April Showers

By Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist and short-story writer in a time in
which women were hardly taken in seriosly when wanting to express themselves in literature
or really any kind of arts. This short-story, titled ’’April Showers’’ well-describes this period
by depicting the struggles of the seventeen year-old Theodora, who wants to become a
famous young novelist and to escape her current condition. At first instance, Theodora is
positioned in solidarity (“Downstairs the library clock struck two. Its muffled thump sounded
like an admonitory knock against her bedroom floor”), writing away in the night, dreaming to
a brighter future. The burden of responsibilities emerges when she remembers her duties
given by her mother that were to accomplish. Theodora takes on the role of a daughter, sister
and a maid. Because of this, Theodora feels misunderstood by her family but little did she
thought that, behind the scenes, her family knew all along that she is writing a novel and
plans to publish it.

We also have the theme of connection, portrayed all throrought the story between Theodora
and her father, Doctor Dace. Firstly is told in the sequence where she rushes in the morning to
get done all the chores after a long night dreaming about being rejected from the Home
Circle, the publishing to where she sent her just completed novel. Her father is somehow
scolding her because she did not accomplish her responsibilities at time. This moment led to
Theodora believing even more that her parents are dissapointed in her and that they could not
understand her at all. She tries to confort herself by suggesting she will focus her possible
future achievements as a writer by spending her earnings on her family needs (“Her contrition
was softened by the thought that literary success would enable her to make up for all the little
negligences of which she was guilty. She meant to spend all her money on her family; and
already she had visions of a wheeled chair for her mother, a fresh wallpaper for the doctor's
shabby office, bicycles for the girls, and Johnny's establishment at a boarding-school where
sewing on his buttons would be included in the curriculum. If her parents could have guessed
her intentions, they would not have found fault with her as they did…”). But still, she
couldn’t see the support of her father disguised as a scolding that would prepare her for a
potential setback. Trying to reconcile the two worlds she lived in, one of a daughter with
“tremendous” tasks and one of a future novelist, Theodora can’t seem to focus entirely on
neither of them, as she is so absent-minded when she reads the letter that the post-man
brought. This letter wasn’t aimed to Theodora, but it contained the long-awaited response she
longed for ("Dear Madam:" [They called her Madam! And then; yes, the words were
beginning to fall into line now.] "Your novel, 'April Showers,' has been received, and we are
glad to accept it on the usual terms.”). After some weeks, another instance brought much
more hope, that sadly turned into false hope, when Theodora read the newly number of the
Home Circle and finds out it is not her name written under the title. Thinking it was a
misprint, she rushes to Boston to get things straight with the publication. It turned out,
Theodora and her ultimate inspiration in writing novels, Frances G. Wollop, pen named
Kathleen Kyd (as seen in the similarity of the novelist’s pen name and Theodora’s made-up
name, Gladys Glyn), happened to title their novels with not only a similar name, but with
identical names. The aspiring novelist wearily started her way to go home, accepting her fate.
She was thinking of her mother’s fear because of her tardiness ad the anger of her father
when suddenly, a soft voice stopped her. Her father was once a writing enthusiast, eager to
publish his works and he knew how hard the walk home after being rejected was. By showing
up for Theodora, Doctor Dace wanted to comfort and help her acknowledge the emotions and
reality of becoming an actual “genius”, as he wanted to become once.