"Miss Mehetabel's Son" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich is a story set in the late 1800s in a quiet New England town, centered around an old forgotten tavern and its interesting inhabitants. A civil engineer, while working nearby, finds himself lodging at the tavern where he meets Silas Jaffrey, an odd and lonely old man. Silas's life is consumed by the memory of a woman named Mehetabel, and he copes with his longing by inventing a detailed life for their imaginary son, Andy. The engineer becomes fascinated by Silas's elaborate fantasy, even as the eerie atmosphere of the tavern and the echoes of the past close around him. The story portrays the themes of lost dreams and missed opportunities in life, as the old man's invented life touches the engineer, making him reflect on the human need for connection to avoid lonely and isolated existence.
Miss Mehetabel's Son
By Thomas Bailey Aldrich
In a secluded tavern amidst the New England countryside, an engineer is drawn into an old man's fantastical world, blurring the lines between reality and the wistful dream of a son he never had.
Summary
About the AuthorThomas Bailey Aldrich was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of The Atlantic Monthly, during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt. He was also known for his semi-autobiographical book The Story of a Bad Boy, which established the "bad boy's book" subgenre in nineteenth-century American literature, and for his poetry.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of The Atlantic Monthly, during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt. He was also known for his semi-autobiographical book The Story of a Bad Boy, which established the "bad boy's book" subgenre in nineteenth-century American literature, and for his poetry.
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