Out of a “Rupert” Frost Poem: Myths, Anti-Myths and Icons in Annie Proulx’s New England Short Stories

Abstract

The idea of New England as a pastoral, authentic, and morally solid place emerged early in the nineteenth century, and was a consequence of rapidly changing social conditions. This kind of image, though cherished by the elite of the region and sought after by tourists, is obviously false and highly exclusive. Heart Songs, Annie Proulx’s debut collection of short stories, is one of the first texts to shatter the idealized picture of New England. This article will offer examples of settings and characters radically different from those conventionally associated with the region’s identity. A special focus will be placed on the imagined archetypal Yankee figure and the way Proulx’s New Englanders deal with such an unreal image in their very real lives. Likewise, the group of newcomers and their perception of the region will be commented on. The general methodological framework applied here relates to cultural studies and, more precisely, to studies of space, with an emphasis on a regionalist approach.