Her short story The Waking of Helen (1901) is
a depressing account of a doomed girl. It is of interest because it contains a
good summary of three possible ways of looking at well-known writers.
We can view them as elite, fortunate and noble
people who are far above the masses; we can respect, admire, even worship them
for their achievements and envy them for their position, popularity and immortal names.
We can view them with disappointment, disillusionment,
disapproval and disgust when we become aware of their real characters and read
about some of the appalling things that they believed, said and did.
We can feel sadness and pity for their unhappy
lives when we learn what they had to endure and realise that for them, fame and
fortune were no compensation for what they lost or never had.
These ways of looking at writers are not
mutually exclusive.
Here are some relevant extracts from the story:
