One of the major concerns of Warren's novel is to discourage the romantic views of history and historical eras that often develop as time passes. He employs the eighteenth-century device of inserting a short tale in the body of the novel to reinforce this theme. Just as Jack Burden's investigation of Judge Irwin topples the myth of a virtuous elite governing the state in the past, so too does the Cass Mastern narrative subject the myth of a heroic past for the prewar South to a harsh criticism.
Mastern's tale is a melodrama of secret and scandalous love that results in tragedy for both lovers when Annabelle's husband, Duncan Trice — who is also Mastern's best friend — commits suicide. The affair ends in recriminations and self-loathing on both sides.
While the characterization in.....
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