Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett

1849-1909

Born in South Berwick, Maine, daughter of obstetrician

Inspired by Harriet Beecher’s Stowe’s Main novel The Pearl of Orr’s Island (1862), she began to write regionalist fiction about coastal Maine

Her work was published and encouraged by William Dean Howells, editor of Atlantic Monthly

Her most famous work: The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), a collection of interconnected sketches about coastal MaineFrom 1881 to her death in 1909, Jewett had close domestic relationship with Annie Adams Fields, widow of editor James T. Fields: they had a “Boston marriage”Relationships between mothers/daughters and among women figure prominently in her fiction. After the Civil War, which killed many men, American women faced new demands and opportunities to form relationships and communities

A White HeronA White Heron

Published in 1886

RegionalismRegionalism

outgrowth of Realism (ordinary people, ordinary situations)

tendency among certain authors to write about specific geographical areas

presentation of the distinct culture of an area, including its speech, customs, beliefs, and history

ImageryImagery

Refers to words or phrases that create images that appeal to one or more of the five senses

Can you find at least five vivid images within “A White Heron” ?