[Short Stories on Wednesdays] “Common People” and “Dressed for a Party” by T. S. Arthur

My gratitude goes out to Fanda of Fanda Classiclit for introducing me to a new-to-me site, Classic Reader, where I found a gold mine of classic short stories. I read two of them during lunch break at work—Common People and Dressed for a Party by T. S. Arthur, an American temperance crusader, editor, and author of fiction and non-fiction works.

Common People is about the mentality of some people who measure worth by their lineage, wealth, and fame. Without benefit of the doubt, they easily judge other persons who toiled their way “up” to high society. A few, thankfully, consider people rich if they have good disposition and strong and positive character. As a consequence, good things come to those who have good hearts and open minds. The author clearly and unswervingly defined what the title means by this line:

"There is something too common about her, if I may so express myself… I mean that there is no distinctive character about her. She is, like the large mass around us, a mere made-up girl." –Mrs. Florence

On the other hand, Dressed for a Party, from the title itself, tells how an aunt advices her niece how to dress properly for a party. One tip she gives is not to beat her mother’s fashion sense.

"A young lady will always be safest in society, Alice--always more certain to make a good impression, if she subordinate her love of dress and ornament as much as possible to her mother's taste. In breaking away from this, my dear, you have gone over to an extreme that, if persisted in, will class you with vain lovers of admiration; with mere show girls, who, conscious of no superior moral and mental attractions, seek to win by outward charms. Be not of them, dear Alice, but of the higher class, whose minds are clothed in beautiful garments whose loveliest and most precious things are, like jewels, shut within a casket." –Aunt Helen

The two stories acutely reminded me of Irish writer Maria Edgeworth’s didactic style of writing. The differences I found were in length and presentation of morals. Whereas Edgeworth’s long short stories are gracefully infused with moral lessons, Arthur’s are shorter and more direct—at times more direct to the point of being awkward. Nevertheless, the two stories I’ve read are memorable and worth reading and reflecting on because they not only contain moral lessons but also universal principles and, yes, a couple of fashion tips.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fanda of Fanda Classiclit, Lemon Tree of Half-Filled Attic, and HKatz of The Sill of the World for participating in recent past and current Short Stories on Wednesdays. I invite you to visit their blogs, which are all very insightful!


- Nancy -

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