to make arrangements for her husband's corpse. Finally, Wilson visits Hilda. The latter expresses her envy of Winifred. Wilson reminds her that Winifred is now bereft and will be haunted by Bartley's death. Hilda concludes that she will be too. Characters Professor Lucius Wilson, a professor of philosophy. He was a student in Boston and now lectures in a Western university Mrs Winifred Alexander Mr Bartley Alexander, a bridge builder Thomas, the Alexanders' servant MacKeller, a Scottish engineer who brought Bartley from London to Quebec when he was younger; he was a friend of Eleanor Pemberton's Mrs Eleanor Pemberton, Winifred's aunt Maurice Mainhall, a popular man amongst writers Hugh MacConnell, a playwright Florence Merrill Cyril Henderson Hilda Burgoyne, Bartley's erstwhile lover with whom he resumes an affair; she is an actress Irene Burgoyne, a member of Hilda's family Sir Harry Towne Lord Westmere Lady Dowle Lady Westmere Lady Warford Lady Kildare, an Irish philanthropist Robert Owen, Lady Kildare's nephew Sarah Frost, a novelist Mr Frost, Sarah Frost's husband Marie, a French girl Madame Anger Angel, Madame Anger's servant, who was from Brittany and eventually left to start affairs with soldiers Mrs Hastings Angora Philip Horton, he works on bridges with Bartley Allusions to other works Music is mentioned with Robert Schumann's Carnaval and Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore. Literature is mentioned with William Shakespeare's Sonnets and Ernest Dowson. There is also a quotation from Milton's Il Penseroso: "Forget thyself to marble". Allusions to actual history It has been argued that the story might have been prompted by the collapse of the Quebec bridge on August 29, 1907. References External links 1912 American novels Novels by Willa Cather Works originally published in McClure's Novels first published in serial form Houghton Mifflin books Novels about midlife crisis 1912 debut novels