Under Construction
Dermod's Bane
Hester Jane Ervin and Moira Kirowan (a 1978 note): The protagonist seems, to me, unduly upset about the death of his sister (but I, like Howard, am an only child -- so what would I know?), the fact that Michael and Moira Kirowan were twins might explain this, as twins are supposed to be uncommonly close. However, the fact that Michael is completely wiped out by his sister's death seems to allude to Howard's own actions concerning his Mother's illness. I would suspect that this story was begun after Hester Howard's illness first struck due to the intensity of the protagonist's Depression throughout the story. The Grandmother's advice ("
go to Ireland") might even be in regard to Howard's own grandmother, who I believe told young Howard a lot of old Gaelic folklore. Anyway, these parallels strick me rather strongly on each reading of the story.
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