'A Small, Good Thing' as Revision of 'The Bath'
A writer’s personal, emotional state is often reflected in his or her writing, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of Raymond Carver. Making Literature Matter offers us two of Carver’s stories; the first, entitled “The Bath”, is an original work, while the second, “A Small, Good Thing”, is a revision of the first. While Carver leaves the basic plot and characters mostly unchanged in his revision, he makes many changes that reflect his improved emotional state. Carver wrote “The Bath” in 1981, the final year of a marriage ruined by his alcoholism; the stark, distant, minimalist feel of this story reflects his attitude at this time, no doubt less than cheerful. “A Small, Good Thing” was written a mere 2 years later in 1983, and, while it retains the basic plot of “The Bath”, Carver replaces the story’s stark minimalism with a deeply descriptive, warm sincerity. It is of no small coincidence that this revision was completed at a time when Carver was beginning to turn his life around, successfully enrolling in Alcoholics Anonymous while beginning a new relationship with poet and short story writer Tess Gallagher, which was to last until his death in 1988. As Carver’s personal situation improved, it seems that his concern, and compassion, for his characters did as well.Carver re-wrote the stark and disturbing 'The Bath' as the warmer and more personal 'A Small Good Thing' after a period of alcoholism and ruined relationships gave way to a more sober, happier life
Comments
I'm one who feels the minimalism of Raymond Carver had a lot more to do with Gordon Lish than Raymond Carver. I lost a lot of respect for Carver when I realized he'd plagiarized "Cathedral" from D.H. Lawrence's story, "The Blind Man." :(
ak cont.
(Guest)
(Guest)
10/17/2007
This changes much of your argument about Carver being influenced by his alcoholism or Tess Gallagher as the original story was written at the height of his alcoholism.
There's an article about Carver and authorship that you might find interesting in light of your essay.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E3D71F38F93AA3575BC0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
ak
(Guest)
(Guest)
10/17/2007
This is a good article, but the main premise of your story that Carver wrote "The Bath" first and then revamped it as "A Small, Good Thing," is unfortunately incorrect.
The story originally was titled "A Small, Good Thing," and was reworked by Carver and his editor Gordon Lish (some speculate that Lish had a great deal to do with the minimalist feel of the story, "The Bath") and was published as "The Bath," in "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."
In 1983, the poet Donald Hall asked Carver to publish the article in its original form with its original title, "A Small, Good Thing."
So while it would seem that Carver wanted to flesh out the story in "The Bath," he and his editor had worked to shorten it from its original length and the original story was published after the edited one had already been published. This changes much of your argument about Carver being influenced by his alcoholism or Tess Gallagher as the original story was written at the height of his alcoholism
Dwealsel Zappa
(Guest)
(Guest)
04/17/2007
This rox, im so happy to read it!
Balls
(Guest)
(Guest)
04/17/2007
Tight article man!!!
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