Index to Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings
This index, while neither extensive nor exhaustive, provides Welty scholars with a place
to begin researching. The following compilation indexes the Harvard First Press Edition,
1984, and includes all subsequent printings and issues of the fist edition. This index does
not correspond with any printings of the 1985-86 G. K. Hall & Co. second edition or with
the 1985 Warner Books third edition. The editors welcome additions and corrections.
Please send them to ewn@gsu.edu.
adolescence: 14, 38
tery: 86
American Mercury: 79
Andrews family: tree: 49-50
Andrews, Eudora Carden (grandmother): 46, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55, 56-57, 58, 60; letters
to Chestina, 55-56; to Eudora, 56
Andrews, Edward (Ned) Raboteau (grandfather): 47-49, 50, 60, 91; as lawyer, 47-
48; death of, 50-51; drinking, 48; education, 48; fisherman, 48; love of music, 50;
move to West Virginia, 50
Andrews, Isham: 50
anger: 38, 39
art: class, 9-10, 80; Miss Ascher (teacher at Davis School), 27
Audubon: 89
Autun, France: 33
baseball, Jackson Senators: 25-26
barn, Grandpa Welty’s: 65-66
barometer: 4
Bat, The (Mary Roberts Rinehart): 79
Bible: 31, 33, 59, 88; King James Version, 33; Belt, 79
Blue Book: 44
Blue, Ben: 36
books: in family library: Book of Knowledge, 6, 9; Charles Dickens’s novels, 7, 8, 9;
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6; Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, 6; Encyclopedia
Britannica, 6; Lincoln Library of Information, 6; Mark Twain (set of), 7; Our Wonder
World (set of), 8, 9; Ring Lardner (set of), 7; Sanford and Merton in Words of One
Syllable (Mary Godolphin), 7-8; Stoddard’s Lectures, 6; Victrola Book of the Opera,
6; Tom Sawyer, 35; Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 6; love for: 5-6 mentioned:
Bunny Brown, 30; Sanctuary, 32; Sanford and Merton (Thomas Day), 7; St. Elmo, 7;
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 81 read by Welty (childhood): Alice [in
Wonderland] , 35; Book of Kells, 9; Book of Knowledge, 6, 9; Bunny Brown and His
Sister Sue at Camp Rest-a-While, 30; Candide! , 80; The Canterbury Tales, 80;
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6; Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, 6; Dickens (set of) 7,
8, 9; Encyclopedia Britannica, 6; Every Child’s Story Book, 8; fairy tales, 8, 9;
Gulliver’s Travels, 8; Lincoln Library of Information, 6; Mark Twain (set of), 7; Our
Wonder World (set of), 8, 9; Pilgrim’s Progress, 8; Ring Lardner (set of), 7; Sanford
and Merton in Words of One Syllable (Mary Godolphin), 7-8; Stoddard’s Lectures, 6;
Thousand and One Nights, 20; Tom Sawyer, 35; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under
the Sea, 30; Victrola Book of the Opera, 6; Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 6;
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 81; see also stories read by Welty read by Chestina
Welty (mother): Ardath, 7; Charles Dickens’s novels, 7, 8, 9, 45-46, 47; Galsworthy,
7; Green Mansions, 7; Jane Eyre, 7; King Solomon’s Mines, 7; The Man in the Lower
Ten, 30; Thomas Mann (Joseph volumes), 7; The Origin of the Species, 30; Paradise
Lost, 52; Sir Walter Scott, 7; Robert Louis Stevenson, 7; Trilby, 7; Edith Wharton, 7;
The Woman in White, 7; read by Christian Welty (father): keepsake from mother,
67, 90; Sanford and Merton in Words of One Syllable (Mary Godolphin), 7-8 saved
by Chinese scholars: 92
bottle tree: 85
Bowen, Elizabeth: 99
Brady, Alice: 36
Brickell, Herschel (critic): 11
buffalo nickels: 17
calling cards: 12, 17
Calloway, Mrs.: 29-30
camera: 3, 21, 84; folding Kodak, 3
Carden, (mother’s grandfather): 33, 58, 59
Carden, (mother’s grandmother): 59
Carnegie Library: 29-30; See also Mrs. Calloway (librarian)
Century Theater: 19, 33, 86
Chaplin, Charlie: 36
Chartres, France: 33
Chaucer: 80
childhood illnesses: “fast-beating heart,” 20, 21; measels, 35; Spanish influenza, 36;
whooping cough, 35;
Christmas: 3, 4, 8, 19; carols, 26
churning: 5
circus: 37
clocks: 3, 5, 68, 83, 84, 95; cuckoo, 3, 5; grandfather, 3; kitchen, 3
Columbia University Graduate School of Business: 82
confluence: 102-104
constellations: 10
Crane, Walter (illustrator, Every Child’s Story Book): 8, 9
Davis School (Jefferson Davis Grammar School): 20, 22, 23, 24, 28, 31, 37; recess, 24;
examinations, 23, 24; school bell, 20, 23, 24; See also teachers; Miss Duling
Dr. Armstrong: 67
Donne, John: 81
Doodlebug: 13
Dow, Lorenzo: 89
dream: 89, 103
Duling, Miss (teacher): 22-24, 26, 27, 28; appearance of, 23, 24; as character in
stories, 23; background of, 22; standards as teacher, 22, 23
editors: 93, 97
Eckhart, Miss: 100-102
Evangelists: Lorenzo Dow, 89; Gypsy Smith, 32; Billy Sunday, 32
Evers, Medgar: 39
family, maternal: See Andrews; Carden
family, paternal: See Welty
family tree (Andrews): 49-50
family trips: by car, 43-45, 46, 46-47, 61, 68; by train, 73-75
Fannie (sewing woman): 14
fiction by Welty: “Acrobats in the Park,” 86; first story, 85-86; “Death of a Traveling
Salesman,” 86, 87; “the Demonstrators,” 95; Golden Apples, 81, 99, 100-102; “June
Recital,” 101; “Livvie,” 85; “A Memory,” 87; “Music from Spain,” 86; The Optimist’s
Daughter, 102-104; “A Still Moment,” 89; “Where is the Voice Coming From?” 39;
“Why I Live at the P.O.,” 13; “The Winds,” 4, 86
fiction read by Welty: Aesop (tales from), 8; “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” 8;
fairy tales, 8, 9; King Arthur (legends of), 8; “The King of the Golden RIver,” 28-9;
“My Kinsman, Major Molineux,” 37; “The Pied Piper of Hamlin,” 37; “Puss in Boots,”
5; Reynard the Fox (stories of), 8; Robin Hood (legends of), 8; St. George and the
Dragon (tales of), 8: “Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Around the
Word,” 35; “The Yellow Dwarf,” 8
fire escape: 78, 83
Ford, Cory: 79
garden, mother’s: 83
Giotto: 33
“Gnat, The “: 79
Great Depression: 84, 91, 93
Gypsy: 32
gyroscope: 3
hair: mother’s, 16, 18, 47; Eudora’s in kid curlers, 30
Halley’s Comet: 10
Hell: 31
heron: 89 Holt, Professor (neighbor): 15, 16
home: North Congress St., Jackson, 3, 33, 68; Pinehurst St., 83
humor, sense of: 34-35, 36, 37, 38, 57-58, 82, 98
hymns: 31, 32, 33, 53
illnesses: “Fast-beating heart,” 20, 21; measles, 35; Spanish influenza, 36; whooping
cough, 35
independence: 19-20, 57, 60
Ireland: 33, 49
Istrione Theater: 36
Jackson Daily News: 32
Jackson, Mississippi: 3, 10, 12, 18, 22, 25, 29, 32, 46, 52, 54, 55, 75, 76, 82, 83, 84, 93,
94, 97
“Jesus wept “: 31
Joan of Arc (history of): 8
Judge: 79
kaleidoscope: 3
Keaton, Buster: 36
Keystone Kops, 36
Lamar, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus: 34
Lamar Life: 34, 75; new office building, 82-84
Latin: 28
Lear, Edward: 8, 35
learning: 9-11, 20, 23, 81; at home, 9, 20
left-handedness: 25
library: 29; family: 3, 6; books in, (see books); items in, 3
Library, Carnegie: See Carnegie Library
library table: 3
lies, lying: 14-15, 16
listening: 54; to parents, 21; as reader, 11-12; for scenes, 15; for stories 13-15, 21
“Little Red Riding Hood “: 30
Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exposition: 54
magnifying glass: 3
maps: 3, 83
memory: 76, 89, 90, 104
Mencken, H. L.: 79
McDermott, Red: 26
Mississippi State College for Women: 77-80; College Library, 79; Music Building, 78;
Old Main (dormitory), 77-78; The Spectator (newspaper), 79; students at, 77; See
also teachers
Modern Library: 80
Montgomery, Miss (father’s secretary): 34
moon: 10-11; moonlight, 74
Morgana: 100
movies: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 36; Drums of Jeopardy, 36; silent, 36
Murrel (bandit): 89
music box: 66-67
myths, mythology: 8, 10, 87, 99
Natchez Trace: 89
New Madrid, MS: 89
New Orleans, LA: 86
Niagra Falls: 97, 98
Ohio: 3, 18, 43, 44, 46, 61, 75
Old Macdonald: 44
passion: 81
Pearl River: 83
Percy, William Alexander: 78
Perelman, S. J.: 79
photography: 84-85, 93; father’s: 97, 98
Pickford, Mary: 30
Piero: 33
pigeons: 56, 57
piano: 61, 74, 77; piano teacher, 100
pistol, guns: 46, 48
poetry: influence of, 78-81 read by Welty: “I have a rendezvous with Death,” 80;
“Home,” 78; In April Once, 78; “Sailing to Byzantium,” 81; “Song of the Wandering
Aengus,” 81
political speakings: 32
processions: ominous feelings towards, 37
puzzles: 3, 50
reading, love of: 29-30
Redpath Chautauqua: 32, 86
religion: 30-34; Baptists, 31, 33, 49; christened, 30; Methodists, 31, 32;
Presbyterians, 27, 31; Sunday school, 31, 32, 34; See also Evangelists
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano: 84
Russel, Diarmuid: 97
Sanford and Merton (Thomas Day): 7
Saturday Evening Post: 81
scene(s): 15, 38, 89
secret(s): 17, 21
Segovia, Andre: 86
sewing: 14
shy(ness): 21, 22
skyscraper: 82
sleeping porch: 3
Smith, Gypsy: 32
Smith Park: 86
songs at the Davis School: “Little Sir Echo,” 26; “Dorothy, an Old English Dance,” 32;
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” 26 harmonica, Edward Welty: “Old McDonald had a
Farm, “ 44; “Abdul the Bulbul Amir,” 44; hymns: 31, 32, 33 lullabies: “Bobby
Shafftoe,” 11; “Rock-a-Bye-Baby,” 11 music box: “Believe Me if All Those Endearing
Young Charms,” 66 played on the piano: “The West Virginia Hills,” 61 sheet music:
“I Want to Be Happy,” 94 sung by Andrews uncles: “Frog Went A-Courting and He
Did Ride,” 53; hymns, 53; “Roll, Jordon, Roll,” 53; “Where Have You Been, Billy Boy,”
53; sung by mother: lullabies, 11; “Wee Willie Winkie,” 11 sung by Professor Holt
(neighbor): “High-ho! Come to the Fair!” 15; “Oho ye oho ye, who’s bound for the
ferry …,” 15 Victrola records: “Gypsy Dance from Carmen,” 11; “Kiss Me Again,” 11;
“Overture to Daughter of the Regiment,” 11; “Selections from The Fortune Teller,”
11; “Stars and Stripes Forever,” 11; “When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for
Alabam,” 11
Spectator, The: 79
stage performances: Blackstone the Magician, 86; Blossom Time, 19; The Cat and the
Canary, 86; Chu Chin Chow, 86; Galli-Curci, 86; No, No, Nanette, 94
storms: electrical, 4
stories by Welty: “Acrobats in a Park,” 86; first story, 85-86; “Death of a Traveling
Salesman,” 86, 87; “The Demonstrators,” 95; Golden Apples, 81, 99, 100-102; “June
Recital,” 101; “Livvie,” 85; “A Memory,” 87; “Music From Spain,” 86; The Optimist’s
Daughter, 102-104; “A Still Moment,” 89; “Where is the Voice Coming From?” 39;
“Why I Live at the P.O.,” 13; “The Winds,” 4, 86; stories read by Welty: Aesop (tales
from), 8; “Ali Baba and the Forty Theives,” 8; fairy tales, 8, 9; Joan of Arc, (history
of), 8; King Arthur (legends of), 8; “The King of the Golden River,” 28-29; “My
Kinsman, Major Molineux,” 37; “The Pied Piper of Hamlin,”, 37; “Puss in Boots,” 5;
Reynard the Fox (stories of), 8; Robin Hood (legends of), 8; St. George and the
Dragon (tales of), 8; “Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Around the
World,” 35; “The Yellow Dwarf,” 8
Sunday, Billy: 32
Swift, Jonathan: 81
tantrums: 39
teachers Davis School: Miss Ascher (art), 27; Miss Eyrich (physical training), 26;
Miss Johnson (music), 26; Mrs. McWillie, 27-28; Miss Louella Varnado (fourth
grade), 28; See also Miss Duling Sunday School: Miss Hattie, 31 Mississippi State
College for Women: Lawrence Painter (English), 80; Miss Pohl (gym), 78 University
of Wisconson: Ricardo Quintana, 81
telescope: 3, 10
temper: 39
theater: 93
Thousand Islands: 97-98
time: 3, 38, 68, 102; chronological, 68; timetable, 69, 73, 96, 97, 98; See also clocks
Time: 30
Torcello, Italy: 33
towns: 46
toys: electric trains, 5; Erector sets, 4; kites, 4-5; Tinker Toys, 4
train: 68, 73, 74, 76, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 102; schedules, 18; travel by, 73-76,
93
traveling artists: 86
Trinity College (Duke University): 48
trips, business: 94
Trolio, Mr. (Italian orchard grower): 18
typewriter: first, 81
University of Wisconson: 81, 82; See also teachers
Virgie: 101-102
Veidt, Conrad: 36
Voltaire: 80
Welty, Almira (grandmother): 65, 67
Welty, Chestina (mother): 4-9, 11, 14, 15-18, 19, 20-21, 22, 24-25, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35,
36, 38, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51- 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 61-62, 64, 67, 75,
76, 81, 83, 88, 90, 91, 92-93, 94, 97, 102; brothers of (the boys), 16, 25, 51, 52-53,
54, 55, 56, 57-58, 59, 60-63; death of father, 50-51; death of first child, 17-18; death
of husband, 92-93; explaining “where babies come from,” 15-17; fear of water, 46,
98; Grandfather Carden, 58-59; Grandmother Carden, 59; hair (cutting off), 16, 18,
47; left-handedness, 25; letters, 55, 76, 94; old age, 61; overprotective parent, 18-
19, 60; pessimist, 45; reading to Eudora, 5, 11; as teacher, 51-52; self-sacrificing, 19,
39; stutter of, 25; See also books, read by
Welty, Christian (father): 3-8, 10, 18, 33, 35, 38, 43, 44, 46, 52, 53, 54, 62-64, 67, 73,
74, 81, 82-84, 88, 90, 91, 96, 97, 102; belief in progress, 5; courtship of Chestina, 52,
75-76; death of, 83, 91-93; devotion to father, 63-64; interest in future, 63; letters to
Chestina, 75-76; loss of mother at seven, 8, 65, 90; optimist, 45, 91; overprotective
parent, 18-19; See also books, read by
Welty, Edward (brother): 35, 36, 38, 43, 44, 45, 53,61, 62, 65, 84, 92
Welty, Eudora: See books, fiction, and stories
Welty, Jefferson (grandfather): 62, 63, 64, 65, 66; barn of, 65-66; parents of
(Christian and Salome Welty), 63
Welty, Penina (Nina): 67, 91
Welty, Walter (brother): 30, 34, 35, 38, 44, 46, 53, 84, 92
West Virginia: 4, 8, 33, 43, 44, 46, 48, 55, 58, 61, 75
“Where Will You Spend Eternity?”: 93
Woodburn, John: 97
World’s Fair: 54
World War II: 92, 96
word(s): 9, 10, 12, 26, 30, 34, 85, 87
Work’s Progress Administration: 84
writing: about family, 86; about relationships, 87; anger in, 38-39; characters, 98-97;
discoveries from, 98; distance in, 21, 87; energy for, 44; letters, 34; sequence in, 90;
vision in, 89; voice in, 12
Yeats, William Butler: 81; “Sailing to Byzantium,” 81; “Song of the Wandering
Aengus,” 81