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On The Gulf
Six masterworks of short fiction highlighted by the luminous art of Walter Anderson
- GenresShort Stories
145 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1991
About the author
Elizabeth Spencer
114 books58 followersElizabeth Spencer was an American writer. Spencer's first novel, Fire in the Morning, was published in 1948. She has written a total of nine novels, seven collections of short stories, a memoir (Landscapes of the Heart, 1998), and a play (For Lease or Sale, 1989). Her novella The Light in the Piazza (1960) was adapted for the screen in 1962 and transformed into a Broadway musical of the same name in 2005. She is a five-time recipient of the O. Henry Award for short fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2020
I read three of these short stories for my Southern Lit class. Overall the stories I read were wonderful. I want to go back and read the whole collection when I find time. Spencer's Introduction in this collection is mesmerizing. The way she writes compels me and urges me to read more. The Gulf Coast is a place I now want to visit someday. I loved that she mentions visiting with Welty on one of her trips to the waterfront. While she is only ten years younger than Welty, we almost see a new sort of writing here. Her voice is very contemporary and modern. If I would not of known the date of when she wrote this, I would think it would be something that hit the shelves this year.
On The Gulf: I loved the relationship Mary Dee and Semmes have in the story. Semmes is an ally to Mary Dee's rebellious evolution. They share an intimacy that Mary Dee and her mother do not have. Although the New South is visible in the way Mary Dee and Semmes' relationship evolves, we still see aspects of the Old South, as well. Mary Dee orders Semmes around and talks to her in a way she would never talk to a white woman of the time. In this short story, Spencer is pointing out that some aspects of this world need to pass away in order for new things to happen.
Mr. McMillan: This story is very similar to Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," which I have read in a previous class. This is no coincidence. Spencer is alluding to other writers of the time and genre. I liked that there is a crossover with "On The Gulf" in this story. Aline seems to be an older version of Mary Dee because they come from the same background. They are both rebellious. I had a very feminist outlook on this short story. Aline rejects what is expected of her: she doesn't get married, she is more focused on doing her own thing, she has a science degree, she feels she will achieve no self-knowledge if she stays in her hometown. Aline's refusal of the boy's advances is another area where she rebels against conventions. Mr. McMillan was a rebel too. He married because he was expected, which is much like the life Aline would have had if she had not moved to New Orleans. The point is that he is sixty years old finally doing what he wants with his life. Mr. McMillan is the secret messenger to Aline, saying she should liberate herself before she gets sixty like him.
Ship Island: The longest short story I read thus far of the book. Nancy is poor and mysterious. She becomes dissociated with her parents because she thinks they're asses, which is another form of her alienation that is so prevalent in the story. Rob is similar to Gatsby and other Fitzgerald characters. He is a "safe choice" for Nancy because he has money and has no interests in leaving the hometown. Nancy is driven to Ship Island. When Nancy and Rob make love on page 78, it seems as though the island itself is making love with Nancy. Rob completely disappears. The characters Bub and Dennis were very strange to me. I think they were involved in some sort of criminal activity. Spencer is drawing light to the lives of autonomous women and the risks/ dangers of being an independent woman.
On The Gulf: I loved the relationship Mary Dee and Semmes have in the story. Semmes is an ally to Mary Dee's rebellious evolution. They share an intimacy that Mary Dee and her mother do not have. Although the New South is visible in the way Mary Dee and Semmes' relationship evolves, we still see aspects of the Old South, as well. Mary Dee orders Semmes around and talks to her in a way she would never talk to a white woman of the time. In this short story, Spencer is pointing out that some aspects of this world need to pass away in order for new things to happen.
Mr. McMillan: This story is very similar to Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," which I have read in a previous class. This is no coincidence. Spencer is alluding to other writers of the time and genre. I liked that there is a crossover with "On The Gulf" in this story. Aline seems to be an older version of Mary Dee because they come from the same background. They are both rebellious. I had a very feminist outlook on this short story. Aline rejects what is expected of her: she doesn't get married, she is more focused on doing her own thing, she has a science degree, she feels she will achieve no self-knowledge if she stays in her hometown. Aline's refusal of the boy's advances is another area where she rebels against conventions. Mr. McMillan was a rebel too. He married because he was expected, which is much like the life Aline would have had if she had not moved to New Orleans. The point is that he is sixty years old finally doing what he wants with his life. Mr. McMillan is the secret messenger to Aline, saying she should liberate herself before she gets sixty like him.
Ship Island: The longest short story I read thus far of the book. Nancy is poor and mysterious. She becomes dissociated with her parents because she thinks they're asses, which is another form of her alienation that is so prevalent in the story. Rob is similar to Gatsby and other Fitzgerald characters. He is a "safe choice" for Nancy because he has money and has no interests in leaving the hometown. Nancy is driven to Ship Island. When Nancy and Rob make love on page 78, it seems as though the island itself is making love with Nancy. Rob completely disappears. The characters Bub and Dennis were very strange to me. I think they were involved in some sort of criminal activity. Spencer is drawing light to the lives of autonomous women and the risks/ dangers of being an independent woman.
May 21, 2025
You could taste the gulf in the air, but my brain skipped across a lot of the words and struggled to follow. Is it technology shortening my attention span, or was the prose skippy? We may never know.
June 26, 2014
Really nice style. Truly captures the time and place.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews