new insights about previously introduced characters. (Elizabeth Willard's relationship with Dr. Reefy in "Death,” for example, was never alluded to when she was first introduced in "Mother.”) Because George Willard is a fixture in much of the book, his character arc becomes just as important a theme of Winesburg, Ohio as that of the rest of the town's inhabitants. Inability to communicate, loneliness, and isolation The most prevalent theme in Winesburg, Ohio is the interplay between how the Winesburg citizens' "...inability to translate inner feelings into outward form" expresses itself in the loneliness and isolation that makes their various adventures noteworthy. This dynamic is present, in some form, in practically all of the stories, three fairly representative examples being the merchant's son, Elmer Cowley, in the story "Queer,” George's mother, Elizabeth Willard, in the stories "Mother" and "Death,” and Jessie Bentley in "Godliness.” In the former, the young man Elmer Cowley, incited by an imagined slight ("He thought that the boy who passed and repassed Cowley & Son's store ... must be thinking of him and perhaps laughing at him" when in reality, "[George] had long been wanting to make friends with the young merchant...") tries twice to tell George off but is unable to communicate his feelings either time, finally physically assaulting the young reporter. The story ends with Cowley telling himself, "I showed him ... I guess I showed him. I guess I showed him I ain't so queer", a proclamation obviously laced with dramatic irony. In the latter two stories, Elizabeth Willard was the "tall and gaunt...ghostly figure [moving] slowly through the halls..." of the New Willard House who eventually, in "Death,” succumbs to illness. In her youth, Elizabeth "...had been 'stage-struck' and, wearing loud clothes, paraded the streets with traveling men from her father's hotel“. She was a character who, "perhaps more than any of the other characters, seeks some kind of release from her perpetual loneliness". And yet, aside from her very brief love affair with Dr. Reefy, Elizabeth Willard finds no solace. Instead, both of her stories conclude with Elizabeth Willard attempting to communicate with her son but, like the dumbfounded Elmer Cowley, winding up unsuccessful. Escaping isolation In contrast with the stark view of Winesburg, Ohio above, a number of scholars have taken the perspective that the cycle is, in fact, about escape from isolation instead of the condition itself. Barry D. Bort