Potts's Painless Cure E-Book

Bellamy Edward

• Herausgeber: DigiCat
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

In "Potts's Painless Cure," Edward Bellamy delves into the complex interplay of pain relief and societal perceptions surrounding medicine in the late 19th century. This thought-provoking novella combines elements of speculative fiction with a keen social critique, reflecting Bellamy's broader concerns about American society's technological advancements and moral responsibilities. Through the character of Potts, Bellamy explores themes of transformative healing and the ethical implications of medical innovation, all while employing a lucid prose style that marries philosophical discourse with accessible storytelling. Bellamy, best known for his utopian novel "Looking Backward," was deeply influenced by the socio-economic challenges of his time, including issues of inequality and industrialization. His advocacy for reform and envisioning of a more equitable society inform the narrative of "Potts's Painless Cure," where he questions the efficacy and morality of the medical practices of his era. His experience as a social commentator drives the urgency of his message, illustrating his commitment to social justice and progressive ideals. Readers seeking an engaging yet insightful examination of medical ethics in the context of societal advancement will find "Potts's Painless Cure" both enlightening and provocative. Bellamy's imaginative narrative invites reflection on the nature of healing, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the intersections of literature, medicine, and social critique.

Leseprobe

Edward Bellamy

Potts's Painless Cure

1898

 

EAN 8596547342533

DigiCat, 2022 Contact: [email protected]

Table of Contents

Cover

Titlepage

Text

"

“Must you go up to that tiresome old college again to-night?”

Pouting lips and delicate brows fretted in pretty importunity over the troubled eyes enforced the pleading tones, and yet the young man to whom they were addressed found strength to reply:—

“I 'm afraid I can't get rid of it. I particularly promised Sturgis I would look in on him, and it won't do for me to cut my acquaintance with the class entirely just because I 'm having such a jolly time down here.”

“Oh, no, you don't think it jolly at all, or you would n't be so eager to go away. I 'm sure I must be very dull company.”

The hurt tone and pretended pique with which she said this were assuredly all that was needed to make the petite teaser irresistible. But the young man replied, regarding her the while with an admiration in which there was a singular expression of uneasiness:—

“Can't, Annie, 'pon honor. I 'm engaged, and you know—

“'I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honor more!'”

And transferring her hand to his lips he loosed its soft, lingering clasp and was gone, stopping at the gate to throw back a kiss to her as she stood in the porch, by way of amends for his hasty parting.

“George Hunt, you 're an infernal scamp!”

These were the opprobrious words he muttered to himself as he passed out of earshot. The beneficent common law does not condemn a man merely on his own confession unless circumstances in evidence lend probability to his self-accusation. Before we coincide in Mr. Hunt's opinion of himself, let us therefore inquire into the circumstances.

He was in the last term of senior year at ——— college. For the past year he had been boarding at the Giffords', and Annie and he had fallen in love. The fall on his part had been quite voluntary and deliberate. He had fallen in love because it was the correct thing for a young collegian, engaged in the study of the humanities, to be in love, and made him feel more like a man than smoking, drinking, or even sporting a stove-pipe hat and cane. Vanity aside, it was very jolly to have a fine, nice girl who thought no end of a fellow, to walk, talk, and sing with, and to have in mind when one sang the college songs about love and wine with the fellows. And it gave him also a very agreeable sense of superior experience as he mingled in their discussions of women and the tender passion.

But withal he was a conscientious, kind-hearted young fellow enough, and had suffered occasional qualms of conscience when little words or incidents had impressed him with the knowledge that Annie's love for him was a more serious matter than his for her. He felt that by insisting on exchanging the pure gold of her earnest affection for the pinchbeck of his passing fancy, she was making a rogue of him. He should be in no position to marry for years, nor did he want to; and if he had wanted to, though he felt terribly hard-hearted when he owned it to himself, his feeling toward Annie was not quite so deep as to be a real wish to marry her. As his last year in college approached its end, he had thought more and more of these things, and had returned from his last vacation determined to begin to draw gradually away from her, and without any shock to bring their relations back to the footing of friendship. The idea seemed a very plausible one, but it is scarcely necessary to state that, living in the same house, and frequently alone with her, it took about a week and a few dozen reproachful glances from grieving eyes to melt this artificial ice with a freshet of affection, and when, a couple of months later, he calmly reviewed the situation, he found himself involved perceptibly deeper than ever, on account of the attempt at extrication.

Only two or three weeks of the term remained, and it was too late to repeat the unsuccessful experiment. He had tried his best and failed, and nothing remained but to be as happy as possible with her in the short time left. Then she must get over her disappointment as other girls did in like cases. No doubt some woman would hurt his feelings some day, and so make it square. He took much satisfaction in this reflection. But such cynical philosophy did not lull his conscience, which alternately inspired his manner with an unwonted demonstrativeness and tenderness, and again made him so uncomfortable in her presence that he was fain to tear himself away and escape from her sight on any pretext. Her tender glances and confiding manner made him feel like a brute, and when he kissed her he felt that it was the kiss of a Judas. Such had been his feelings this evening, and such were the reflections tersely summed up in that ejaculation,—“George Hunt, you 're an infernal scamp!” On arriving at Sturgis's room, he found it full of tobacco smoke, and the usual crowd there, who hailed him vociferously. For he was one of the most popular men in college, although for a year or so he had been living outside the buildings. Several bottles stood on the tables, but the fellows had as yet arrived only at the argumentative stage of exhilaration, and it so happened that the subject under discussion at once took Hunt's close attention. Mathewson had been reading the first volume of Goethe's autobiography, and was indulging in some strictures on his course in jilting Frederica and leaving the poor girl heartbroken.