Edgar Lee Masters’ “George Trimble” from Spoon River Anthology features a failed politician, who blames his wife for goading him into throwing his hat into the ring. The couple sounds like the antithesis of a Bill and Hillary Clinton; were it not for Bill’s political acumen and Hillary’s shrewd but obfuscatory parlance, Bill Clinton might have eventually lamented with George Trimble, “Well, she ruined me.”
First Movement: “Do you remember when I stood on the steps”
George Trimble begins his lamentation from the grave by posing a question to his Spoon River fellow citizens: he asks them if they remember a speech that he gave standing on the courthouse steps; in that speech, he “talked free-silver, / And the single-tax of Henry George.”
The references to “free silver” and “Henry George” demonstrate Trimble’s political positions: those who favored the Free Silver policies wanted to replace the gold standard with silver. And Henry George, who gained a reputation as an economist, believed the only land owners should be taxed.
Trimble does not imply a strong belief in any political position; thus, his lament becomes even more pathetic.
Second Movement: “Then do you remember that, when the Peerless Leader”
Without much political savvy or ideological conviction, Trimble, of course, loses the election. He ironically refers to himself as “the Peerless Leader” who “lost the first battle.”
After this loss, he says he took up discussion of “prohibition,” and he joined the church, becoming an active member. The disparity between his actions and his paltry discourse shows a deeply conflicted psyche.
Third Movement: “That was due to my wife”
George Trimble now concedes that he has done those things because of wife. She played on his sense of guilt by telling him he would court “destruction,” if he did not prove to people that he possessed “morality.”
George is revealing his weakness of character, because he let his wife goad him into trying to be that which he was not. Sadly, the reader never learns what, if anything, George actually did accomplish.
Fourth Movement: “Well, she ruined me”
Finally, George levels his severe charge against his shrewish wife, declaring vehemently, “Well, she ruined me.” He never gains any political backing, because “the radical” became “suspicious of [him],” and “the conservatives were never sure of me.”
Now George Trimble lies in his grave and no one cares. By Spoon River standards, he has gotten off lightly. At least, he does not seem to have suffered the severe trauma of living as the target of hatred, as some of the other residents have lamented. Still, George blames his wife that he has died an unremarkable death.
Sources:
- Edgar Lee Masters, "George Trimble," Spoon River Anthology, bartleby.com
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
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