Early Autumn (Langston Hughes)

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Early Autumn is a short story by the African-American writer Langston Hughes , first published on September 30, 1950 in the Chicago Defender and added to the Something in Common and Other Stories collection in 1963 . The story was then published in various anthologies .

In Early Autumn , Hughes exemplarily presents in a very brief scenic representation the awareness of the irrevocable end of a past love relationship from youth and the resulting midlife crisis of women as a timeless, elementary interpersonal situation. The short conversation between the two protagonists Bill and Mary during a chance meeting many years after their separation reveals both the estrangement of the man from the woman as well as the fact that this was the failure of their relationship at the time despite their later cohabitation with another man and the birth of her children still has not overcome.

Relationship of the two characters

Although the conversation at the chance meeting of Mary and Bill seems at first glance only like an exchange of superficialities and politeness, it upsets Mary emotionally to the highest degree. Her statement that she always thought about what happened to Bill ( “Always wondered what happened to you, Bill” , line 17) shows both an interest in his current life and a wistful memory of their shared past .

The relationship to Bill seems to be still very present in Mary's mind, since she unconsciously expects a kiss of welcome from him ( "Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though wanting a kiss" , line 12). When she learns that he is married and has a family, she reacts with a disappointed "Oh" (line 21). Another sign that Mary's previous relationship with Bill is still very present and important is the fact that her current husband is probably not her great love. Her wedding years ago seems to have been precipitous ( "she had married a man she thought she loved" , line 4) and to Bill's question about her husband she replies evasively by only reporting about her children and her job ( " We have three children. I work in the bursar's office at Columbia " , line 26 f.).

The last sentence of the short story in particular is a significant indication of the high value the permanent presence of Bill has in Mary's mind: she named her youngest son Bill, which she actually wanted to say to Bill ( “She had forgotten to .. . tell him that her youngest boy was named Bill, too ” , lines 56 f.).

What is striking is the laconic style of speech of the two characters, who mostly speak in short, concise, often elliptical or fragmentary sentences. With Mary this is a further sign of her self-consciousness towards the man she still loves, but from whose reactions she realizes that she can no longer get close to him. She doesn't dare to really say what's on her mind, namely that her life has turned out differently than she would have liked, and that she would like to go back in time and still be with Bill.

In contrast, Bill's reactions to the chance meeting with Mary and his statements show a polite disinterest in Mary and at the same time a lack of empathy. In the brief exposition of the story it is mentioned that after the separation from Mary, Bill bitterly turned away from women ( "Bill went away, bitter about women" , line 5). He seems to have shed this basic attitude over the years; he is now married and lives in a typical family constellation ( "Married yet?" - "Sure. Two kids" , line 19 £).

In contrast to Mary, he doesn't seem particularly happy to unexpectedly meet his childhood sweetheart again ( "Mary! Where did you come from?" , Line 11) and does not react appropriately to Mary's expectations regarding a kiss of welcome ( "... but he held out his hand " , line 13). He is also not impressed by Mary's appearance ( “At first he did not recognize her, to him she looked so old” , line 9 f.). However, courtesy tells him not to show it openly. The way in which he expresses this, however, allows Mary to guess in which direction his remark actually went ( "'You're looking very ...' (he wanted to say old) '... well,' he said. She understood " , lines 28 f.)

His taciturn and largely emotionless reactions to everything that concerns Mary show his lack of interest in her ( "'I live in New York now,' she said. 'Oh' - smiling politely." , Line 13 f.) And “'There's my bus,' she said. He held out his hand, 'Good-bye.' ” , (Lines 45 f.) He answers Mary's questions in short sentences and does not reveal anything about himself, only information about his professional and family status. He mentions that he is a lawyer in a reputable company (line 18) and is proud of his children ( "'You ought to see my kids.' He grinned." , Line 42). When Mary invites him to her home (lines 34 f.), His enthusiasm is limited, he answers "sura" (line 36) and feels obliged to give her a counter-invitation, but completely remains non-binding, as the vague "some night" (lines 36 ff.) makes clear.

The central theme of the final alienation in the relationship between the two characters is further concentrated through the narrative perspective : the connection of authorial and personal narrative form enables narrative not only expository flashbacks, but also the change between the external and internal views of the characters in a strongly compressed form, whereby relevant details are only partially indicated and suggestive left to the imagination of the reader.

Location and atmosphere

The coincidental re-encounter of the protagonists takes place in a highly frequented location, Washington Square Park ( “A great many people went past them through the park. People they didn't know” , lines 22 f.). Bill and Mary are part of an anonymous mass of big-city people with similar backgrounds and problems. Mary's burgeoning plans to eventually meet Bill again may result. a. crossed by strangers ( "The bus started. People came between them outside, people crossing the street, people they didn't know. Space and people. She lost sight of Bill." , lines 53 ff.).

Bill and Mary meet in the late afternoon shortly before sunset (lines 23 f.). It's late afternoon in Mary's life too. Her advanced age is pointed out several times in the story, especially in comparison to Bill's still existing youth (lines 9 f., Lines 28 f., Lines 31–33). Her sadness about the no longer existing relationship mixes with dissatisfaction with her age and her current relationship with the unloved husband, as mentioned above.

Parallel to the symbolism of the time of day, the season of the year ( "Early Autumn" ) mentioned in the title can be seen, which in turn illustrates Mary's current phase of life. The cold mentioned in line 24 reflects the inner constitution of the protagonist. In line 39 f. it is described that the leaves fall from the trees without the influence of wind. Nothing can stop these withered leaves from completing their life cycle. So the protagonist also has to realize that the course of her life cannot be rewound and that her relationship with Bill has ended forever. This causes a certain degree of discomfort ( "She felt a little sick." , Line 40) and insecurity. The latter is also underlined by the setting . The lights on Fifth Avenue flicker and blur (line 48).

Secondary literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Catherine Sustana: Analysis of 'Early Autumn' by Langston Hughes . Retrieved May 22, 2014. Early Autumn was u. a. also published in Woodie King's anthology (ed.): Black Short Story Anthology . Columbia University Press, New York 1972, and reprinted in 1996 in that edited by Akiba Sullivan Harper. Anthology The Short Stories of Langston Hughes , Hill and Wang, New York 1996. In Germany, this short story was also published in the collection of Reingard M. Nischik (ed.): Short Short Stories · An Anthology . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43170-6 , pp. 48-50. The following text quotations and lines are taken from this print by Early Autumn
  2. ↑ See Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , p. 190.
  3. ↑ See also the interpretation of Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , pp. 190 f. and 195.
  4. ↑ See also the interpretation of Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , p. 194 ff.
  5. ↑ See so far the interpretation of Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , pp. 194-196.
  6. ↑ See in detail Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , p. 191 f. On the narrative technique, see also Werner Ohly: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn": The Synergy of Dialogue and Narration . In: Die Neueren Sprachen , Volume 94.2, 1995, pp. 132–153 (see web link below).
  7. ↑ For an in-depth analysis of the setting and the atmosphere, see Reingard M. Nischik: Langston Hughes, "Early Autumn" . In: Reingard M. Nischik: Short Short Stories · Analyzes and Additional Material . Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag , Paderborn u. a. 1983, ISBN 3-506-43171-4 , p. 196 f.