William Dean Howells’ central character, “Editha”, attempts to create a "hero" through her fiancé’ George through ways, which her culture would not designate as an exemplary female character. In other words, “Editha’s” culture expects all women to behave and speak in a certain manner that does not allow them to share wild opinions or fantastic ideas about their husbands or even worldly affairs such as war. "She was aware that now at the very beginning she must put a guard upon herself against urging him by any word or act, to take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal of him" (86). Through Editha’s heroic romanticism of war, we can identify particular themes that denote feminist criticism: women’s space is domesticity; women are inferior to men in patriarchy; and the man’s space is public (in this case fighting in the battlefield). Gender issues have not been lost in Editha as we see men engaging in war, while the women being expected to remain at home, probably to take care of the husband’s family. In reimaging “Editha”, gender constructs is highly appreciated through performance: a role that can be played or attained through construct. Editha remarks: "There is a sort of…show more content… He later understood that it was his duty to fight in the war for his country. Once he joins the war and Editha learns he has too much to drink, she returns to her former way of manipulating as she responds to George: "promise me that you'll never touch it again" (90). Before George leaves, he leaves Editha with a task of looking after his mother. George dies at war and Editha recalls her duty to tend her late fiancé’s mother. But when she goes to speak to George’s mother, Editha is chastised for persuading George to go to war. Here, we see the ideals of duty according to Editha were not the same as George's, and there was consequence because of it. Since he loved her, he had to
