My Mortal Enemy

Myra Driscoll had it all — dresses, jewels, a riding horse, and a Steinway piano — until she met and fell in love with Oswald Henshawe, a man her uncle, John Driscoll, hated. Despite the threat of disinheritance by Driscoll, Myra married Oswald. Nellie Birdseye, Myra’s niece, narrates the poignant journey through a failing marriage and a woman’s painful struggle with the internal conflict of its blame. This unforgettable novella, written in 1926 by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Willa Cather, offers a tragic depiction of the marriage paradox: how to reconcile youth’s romantic exuberance with growing disillusionment, bitterness, and regret. psychological; fiction; classic; novel; literature; books; story; tale; masterpiece; love; drama; female; American; authors; journey; Pulitzer Prize; winner; romance; romantic; illusion; blame; novella; youth; relationship; exile; Marriage; portrait; My Antonia; crisis; Wharton; Chopin; lovers; enemies; husband; wife