<i>Pale Horse, Pale Rider</i>: A Modern Allegory of an Encounter with Death

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31261/rias.15420

Keywords:

Spanish flu, modernism, pandemic, symbolism, dream, death, war

Abstract

The novella Pale Horse, Pale Rider, authored by Katherine Anne Porter and published in 1939, is set against the backdrop of the 1918–1919 Spanish flu pandemic towards the end of World War I. It narrates the dual story of individual and societal trauma and survival amidst the pandemic, contributing to the cultural memory of that era in American history. The narrative draws heavily on autobiographical elements, with the protagonist Miranda’s experiences closely reflecting Porter’s own. As Miranda battles a life-threatening flu, her delirious mind traverses past, present, and future, blurring the boundaries between them. This paper examines Porter’s employment of modernist techniques such as dreams, visions, archetypes, biblical allusions, and stream of consciousness to articulate Miranda’s harrowing yet transformative passage through a liminal space between life and death. Porter’s novelistic approach is distinctly modern in its exploration of mortality and the portrayal of Miranda’s near-death experience, aligning her with modernist contemporaries like T. S. Eliot and James Joyce, who also eschewed traditional literary forms to depict the profound dislocations of their time. The enduring appeal of Pale Horse, Pale Rider lies in its rich symbolism and psychological depth in addressing themes of death and illness.

Author Biography

Navdeep Kahol, Government College, Dera Bassi, Punjab

Bio: Dr. Navdeep Kahol serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Government College in Dera Bassi, Punjab, India. Her research focuses on the life narratives of Middle Eastern Muslim women. In her 2022 book, Beyond Harems and Veils, Dr. Kahol challenges prevalent stereotypes surrounding Muslim women, offering insights into their contemporary self-representation. Additionally, she has authored two other works: a collection of poetry entitled Seasons of Reflection and Tree Treasure of Chandigarh, the latter being a collaborative effort exploring the avenue trees of Chandigarh, often referred to as the City Beautiful. Dr. Kahol’s scholarly contributions include numerous papers published in international journals and as chapters in edited volumes. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a sub-editor for The Tribune, a leading daily newspaper.

References

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Translated by Mark Musa, Penguin, 1985.

Brooker, Jewel Spears. “Nightmare and Apocalypse in Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider.” The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 62, no. 2, 2009, pp. 213–234.

Brooker, Peter, editor. Modernism/Postmodernism. Longman, 1992.

Butler, Christopher. Modernism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Colwell, Jamie. “Katherine Anne Porter’s Adaptation of Joycean Paralysis in the Pale Horse, Pale Rider Collection.” All Theses. Clemson University Tiger Prints, 2007, https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/266. Accessed 19 Nov. 2023.

Davis, David A. “The Forgotten Apocalypse: Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider, Traumatic Memory, and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 43, no. 2, 2011, pp. 55–74.

Eliot, T.S. “Tradition and the Individual Talent.” Edited by D. J. Enright and Ernst De Chickera, Oxford UP, 1962, pp. 293–301.

Fisher, Jane Elizabeth. Envisioning Disease, Gender, and War. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Lodge, David, editor. Modernism, Antimodernism, and Postmodernism. University of Birmingham Press, 1977.

Porter, Katherine Anne. Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Harcourt Publishers, 1939.

Porter, Katherine Anne. “Katherine Anne Porter: An Interview.” Conversations with Katherine Anne Porter. Edited by Barbara Thompson, University Press of Mississippi, 1987, pp. 78–98.

Unrue, Darlene Harbour. Truth and Vision in Katherine Anne Porter’s Fiction. University of Georgia Press, 1985.

Young, Vernon A. “The Art of Katherine Anne Porter.” New Mexico Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 3, 1945, pp. 326–341.

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Published

2023-12-29

How to Cite

Kahol, N. (2023). <i>Pale Horse, Pale Rider</i>: A Modern Allegory of an Encounter with Death. Review of International American Studies, 16(2), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.31261/rias.15420

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023): Life Matters: The Human Condition in the Age of Pandemics—RIAS Vol. 16, Fall–Winter (2/2023)

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