The Diamond Mine (short story)

"The Diamond Mine" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in McClure's in October 1916.^[1]

Plot summary

Aboard a ship, Cressida Garnet, a soprano, meets a cousin of her late first husband's. She tells him of her love affair with Blasius Bouchalka, a Bohemian violinist who was her second husband. After he had an affair with their maid, Ruzenka, she filed for divorce and never saw him again. She is now set to marry Jerome Brown, a financier.

Later, we learn that Cressida died on the RMS Titanic. Her marriage to Jerome Brown is said to have been an unhappy one, as he constantly demanded more money from her. Similarly, we learn that after her death, her family wrangled over her will, each hoping to cash in on her fortune.

Characters

Cressida Garnet, an opera singer.
Jerome Brown, Garnet's fourth husband.
Miss Julia, Cressida's sister.
Horace, Cressida's son.
Mr Miletus Poppas
Luisa, Cressida's maid.
Charley Wilton, Cressida's first husband and Horace's father. He was an organist.
Blasius Bouchalka, a violinist. He becomes Cressida's second husband.
Ransome McChord
Caroline, the narrator.
Mme Bartolas, a Spanish soprano.
Ruzenka, Bouchalka's maid.
Buchanan Garnet, Cressida's brother.
Henry Gilbert, Cressida's lawyer.

Allusions to other works

Opera music runs through the story, with direct allusions to Puccini, Massenet's Manon, Janáček's Šárka, Schubert's Marche Militaire, and Mozart's Don Giovanni (through 'Donna Anna').

Literary criticism and significance

The story was the last one she published in McClure's.^[2] Moreover, it has been noted that Cather initially didn't think the story would suit the format of a magazine due to its length, subject matter and mode of narration.^[2]

It has been suggested that The Diamond Mine bears similarities with The Song of the Lark, insofar as both writings deal with a female artist's relationship with her family.^[3]

References

↑ Edward Killoran Brown, Willa Cather, a Critical Biography, Random House, 1953, p. 210
1 2 James Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather: A Literary Life, University of Nebraska Press, 1989, p. 278
↑ Janis P. Stout, Willa Cather: The Writer and Her World, University of Virginia Press, 2002, pp.130-131

Works by Willa Cather

Novels	Alexander's Bridge O Pioneers! The Song of the Lark My Ántonia One of Ours A Lost Lady The Professor's House My Mortal Enemy Death Comes for the Archbishop Shadows on the Rock Lucy Gayheart Sapphira and the Slave Girl

Short stories	"Peter" "Lou, the Prophet" "The Elopement of Allen Poole" "A Tale of the White Pyramid" "A Son of the Celestial" "The Clemency of the Court" "The Fear That Walks by Noonday" "On the Divide" "A Night at Greenway Court" "Tommy, the Unsentimental" "The Princess Baladina – Her Adventure" "The Count of Crow's Nest" "The Burglar's Christmas" "The Strategy of the Were-Wolf Dog" "A Resurrection" "The Prodigies" "Nanette: An Aside" "The Way of the World" "The Westbound Train" "Eric Hermannson's Soul" "The Dance at Chevalier's" "The Sentimentality of William Tavener" "The Affair at Grover Station" "A Singer's Romance" "The Conversion of Sum Loo" "Jack-a-Boy" "El Dorado: A Kansas Recessional" "The Professor's Commencement" "The Treasure of Far Island" "A Death in the Desert" "A Wagner Matinee" "The Sculptor's Funeral" "Flavia and Her Artists" "The Garden Lodge" "The Marriage of Phaedra" "Paul's Case" "The Namesake" "The Profile" "The Willing Muse" "Eleanor's House" "On the Gulls' Road" "The Enchanted Bluff" "The Joy of Nelly Deane" "Behind the Singer Tower" "The Bohemian Girl" "Consequences" "The Bookkeeper's Wife" "The Diamond Mine" "A Gold Slipper" "Ardessa" "Scandal" "Her Boss" "Coming, Eden Bower!" "Uncle Valentine" "Double Birthday" "Neighbour Rosicky" "Two Friends" "The Old Beauty" "Before Breakfast" "The Best Years"

Short story collections	The Troll Garden Youth and the Bright Medusa Obscure Destinies The Old Beauty and Others Five Stories

Collection of poems	April Twilights

Non-fiction	On Writing Not Under Forty

Collaborations	The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science

Adaptations	A Lost Lady (1934 film) O Pioneers! (1992 film) My Antonia (1995 film) The Song of the Lark (2001 film) O Pioneers! (2009 opera)

Willa Cather Birthplace Willa Cather House Willa Cather Foundation WILLA Literary Award

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