The Optimist's Daughter
Eudora Welty · 1909–2001 · United States
Why it matters
A woman returns to Mississippi to bury her father and confront his shallow young widow. Welty's Pulitzer winner turns grief and family ritual into luminous, economical Southern comedy and elegy.
At a glance
family sagatragedy
Difficulty 4/10medium pace180 pagesControlled, elegant prose belies a quietly demanding meditation on grief.
Deep dive
A woman fights her father's tacky young widow over a house full of heirlooms, and Welty makes the argument over one scarred breadboard carry the weight of an entire inheritance of grief.
Where to go next
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