Benediction (short story)

"Benediction" is a short story by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1920 in the February 1920 issue of The Smart Set. It was republished shortly thereafter in Fitzgerald's short story collection Flappers and Philosophers.[1]

First published in the February 1920 issue of The Smart Set.

Plot

The story is about a young girl, Lois, who is on her way to a tryst with her lover, Howard, and stops to meet her much older brother, Kieth [sic], who is in a seminary and about to become a priest.

The story opens with Lois sending a telegram on her arrival in Baltimore. She wires Howard that she will meet him after her visit to a seminary too see her brother who is to be ordained a priest.

She arrives by bus after which she is welcomed by Kieth who takes her on a tour of the grounds. They had not seen each other for many years. He informs her that he anticipated the meeting between them. They discuss their pasts. She informs him that she is not a devout Catholic. She tells him: "It really doesn't seem to apply anymore." The theme is spiritual commitment and belief versus earthly enticement and pleasure.

Lois participated in a benediction or blessing in the chapel with her brother. She is overcome by the experience and collapses into his arms. She undergoes an emotional catharsis.

Kieth bids her farewell and sees her off as she departs by bus. After her departure, he is seen in prayer before the pietà.

When she arrives back at the station, she tears up a telegram she meant to send. The clerks read the discarded message: "This is in the way of a permanent goodbye. I should suggest Italy. Lois."

Publication history

The story first appeared in The Smart Set, edited by H.L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan, in the February 1920 issue.[2] When Mencken reviewed Fitzgerald’s story collection Flappers and Philosophers, he regarded “Benediction” as the best story in the anthology and wrote that its publication “brought down the maledictions of the Jesuits and came near getting the magazine barred from the Knights of Columbus camp-libraries.” The short story was included in his 1920 anthology Flappers and Philosophers later that year, consisting of eight stories, published by Scribner's.[3]

References
  1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott and Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Scribner's, 1989.
  2. "Benediction". Story of the Week. Library of America. Retrieved July 13 2021.
  3. Trumball, Andrew. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Scribners, 1962.

Sources
  • Fitzgerald, F. Scott and Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Scribner's, 1989.
  • Fitzgerald, F. Scott and Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed. A Life in Letters: A New Collection Edited and Annotated by Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribner's, 1995.
  • Trumball, Andrew. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Scribners, 1962.
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