The Peach Stone by Paul Horgan
"The Peach Stone" by Paul Horgan is a poignant narrative centered on a tragic automobile trip taken by the Powers family and their schoolteacher from Hondo to Weed, New Mexico. The story unfolds over four hours, exploring the inner thoughts and emotional responses of the characters as they grapple with the recent accidental death of the Powerses’ two-year-old daughter. This event, which occurred in their home due to a fire ignited by stray sparks, casts a somber shadow over the journey. Each character reflects on their relationships with one another and their shared grief, highlighting the complexity of human emotions in the face of tragedy.
As they travel to bury the child in a family plot on Schoolhouse Hill, the narrative captures the intimate and sometimes fragmented nature of their interactions. The climax occurs during the burial ceremony, where the schoolteacher, Miss Latcher, experiences a moment of vulnerability, leading to a collective expression of grief among the group. This shared sorrow serves to momentarily mend the emotional divisions that arose during their journey, illustrating the profound impact of loss on familial and community bonds. Overall, Horgan's work provides a sensitive exploration of grief and connection in the midst of devastating circumstances.
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The Peach Stone by Paul Horgan
First published: 1942
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: 1935 to 1941
Locale: New Mexico
Principal Characters:
Cleotha "Clee" Powers , a native of Weed, New Mexico, married for ten years to Jodey Powers, the hub of the Powers familyJodey Powers , a native Texan but longtime resident of New MexicoBuddy Powers , the nine-year-old son of Cleotha and JodeyArlene Latcher , Buddy's schoolteacher, who is psychologically and emotionally repressed
The Story
Using a point of view that shifts among the story's principal characters, Paul Horgan presents their inner experiences on a silent, four-hour automobile trip from their home near Hondo, New Mexico, to the town of Weed, New Mexico. Each character responds in some way to one or more of the other occupants of the car, as well as to the tragedy prompting the trip: the accidental death on the preceding day of the Powerses' two-year-old daughter. While playing near the back fence of the family's small ranch house, where tumbleweeds had been collecting that Jodey had been meaning to clear away, the baby had been caught in a fire ignited by some chance sparks from the kitchen chimney. Now the Powerses, accompanied by the town's schoolteacher for support, travel to the place where Cleotha was born and reared in order to bury the baby in Cleotha's family plot on the side of Schoolhouse Hill.
In the story's short closing section, after the arrival at Weed, the schoolteacher, Miss Latcher, briefly breaks down, and then the ceremony is held. Cleotha's notice of a tardy schoolboy's interest in the proceedings triggers her weeping, her first outward manifestation of grief that day, which causes the family to reunite around her after its short period of psychic fragmentation.