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CHARACTERS AND PLOTS IN GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE'S SHORT STORIES
by Robert L. Gale
 George Washington Cable, born in New Orleans, was a Bible-reading Confederate cavalryman during the Civil War, after which he was a local reporter, taught himself Latin and French, and did research in Louisiana archives and history. He became fascinated by Creole culture. His first short stories, assembled in Old Creole Days, were published in New York and made him nationally famous. He even toured with Mark Twain. Cable’s many later short stories deal with a variety of subjects, including slavery, torture, war, emancipation politics, race relations, miscegenation, southern travel, and domestic life. His rendering of scenes, plots, and speech patterns can be captivating. His stories have been more critically challenging than most of his novels, some of which evolved from his stories. A notable exception is The Grandissimes, one of the most powerful novels ever written by an American. It developed from “Bras-Coupé,” one of his most gripping stories. Sadly, Cable’s liberal political opinions, spoken and printed, so displeased his conservative southern readers that he permanently moved north.
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Word Association