then
I have had enough Of it," For this
reason she felt that she was in
sense the murderer of the too weakly
sentimental youth-at whose simplicity
she had laughed when he begged her
to love him just a little. though that
love be only the platonic love of a
friend and ipspirer
It is at the village funeral of this
young Sam Wright that Helena begins
TO realize the evil she was bringing
upon a whole community by doing
what was not so much telling as living
a lie Because OF the great gift of her
personal charms combined with the
false seeming of shyly reserved and
bIameless life she was receiving the
homage OF truthful and honest people
around her Watch.ag TIE coffin OF the
rash boy she was assailed by the con-
sciousness that she was 'an outlaw,
piIIaging respect and lonor from her
community"
Dr. Lavendar. the most lovable char
acter in the story. states this about
Helena's bitter trials:
i have never known any experience
u palm or sin that could not be the
.,.te of heaven Nv boy. let