Editha

Editha

In the beginning Editha is war hungry. She wants her country to go to war, and she wants George to go and fight. Even though the author doesn’t give the age of Editha, I believe she acts very childish, and immature. I understand loving your country and wanting to fight for it, but one must also realize the danger that comes along with it. She is obsessed with her country and fighting for it. She puts an ultimatum on George. He is unsure of the war, and unsure of fighting in it, but she constantly pushes him to go. She even evolves God in it. Saying “God meant it to be war” (273). She is speaking of it, as if it was a “Holy War”. This is not the case, and George does not buy into it, but she keeps pushing him. The ultimatum comes when he says “I’ll come back to supper, if you’ll let me. Perhaps I shall bring you a convert” (272). She replies with “Well, you may come back, on that condition” (272). She is putting “if, and only if” requirements on his return to her.

Once he leaves, she gets more demanding, and writes him a letter explaining that if he doesn’t make the right (or her) decision, then the engagement will be off. Her love of country is more important than the love of her man; “There is no honor above America with me. In this great hour there is no other honor” (273). Editha is very set in this train of thought, she can see no other way, and no other options but to fight. If George does not fight, then she cannot marry him. She is forcing her morals, and ideals down his throat, and he does not have a chance to stand up for his own. Editha claims, “She could not accept for her country or herself a forced sacrifice” (273). Yet this is exactly what she is doing. These few rational insights lead me to believe that Editha suffers from some sort of mental instability. She claims not to want a forced sacrifice, yet this is what she does, and when a rational insight crosses her mind, she recognizes it, yet she dismisses it as fast as it came to her. I feel that she guilt’s George into going to war, and is very proud to have done so, when she learns of his decision.

Editha finally gets a reality shock, when she learns of George’s death, but she