The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter
"The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter" is a comprehensive anthology that showcases the acclaimed short stories and novellas of Katherine Anne Porter, first published in 1965. This collection merges works from three previous volumes along with four stories making their book debut, enriching the narrative landscape. Porter's writing often explores complex themes such as tradition versus modernity, as exemplified in stories like "María Concepción," which delves into the struggles of women within the socio-political context of Mexico. The anthology features longer narratives like "Old Mortality" and "Pale Horse, Pale Rider," focusing on the character Miranda, who serves as an autobiographical lens through which Porter reflects on her own life experiences.
Additionally, the collection includes a set of stories from "The Old Order," presenting the life of a Southern girl named Sophia Jane Rhea, and touching upon broader human experiences in tales such as "A Day's Work," which tackles the intricacies of gender dynamics. Porter's stories are noted for their literary finesse and emotional depth, with each piece contributing uniquely to the overarching themes of existence, struggle, and resilience. The collection has been widely recognized, earning Porter the Pulitzer Prize in fiction and the National Book Award, affirming her status as a significant voice in American literature.
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter
First published: 1965
The Work
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter is a compilation of Katherine Anne Porter’s finest short stories and short novels. The collection, first published in 1965, brings together work from three previous collections and four stories not available elsewhere in book form. In 1966, Porter received a Pulitzer Prize in fiction and a National Book Award for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter.
The first section contains the stories from Flowering Judas and Other Stories (1930). Included in this section are stories such as “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” “Theft,” and “Flowering Judas.” Many stories in this section are set in Mexico. “María Concepción,” the first story in the section, is one of these stories. In “María Concepción,” the classic struggle between the “traditional” woman and the “new” woman is carried on in the Mexican countryside, where the people are poor and are continually threatened by war. María Concepción, a woman who is honest and a loyal supporter of traditions, triumphs over María Rosa, an aggressive woman who makes a nuisance of herself by ignoring convention. The primitive Mexican setting in “María Concepción” and the other Mexico stories highlights the brutality and irony of the human condition.
Three longer pieces, “Old Mortality,” “Noon Wine,” and “Pale Horse, Pale Rider,” constitute the second section. “Old Mortality” and “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” are about Miranda, Porter’s autobiographical heroine who figures prominently in many of her stories. The child Miranda is the central character of “Old Mortality”; “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” is about the adult Miranda. “Noon Wine” is less autobiographical, and its focus is less limited. The main characters are the Thompson family, and the theme of this work concerns their efforts to cope with evil. These three works were originally collected under the title Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Three Short Novels (1939).
The third section is “The Leaning Tower and Other Stories.” The stories “The Source,” “The Journey,” “The Witness,” “The Circus,” “The Last Leaf,” “The Fig Tree,” and “The Grave” are from a series Porter called “The Old Order.” These stories introduce the character Sophia Jane Rhea and her family. The stories provide a fascinating account of a Southern girl growing up in the country. The other stories in this section have more universal themes. For example, “A Day’s Work,” set in the slums of New York City, is a black comedy that dramatizes the battle of the sexes.
Each story in the collection is a gem, and in Porter’s words, the collection of stories as a whole is “a renewal of their life, a prolonging of their time under the sun.”
Bibliography
DeMouy, Jane Krause. Katherine Anne Porter’s Women. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983.
Hendrick, Willene, and George Hendrick. Katherine Anne Porter. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1988.
Unrue, Darlene Harbour. Truth and Vision in Katherine Anne Porter’s Fiction. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985.