The Fear That Walks by Noonday
"The Fear That Walks By Noonday" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in Sombrero in 1894.[1]
Plot summary
A team of football players have a talk before a game against the 'Injuns'. In the previous matchup between the two teams, one of the opposing team players was fatally injured. Once the teams take the field, an unusual coldness comes over the playing field and a number of unexplained events take place. One player, Fred, passes out. Later, at the post-game dinner, a very morose atmosphere hangs over the proceedings. The story ends on a very different note when Reggie yells out McKinley's political victory.
Characters
- Frederick Hurton
- Regiland Harton
- Morrison
- Chum-Chum, a girl.
- The coach
- Policemen
Allusions to actual history
- William McKinley's re-election as Governor of Ohio in 1893 is mentioned.
Literary significance and criticism
- The theme of a football game was suggested to Cather by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.[2]
- It has been described as 'a highly conventional ghost story'.[3]
References
- Willa Cather's Collected Short Fiction, University of Nebraska Press; Rev Ed edition, 1 Nov 1970, page 540
- James Leslie Woodress, Willa Cather - A Literary Life, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989, page 83
- Susan J. Rosowski, Voyage Perilous: Willa Cather's Romanticism, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986
External links
- Full Text at the Willa Cather Archive
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