Hudson River Bracketed · Chapter
IX explained
Vance waits for Miss Spear at dawn, reflecting on her failure to meet him the previous day and his own hurt pride.
What happens
Vance waits for Miss Spear at dawn, reflecting on her failure to meet him the previous day and his own hurt pride. When she arrives, they drive up the mountain and she asks him to recite his poetry. He shares his poem 'Trees,' and she offers constructive criticism, asking him to write it out for her.
Themes in this chapter
Artistic Ambition and Creative Struggle
Vance confesses his desire to be a writer and poet, recites his work, and faces the vulnerability of sharing his art with a discerning listener.
Social Class and Cultural Divide
Vance feels the distance between himself and Miss Spear due to age, class, and experience, as she belongs to the 'big house' and he is an outsider.
Characters to notice
- Vance Weston
Waits for Miss Spear at dawn, recites his poem 'Trees,' and feels both pride and vulnerability in her presence.
- Miss Spear
Arrives in the Eaglewood motor, listens to Vance's poetry, and offers thoughtful critique.
- Upton Tracy
Mentioned as the cousin who delivered Miss Spear's message and as a guide of little use for New York.
- Laura Lou
Mentioned in Vance's recollection of her comment about Miss Spear's plans to travel after marriage.
- Mrs. Tracy
Mentioned for her surprise at Miss Spear's intention to show Vance the books at the Willows.
Key passages
“The spell of Miss Lorburn’s house was stronger now than on his first visit, because in the interval he had lived among people, plain unimaginative people, who nevertheless took old houses for granted, took age and permanence for granted, seemed in fact to live with one foot in the grave of the past, like the people pushing back their tombstones in a queer stiff sculpture of the Last Judgment that he had seen reproduced in some illustrated travel paper.”
Vance finds the Willows even more enchanting now, having spent time with the Tracys, who unthinkingly accept old houses and the past as permanent, as if they themselves are half-buried in history.
Vance's perception of the Willows deepens after exposure to the Tracys' casual acceptance of tradition.
“He had been, not offended, but hurt and a little bewildered, at Miss Spear’s failure to come to the Willows the previous afternoon, after sending him word that if he met her there she would let him spend a long afternoon with the books.”
Vance was more hurt than angry when Miss Spear didn't show up as promised to let him explore the library.
Vance's emotional reaction to Miss Spear's broken promise.
“He poured out the last words of the poem in a rush, and there was a long silence, an endless silence, it seemed to the poet, before his hearer spoke.”
After finishing his poem, Vance waited anxiously through a long silence before Miss Spear responded.
The tension of Vance's first public recitation.