Petrified Man Overview
“The Petrified Man” is a story by Eudora Welty. It was originally published in the Southern Review in 1939, and then re-published (with slight edits) in a collection of Welty’s stories in 1941. The story centers on three women—Mrs. Fletcher, Leota, and Mrs. Pike—in a small town in Mississippi. The three women are all concerned about money and their futures. The specific relationships between the three women—in conjunction with the arrival of a traveling “freak show” in town—soon cause drama and tension between them. The story explores themes such as community, money, fear, and uncertainty.
Study Pack
The Petrified Man Study Pack contains:
Petrified Man Study Guide
Eudora Welty Biographies (6)
5,277 words, approx. 18 pages
Eudora Welty (born 1909) is considered one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. Although the majority of her stories were set in the American South and reflected the region's langua...
Read more
4,336 words, approx. 15 pages
With the publication of The Eye of the Story and The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, American fiction-writer Eudora Welty achieved the recognition she had long deserved. Her position was confirmed ...
Read more
6,939 words, approx. 24 pages
Eudora Welty 's importance lies in the fact that during the past four decades she has produced an original and enduring body of fiction. Independent of any specific literary group, clear even of the i...
Read more
9,153 words, approx. 31 pages
Eudora Welty 's achievement in the short-story genre is primarily in the area of form. Several other writers could be said to have introduced the subject matter of the South to the American short stor...
Read more
9,451 words, approx. 32 pages
Although Eudora Welty has considered herself primarily a short-story writer, and although her earliest critical acclaim resulted from her brilliant experiments with form in that genre, it was not un...
Read more
7,903 words, approx. 27 pages
Biography EssayEudora Welty's importance lies in the fact that during the past four decades she has produced an original and enduring body of fiction. Independent of any specific literary group, clear...
Read more
Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty