Evening star., 1925-04-07
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. C.. Nj.
MRS. MAgON's DAUGHTERS. Ma
thilde Eiker. The Macmillan Com

MRS. MADON's DAUGHTERS. Ma
thilde EikeE The Macmillan Com
pany.
A dozen novels-more often Is or
20-each week march, demanding
upon the hosts Of those to whom the
business of reading fiction is the
days work-much as bricklaying Is
the days work, or window washing
Fifty-two such weeks round up the
year. And these years, end upon
end, stretch interminab1y to the
rear and to the fore of the reviewer.
Clearly, this of all times is the one
when, in the field of romantic liter
ature, genius and near-genius and
no-genius have come into full flower.
| So, novels swarm in multitudes. The
shops are glutted. The Competition
Of trade has descended Upon the do
| main of creative work. The arts of
advertisement are at the height of
| pressure upon this point. These con-
| ditions have produced this endless
book procession, this dazzling spec
tacle of fiambuoyant front out from
which looks strange titles bent sed-
| ulously to the designs of sheer Sc
duction. Smiling, ogling, leering,
yearning, mooning-all in open solic-
itation, or covert challenge, or ex-
traordinary and bizarre Implication
Just about everybody, it appears has
nowadays gone into the business of
novel writing. And much of the tre-
| mendous stress and strain of the en-
terprise rises, obviously, out Of the
| fact that, for the use of this army
| of desperate romancers there are ex-
| actly two themes-no more. No won
| der, then, that the far corners of the
| earth are being raked in search OF
fresh line and setting for this scant
| sum Of fundamental human impulse
and concern.
Yet, facing directly upon this un-
diminished urge for the fresh sub
| ject, upon these far-farings for the
new outlook, upon these prodigious
ardors of invention for the unusual
approach and the compelling por-
! trayal-facing upon this. there is at
every novelists door a curiously over
/ looked and untitled field. II is as II
some invisible No Thoroughfare'
! against the story teller were posted
! upon its borders. Or as If, maybe
| some secret instinct of the writer
Whispered to him of soil not of kind
to nurture the seeds of romance. to
give beauty to its flower or succu-
|
| cause may be, the fact itself stands
out free from any shadow of dubiety
THE fact that the monk, the nun
| the preacher and the teacher Offer
| to the novelist no points OF contact
with life by way of which he NIGH
| otherwise re-create 1t in some Of its
important aspects, in some of it's vita
! engagements. Save for less thar
half dozen historic exceptions, none
of these has contributed to the human
| drama by way of the novel Leav-
| ing the other three orders as aside
| from the interest of the moment
here. why is it that in this field ot
romance, so intensively cultivated
the school teacher remains completely
| negligible? She is a human being
! and the novelist is avid for humanity
| so he says. Is it her vicarious ex-
istence that has faded her out be.
yond the reach of art? The mother
of other peoples children. The Gus
todian of other peoples morals. The
sampler of other peoples behaviors
Strict censor of her own natural i'm
pulses. Stern conformist to the rigiC
pattern set for her by an austerelS
| virtuous public or. on the other hand
artful by necessity in the ways OF
| concealment. Is 1t all of this, or q
| part of this, that makes this highly
| intelligent class unavailable for the
uses Of an art that is warmly hos.
pitable to every sort of really human
iattribute? The school teacher is neg
ligibie in this respect. That is, she
is almost negligible. but not quite
| For here is a writer-too young fol
pioneer. but a pioneer neverthe,
less-who offers a highly orieina
novel in which a school teacher ha.
the leading role to play, though no-
/ the only vital role.
| Mrs. Mason's Daughters" is plair
realism. 1t is a realism that now ant
then becomes painstakingly literal In
patient dotting of all the is and g
crossing of all the t's. More often
| however, it wings up beyond this
/ basic realism to points of outlook and
intake that verify and justify the
truth of the whole-as occasional and
! feeting moments serve to illuminate
life itself, and, in part at least, tc
justify it. Within this real and sus.
| tanning atmosphere a city is set
easily recognizable as any city
| Chicago. Washington. or another. Ant
here lives Mrs. Mason with hel
| daughters. There are millions of Mrs
Mason-the average woman. Fernan.
! da, the teacher; Pauline the clerk
Bette the beauty, with marriage anC
| babies as her part-thats all. A city
family. its occupations, a fringe
| of friends. Nothing more These art
| this workman's materials. One pic.
| lures her, the author. just sitting ir
the midst and looking on. She picks
| up this and rejects that She puts to.
gether here actions and incidents ou
of these lives, thoughts and attitude.
and speech, secret feelings and oper
denials, furtive behaviors on the one
| hand with frank admissions on the
/ other. And out of this singleness ot
| intent, coupled with a curiously clear
| sense of perception and divinatton
| there emerge human beings and a CO.
herent plan, and a philosophy of life
/ just the give and take, just the com.
promise and the acceptance of which
all life is made.
/ This is a first novel This is a youne
| author. This is a finished and sopfis.
| ticated work. A novel that is going to
| command attention, going to excite
| comment-favorable and otherwise
Those who recognize good workman.
| ship-the theme selected for its sub.
| stance and reach, for it's immediate
appeal and its potencies of perspec.
tive; the weighing of material 70,
the application of this theme. fol
| the illumination of it as well; the rig.
| Id hewing to the substance of the
| thing, no matter where the chips
| strike or. fall; the final emergence OF
the whole into some considerable ad
vance of outlook and program-fol
/ all of these things the book will gel
high praise, as 1T deserves to get Sucf
readers Is look out from this view.
l nOint will listen for opnfhar haoI
from Mathilde Eiker. Maybe they are
already wondering If she can do II
again, or if this may not be a yer,
/ exceptional example of that one hooI