A Bird of Passage, and Other Stories

"A Bird of Passage, and Other Stories" by Beatrice Harraden is a compilation of tales from the end of the 1800's, with its lead story chronicling a captivating girl, a piano tuner, who finds herself at a quaint Swiss hotel, piquing the interest of its visitors with her appeal, musical skill, and enigmatic history, touching on elements of freedom and the quest for self-actualization. The initial story allows readers to observe the girl's relationships with other people, like a man interested in her named Oswald, creating possibilities for looking closer at identity and social norms. When the girl first appears in the hotel's sitting room, soaking wet yet happy, she shows her clever nature and self-reliance, stating that she has no luggage or company. The discussions she has with an older woman and Oswald Everard show her special view on life, especially her love for music and her strong desire to do well in an area that women didn't usually choose back then; while she adjusts a piano in the parlor, she enchants the hotel's guests, capturing their notice and admiration, while also encouraging thoughts on her unusual way of living, forming a vivid story that mixes ideas of ambition, womanhood, and the need for community in a world full of repeated expectations.