Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-07
CAN Il MAN KNOW
4 WOMAN'S MIND?
The Validity of september
Depends on the Ans,ver
to This Question

What happens when a self-respecting
woman of thirty eight. who married the
wrong man, falls in love with young
man in the middle twenties?
This is the problem which Frank
Swinnerton has tried to solve in his
latest novel, September. Mr.. Swim
merton himself is about thirty. And he
is man. But with q sublime audacity
he assumes to tell the world what goes
on in the mind and heart of woman
who has passed her. first youth. Whether
he has told the truth or not only
a woman Of thirty eight or thereabouts
can decide. 1t is conceivable that such
a woman, after reading the book, would
exclaim. "Mr. Swinnerton Is the only
man who ever understood me
Marian Forster. the heroine OF the
tale, was certainly not understood by
her husband, who yet was successful
with women. He had way with hlm
which was most attractive to his femi-
nine acauaintances SO attractive, IN
fact, that he was not always true to his
wife. And the wife, after fifteen years
of married life, had adjusted herself
to his vagaries. She had ceased to love
him. but had an affectionate regard Tor
him. as he was always conslderate Oh
her. and in spite of his interest IN
other women still admired her unfaded
charms. She withheld herself from him,
but the pair lived together amicapiy
enough. r.,,.
soon after the story opens Marian
discovers that her husband is pniianuer-
ing with twenty two year ola young
woman who is guest at thclr mousse III
rural England. Forster fails seriously
in love with the girl and is wretched
tnfn n
about the same time the young man
appears, an idealistic dreamer, with
IMAGINATION and sympathy. Marian IS
delighted with him and, before she is
aware of it, she is deeply in love with
him. Her heart flutters when his name
is mentioned. When he calls she has
tn exercise all her powers of self CON
troll to prevent herself from caressins
him. So far as appears she gives no
thought to what .he outcome may be.
She is merely happy when alone with
him and wretched when he is away.
They are separated for month or Two
and meet again in London. In the
meantime the girl with whom her hus-
band had been philandering meets the
young man at dances and parties and
exercises her powers of fascination on
him out of revenge to Marian, whose
love for him she has OWNED. 1t ends
with her. falling in love with the man
herself and with his falling in love with
her. Marian discovers what has hap
pened and is thrown into the depths of
DESPAIR. but Mr.. Swinnerton has her
bring about fan understanding between
the lovers and the story ends with their
engagement to marry. And Marian goes
back to her home and to her life with
her husband. whom she does not love.
Artistically the story is MASTER
piece. There is much conversation in
it, but it is all the ordinary sort of
talk that is heard in polite society.
Nothing that is said would reveal to
an outsider the emotional tragedy which
was being acted in the hearts of the
principal characters. Yet the reader is
taken into the mind of Marian and the
others and is allowed to perceive the
struggle in which she is engaged. That
such situations as described in the book
do arise in real life is matter of COM
mon knowledge. Those women who
have been involved in them will find
Mr.. Swinnerton's novel either a pain
full record of their own experiences or
they will laugh at it as the blundering
effort of a man to do the impossible.
Yet, if we mistake not, they will read
it with a deep and growing interest as
the plot unfolds itself.
BY Frank swinnerton. New
York. George II. Doran Co.