The Great Divide

Written in 1906, William Vaughn Moody’s The Great Divide dramatizes the dichotomy in the American experience between the wild frontier spirit of the West and the Puritanical propriety of New England. It asks disturbing questions, even offering an argument that might seem to justify, or at least defend against easy judgment, the taking of a woman by force. It was recognized in 1906 by one New York critic as “so bold and vital in theme, so subtly veracious, and unaffectedly strong in the writing,” and is no less so today.

Part of the Pearl Theatre’s summer event, America: The Reading Series.