The Sacrificial Altar by Blanche Colton Williams
Blanche Colton Williams’s study of Gertrude Atherton’s “The Sacrificial Altar” maps the narrative from its initial incident through dramatic and action climaxes to its deliberately incomplete dénouement. It distinguishes the murder’s role in Louis Bac’s artistic crisis from the later culmination of his personal crisis, and asks readers to assess the plot’s probability, its logic, and the balance between forces aiding his art and harming his physical existence. The analysis examines Louis’s characterization through exposition, speech, action, and other characters’ views; the restricted treatment of Berthe and supporting figures; San Francisco, time, and concrete details as devices of verisimilitude; and the story’s gray, cemetery-centered atmosphere. It also studies omniscient narration aligned with Louis’s perspective, suspense, clues, proportion, omissions, and Atherton’s statements about beginning with character, central idea, and mise-en-scène rather than a predetermined ending.
By Blanche Colton Williams · First published 1919 · Genre: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Non-Fiction · 1,338 words
First lines
GERMINAL IDEA. "It is so long since I wrote ‘The Sacrificial Altar' that I am rather hazy. My impression is that I set out to draw a born artist hampered by certain disabilities, and one of these being a disinclination for life and utter absence of the love instinct, all the forces of his nature concentrated upon his art, until they reached the point of obsession. It was not until after he had written the last book that he reacted to the normal instincts he had inherited and which had been automatically developed by the most normal bourgeoisie on earth. " -- _Gertrude Atherton._
ANALYSIS OF PLOT.
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Genres
- Literary Analysis — The section closely examines narrative structure, characterization, viewpoint, setting, suspense, and stylistic effects.
- Literary Criticism — Williams evaluates the work’s unity, probability, proportion, artistic logic, and use of reader belief.
- Non-Fiction — It is an instructional study that uses quoted statements and directed reading exercises to interpret a literary text.
Tags
Blanche Colton Williams · Gertrude Atherton · The Sacrificial Altar · plot construction · dramatic climax · dénouement · Louis Bac · characterization · omniscient narration · point of view · atmosphere · San Francisco setting
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The Sacrificial Altar is listed on Textopian as an essay by Blanche Colton Williams, dated 1919 CE.
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- Work type: Essay
- Author: Blanche Colton Williams
- Date: 1919 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Non-Fiction
- Length: 1,338 words
- Structure: 1 section, 25 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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