"Editha" - Joe

The story “Editha” focuses on various levels of relationships, some at the intimate level and some at the public level. At the intimate level is the relationship between Editha and George. These two lovers are caught in a period of “American jingoism,” a time of strong patriotism and call to love of country. It is this “love of country” that is the impetus for Editha’s love for George. The relationship between the two young lovers is a metonymic representation of the larger public level where Howell’s reveals the real emotions behind the mask of “American jingoism.”

Editha is an icon of “American jingoism,” as she is deeply enthralled in the hubbub of country over self. To Editha, the ultimate love is the requited love of a man who is more in love with his country than she is. She writes to George before he is shipped overseas to fight the good fight:

I shall always love you, and therefore I shall never marry any one else. But the man I marry must love his country first f all, and be able to say to me,

“I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not honor more.”

There is no honor above America with me. In this great hour there is no other honor.
Your heart will make my words clear to you. I had never expected to say so much, but it has come upon me that I must say the utmost.

Editha’s letter to George is taken from Richard Lovelace’s “to Lucasta, on Going to the Wars,” a romantic notion of the soldier going off to war.

The feelings of patriotism become a mask for Editha, and by extension the public. As George points out to Editha: “But I don’t, now; I don’t, indeed. It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war⎯so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settle reasonably?” Editha responds with: “God meant it to be war.”

If one were to see Editha as the overall feeling of American jingoism, it’s an unrealistic sense of patriotism that ignores the real emotions and feelings of soldiers and their families. At the end of the story, Editha visits George’s mom and expects to find a woman who is proud of her sons bravery. Instead, Editha meets a woman who is against jingoistic romanticism. George’s mother is arguably the antagonist of the story, however, she is an antagonist that Howell uses to put across the point that the mask of jingoism must be removed in order to see the reality behind war. As painful as the truth may be, it is a truth that cannot be ignored.

What is contrived about Howell’s effort to reveal the reality behind the mask is that it ignores why there is mass support for patriotism. In a time of war, it’s important for society to come together in support of each other, to provide encouragement when people have died or experience a loss. This was apparent after 9/11, when Americans became one instead of many, and supported each other emotionally and economically. These feelings are neglected because Howell overlooks them as he judges it to be unrealistic.