William Dean Howells's Short Story 'Editha'

The short story “Editha”, written by William Dean Howells, is centered around a young woman named Editha during the Spanish-American War. The story begins with a young woman, Editha, who believes she is in love with a man named George. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that this young woman believes the yellow journalism she reads and holds a romantic view towards the upcoming war. However, the man she is proposed to is a conscientious objector and finds no reason to be involved in a war. Through her persistence, she persuades George to reconsider his views on taking up arms and joining the war. To enforce her point, she also writes him a letter insisting they cannot be together until he picks their country over everything else. For