The Striding Place

The short story “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton takes place in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England where Weigall and his go on a trip of grouse hunting which they do every year. After their long trip the men decide to go to sleep, but Weigall remains up thinking about his friend Wyatt Gifford that has disappeared two days prior. Weigall decides to take a stroll in the woods and while doing so, he reminisces about the good times him and Gifford shared together. The roaring river is heard through the trees up ahead, and Weigall decides to walk towards it, through the trees where the only light is the stars above. As Weigall looks into the rough waters he seems a hand waving in the water, he then breaks off a branch and pushes the figures hand. Weigall realizes that the body is caught in the rocks and jumps in to save the figure; which seems familiar to him. After Weigall rescues the body he listens for a heartbeat and then tries to give CPR, but upon closer inspection, his close friend Gifford that he had rescued, has no face.

This story had its interesting moments but sometimes was a bit hard to understand. The one cultural concern that jumped out at me was the fear and anxiety of what happens in the afterlife. Weigall remembers Gifford discussing that he thinks people are able to see their friends and family one more time after you die, but those are his specific beliefs. Weigall doesn’t really share his beliefs on the subject, but it’s possible that some people might have shared the same thoughts depending on the time period in which this has taken place in.

I think Gertrude portrayed the concern of the afterlife in an odd way, but it seems like it fit into the story line. Weigall’s friend was missing, and he happens to hear the river that has claimed so many lives and remembers what Gifford thinks about seeing his friends for the last time after he dies, and then Weigall actually finds Gifford dead, but with no face. Maybe Gifford’s face missing represents some type of symbolism that he was unable to see or experience anything after death, the fear of the unknown relates to the unknown of the afterlife.