Wednesday, May 6, 2015

After Clark reads the letter from his aunt, what memories come back to him?

The letter that Clark receives is sent to him by his uncle Howard, who lives with his family in a little village in Nebraska. In the letter, Uncle Howard informs Clark of his wife’s approaching visit to Boston, where she hopes to claim an inheritance left her by a “bachelor relative.” Further, he requests Clark to meet his wife at the train station and to attend to her during her short stay in the city.
The letter from Uncle Howard reminds Clark of his aunt Georgina, and how she took care of him during the time he lived with her family in Nebraska. He remembers his life in his uncle’s farm, how his “hands had cracked and turned sore from corn husking,” how he’d play the organ in Aunt Georgina’s parlor while she attended to some other task. He even remembers his aunt’s weird figure, a figure he describes as “pathetic and grotesque” and even “misshapen.” The letter draws him to the old farm life so that suddenly, he feels like he is presently in a totally strange and alien place.
After Clark receives his aunt Georgina in Boston, he takes her to see a Wagner performance by the Symphony Orchestra. His aunt had once been a music teacher, and he is sure that she will appreciate such a work of art. Clark feels that this is the least he can do for a woman, such as his aunt, who gave up her career and so much more to bring up a family in the difficult rural farms of Nebraska. Clearly, he adores his aunt and is forever grateful to her for “the good that ever came his way in his boyhood.” He states that he “read his first Shakespeare to her,” read her old books, and took music classes from her. Therefore, she is not only his aunt but also his teacher.

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