The Professor's House
by Willa Cather
'The Professor's House' Summary
When Professor Godfrey St. Peter and wife move to a new house, he becomes uncomfortable with the route his life is taking. He keeps on his dusty study in the old house in an attempt to hang on to his old life. The marriages of his two daughters have removed them from the home and added two new sons-in-law, precipitating a mid-life crisis that leaves the Professor feeling as though he has lost the will to live because he has nothing to look forward to.
The novel initially addresses the Professor's interactions with his new sons-in-law and his family, while continually alluding to the pain they all feel over the death of Tom Outland in the Great War. Outland was not only the Professor's student and friend, but the fiancé of his elder daughter, who is now living off the wealth created by the "Outland vacuum."
The novel's central section turns to Outland, and recounts in first-person the story of his exploration of an ancient cliff city in New Mexico. The section is a retrospective narrative remembered by the professor.
In the final section, the professor, left alone while his family takes an expensive European tour, narrowly escapes death due to a gas leak in his study; and finds himself strangely willing to die. He is rescued by the old family seamstress, Augusta, who has been his staunch friend throughout. He resolves to go on with his life.
Book Details
Author
Willa Cather
United States
Willa Sibert Cather was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Pr...
More on Willa CatherDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Call From Beyond by Clifford D. Simak
It is an intriguing science fiction novel that takes readers on a thrilling adventure into the unknown. This book is sure to captivate the imagination...
Don Bonifacio by José Milla y Vidaurre
Adéntrate en el cautivador mundo de "Don Bonifacio" de José Milla y Vidaurre, una novela que te sumergirá en un torbellino de emociones y secretos en...
The Gleam in the North by D. K. Broster
In the haunting beauty of the Scottish Highlands, secrets carve through the mists like ancient runes. Uncover the enigmatic tale that is "The Gleam in...
The Ivory Tower by Henry James
It is a classic novel written in 1917. This book tells the story of a group of artists and intellectuals living in London during the early 20th centur...
Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright
A novel without the letter E? It sounds impossible, but Ernest Vincent Wright did it with Gadsby, a 50,000-word novel that does not contain a single i...
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book III by Francois Rabelais
The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais,a telling the adventures of two gian...
Julian der Abtrünnige by Felix Dahn
In "Julian der Abtrünnige" entführt uns der renommierte Autor Felix Dahn in das antike Rom des 4. Jahrhunderts, wo die schicksalhafte Begegnung zwisch...
The Giant's Robe by Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Imagine finding a robe that grants you the power to become invisible. What would you do with it? In F. Anstey's classic Victorian fantasy novel, The...
Porgy by DuBose Heyward
The novel tells the story of Porgy, a crippled street beggar living in the black tenements of Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1920s. The character...
The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories by Paul Laurence Dunbar
In the vibrant tapestry of African American literature, Paul Laurence Dunbar's "The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories" stands as a testament to the...
Reviews for The Professor's House
No reviews posted or approved, yet...