"Absolution" is a short story by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Originally published in The American Mercury in June 1924,[1][2] the story would later be published in Fitzgerald's third short story collection All the Sad Young Men in 1926.
Background
Fitzgerald began writing "Absolution" in June 1923.[3] In a letter to Maxwell Perkins, Fitzgerald stated that it was originally intended to be the prologue of his later novel The Great Gatsby, but that it "interrupted with the neatness of the plan".[4] In 1934, Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to a fan that the story was intended to show Gatsby's early life, but was cut to preserve his "sense of mystery".[3]
Plot
"Absolution", narrated in the third person, focuses on a young boy named Rudolph Miller, who fantasizes about a self-created alter ego called Blatchford Sarnemington.[5] Rudolph, an 11-year-old Catholic, attends a confession with Father Schwartz. Rudolph describes what he believes is a terrible sin he committed. In a flashback, Rudolph lies to Father Schwartz in a previous confession. Rudolph gets in trouble with his father when he attempts to avoid communion by drinking water before. After telling Father Schwartz about these two instances, Father Schwartz collapses and a startled Rudolph flees.
Critical reception
Upon publication in All the Sad Young Men, the story met with mixed reception. The New York Times wrote that "Absolution" is "simple and stripped of artifice".[6] The Saturday Review of Literature described the story as "first rate. Three quarters of it, at least, is masterly. Then the author falters".[3] The Literary Review of the New York Evening Post praised the story along with the others in All the Sad Young Men.[7]
Contemporary reviewers often focus on the story's connection with The Great Gatsby.[3][5] Some scholars argue against this connection. They argue that this connection has been overemphasized.[8] Some modern scholars have drawn parallels between "Absolution" and James Joyce's short story "The Sisters".[3][9][10]
References
Citations
- ^ Mizener 1965, p. 404.
- ^ Fitzgerald 1994, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b c d e Petry 1989, p. 210.
- ^ Fitzgerald 1994, p. 76.
- ^ a b Haglund 2013.
- ^ The New York Times 1926.
- ^ Petry 1989, p. 207.
- ^ Stewart 1973, pp. 181–187.
- ^ Cusham 1979, pp. 115–121.
- ^ Keuhl 1964, pp. 2–6.
Works cited
- Cusham, Keith (1979). "Scott Fitzgerald's Scrupulous Meanness: 'Absolution' and 'The Sisters'". Fitzgerald/Hemingway Annual. 11: 115–121.
- Haglund, David (May 7, 2013). "The Forgotten Childhood of Jay Gatsby". Slate. New York City. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- Keuhl, John (Fall 1964). "A La Joyce: The Sisters Fitzgerald's Absolution". James Joyce Quarterly. 2. Tulsa, Oklahoma: University of Tulsa: 2–6.
- "Scott Fitzgerald Turns a Corner". The New York Times. New York City. March 7, 1926. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- Fitzgerald, F. Scott (1994). Bruccoli, Matthew J.; Baughman, Judith S. (eds.). F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters (1st. Touchstone ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-80153-7 – via Internet Archive.
- Mizener, Arthur (1965). The Far Side of Paradise: A Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Revised ed.). Boston, Massachussetts: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-08395-8 – via Internet Archive.
- Petry, Alice Hall (1989). Fitzgerald's Craft of Short Fiction: The Collected Stories, 1920–1935. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-0547-5 – via Internet Archive.
- Stewart, Lawrence D. (1973). "Absolution and The Great Gatsby". Fitzgerald/Hemingway Annual. 5: 181–187.
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