Question

What aspects of realism does the story "Editha" include? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer

Answer 1

"That ignoble peace! It was no peace at all, with that crime and shame at our very gates." She was conscious of parroting the current phrases of the newspapers, but it was no time to pick and choose her words. She must sacrifice anything to the high ideal she had for him, and after a good deal of rapid argument she ended with the climax: "But now it doesn't matter about the how or why. Since the war has come, all that is gone. There are no two sides, any more. There is nothing now but our country."

Answer 2

In "Editha," Howells uses characters to build the theme and the plot of the story, an approach that is a major aspect of realist literature. The story itself revolves around the theme of realistic and truthful portrayal of events in contrast to a romantic, idealized version.  Editha's character moves the plot along. The author uses her character to show how newspapers and magazines tend to glorify war and how they influenced society. Editha’s ignorance, for instance, is displayed when she echoes newspaper stories. Mrs. Gearson plays the foil to the fickle Editha. The author gives her dialogue such as "What a thing it is to have a country that can't be wrong, but if it is, is right, anyway!" to portray the deceptiveness of political wars, where people are led into believing in the righteousness of their country and its actions irrespective of the truth. The author upholds the idea of truth through the end with George's death.