The Pastures of Heaven is a short story cycle by John Steinbeck published by Brewer, Warren and Putnam in 1932.DeMott, 1996 p. 901
This episodic collection is composed of ten self-contained but related stories set in the Corral de Tierra of the Salinas Valley of California.Hughes, 1989 p. 90-91French, 1975 p. 54: "episodic form"Hughes, 1989. p. 92: Hughes refers to the prologue as "chap. 1" and the epilogue as "chap. 12"
The Pastures of Heaven was said by one critic "to rival The Long Valley (1938) as Steinbeck's major achievement in short fiction".Hughes, 1989. p. 89French, 1975 p. 54: Maxwell Geismar "ranks it as Steinbeck's best".
Short story cycle: Chapters I-XII The stories are presented here as per literary critics Richard. S. Hughes and Warren French. For clarity, the focal character is listed with the numerical section, as per Hughes.Hughes, 1989 pp. 90-119: Hughes analysis lists these by Chapters 1-11, with name of each key protagonist as title applied to each story. Prologue and Epilogue considered as Chapter 1 and Chapter 12 ("Conclusion")Steinbeck, 1996: the story cycle has no table of contents; consists of twelve chapters, headed by roman numerals, i.e. I, II, III, IV…etc.Hughes, 1987: Chapter 2, pp. 29-51: Hughes presents stories in format used here. Chapter I (Prologue) Chapter II ("George Battle") Chapter III ("Shark Wicks") Chapter IV ("Tularecito") Chapter V ("Helen Van Deventer") Chapter VI ("Junius Maltby") Chapter VII ("The Lopez Sisters") Chapter VIII ("Molly Morgan") Chapter IX ("Raymond Banks") Chapter X ("Pat Humbert") Chapter XI ("The Whitesides") Chapter XII (Epilogue)
Reception Characterizing The Pastures of Heaven as a collection of short stories rather than a novella, Saturday Review (November 26, 1932), praises Steinbeck for an aptitude that promises "richly human fiction" limited by merely "journalistic talent rather than of a creative imagination".McElrath, Jr. 2009. p.16
Critic Anita Moffet in The New York Times Book Review, November 20, 1932, reports Steinbeck conveys "deep feeling for the tragedy implicit in each situation…his writing is noteworthy for originality of phrase and image and a strongly poetic feeling".McElrath, Jr., 2009 p. 15-16
The Nation in its "Shorter Notices" section (December 7, 1932) remarks on the dichotomous structure of the book - "Not really a novel, nor yet a book of short stories", - and classifies the stories as "sketches". Praising the collection's "excellent analytical narratives, written in supple prose", the review closes with this caveat: "If Steinbeck could add social insight to his present equipment he would be a first-rate novelist".McElrath, Jr. 2009. p.18 Literary critic Joseph R. McElrath Jr. reports that the book "received a majority of positive reviews acknowledging the young writer's promise".McElrath, Jr., 2009 p xi
Background As early as May, 1931 Steinbeck reported that he was at work on a "series of related stories". In a letter to his agent Mavis McIntosh at McIntosh & Otis, Steinbeck wrote: "The manuscript is made up of stories, each one complete in itself, having its rise, climax and ending. Each story deals with a family or an individual."DeMott, 1996 p. 901: Note on the Texts, letter to McIntosh
The stories are based largely on a local Salinas Valley family, the Morans, whose history and character Steinbeck knew well. The Morans appear as the 'Munroes" in The Pastures of Heaven cycle and provide a "connecting link" for the narratives.French, 1975 p. 56: "...connecting link…" provided by Munroe family.Hughes, 1987 p. 29-30
Steinbeck completed the manuscript in December 1931. The publication of the book was complicated by a number of publisher bankruptcies. and was finally released by Brewer, Warren and Putnam in late 1932.DeMott, 1996 p. 901
Form and structure
The organization of the book's narrative into ten "chapters" has elicited commentary among critics. Biographer Warren French writes: "Argument still continues as to whether The Pastures of Heaven is a 'novel' at all or simply a loosely related collection of short stories."Hughes, 1989. p. 69: The Pastures of Heaven "contains at least nine complete tales."Hughes, 1987. p. 1French, 1875 p. 55
As a series of "autonomous stories" The Pastures of Heaven may be classified with "short-story cycles" comparable to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (1919) or William Faulkner's The Unvanquished (1938). As such, the tales which are simply presented numerically by Roman numerals, "can stand by themselves" as works of short fiction.French, 1975 p. 55-56Hughes, 1989 p. 10: Compared to Sherwood Anderson here. And p. 69: The Pastures of Heaven "contains at least nine complete tales".Hughes, 1987. p. 1, p. 3: "...invites comparison" to Wineburg, Ohio.
Steinbeck's fiction includes "short story cycles" in which the stories may be "highly unified" as in his novel-like Tortilla Flat (1935), or only loosely associated, as in The Red Pony (1933) comprising only three stories.Hughes, 1989. p. 90
The Pastures of Heaven was conceived by Steinbeck as a short story cycle. The unifying device is the presence of a single family residing in the valley, the Munroes, who appear, often as a physical link, in all the tales.Hughes, 1989. p. 91
Literary critic Robert S. Hughes Jr. emphasizes that the Munroe family exerts a passive, but often decisive influence, serving as "the catalyst but not the true cause of the downfall of several of their unsuspecting neighbors".Hughes, 1989. p. 91 The collection is also marked by an adamant irony that appears in the title itself, as well as the prologue and epilogue. Hughes writes:
Theme Biographer Warren French locates the key thematic element in "the heavy use of the kind of irony" that was encouraged by "New Critics" of the 1930s. The narratives place emphasis on the disparity between the aspirations of Steinbeck's protagonists and their "frustrating fulfillments".French, 1975 p. 55
In a May, 1931 letter to literary agent Mavis McIntosh, Steinbeck explained how devise the setting and thematic material for his story cycle:
Plot summaries and analysis Chapter I During the early pastoral period of California colonial occupation in 1776, a Spanish corporal and his mounted troopers pursue and capture a group of Indians - fugitive slaves from the Carmelo mission. En route, the corporal is enchanted by a lovely and verdant valley he dubs Las Pasturas del Cielo; he vows to return and settle there. The corporal contracts syphilis from an Indian concubine and suffers slow death before he can fulfill his dream. The valley remains unclaimed.
The prologue establishes the "ironic premise" that informs the subsequent stories. The Eden-like landscape is juxtaposed with the "misfortune and tragedy" suffered by subsequent inhabitants of the valley.Hughes, 1989 p. 92-93French, 1975 p. 55-56: "That the name The Pastures of Heaven is ironic is stressed by both a prologue and an epilogue that frame the ten tales of valley life." Warren French writes: "[T]he defeat of [the corporal's] dreams established the pattern for the tales constituting the book, which become - through the presence of the Munroe family - a novel than simply a collection of short stories."French, 1979 p. 70
Chapter II
The idyllic valley was gradually occupied by settlers in the mid-19th century. George Battle, age 18, fleeing the military draft. buys land and marries. His wife, a "religious fanatic and epileptic", bears a son: she is soon committed to an insane asylum. A succession of owners subsequently take possession of the parcel, each suffering a violent or mysterious fate. The Battle ranch earns a reputation as inherently evil. When Bert Munroe acquires the land, he and his young family appear to rehabilitate the reputation of the property among the community. Their very normalcy and innocence portends a revival of the Battle ranch curse.
The revival of sinister effects of the ranch are foreshadowed in Steinbeck's brief portraits of the Munroe family members. Now prosperous, Bert, his wife Mrs. Munroe and their teenage children, Mae and Jimmie, inadvertently intrude into the affairs of their neighbors. Community-minded and generally well-meaning, their behavior is frequently destabilizing and destructive to the most vulnerable residents of the valley.Hughes, 1989 pp. 94-96French, 1975 p. 57-58
Chapter III Edward "Shark" Wicks, his wife Katherine and their daughter Alice subsist on a very modest income from their farm produce.. Alice is strikingly beautiful and innocent. Though never abusive, Shark secretly covets her as he would a valuable art object. Fearing suitors, he constantly inquires about her "condition" provoking exasperation in Katherine. Shark has cultivated a reputation among his neighbors as an investment wizard and a miser who conceals his riches. He maintains a make-believe ledger through which he "manages" his fortune. The seventeen-year-old Jimmie Munroe, styling himself a "casanova" attempts to seduce Alice at a local party and steals a kiss: gossip ensues. Shark flies into a near homicidal rage, suspecting his daughter has been deflowered. He advances on the Munroe home with a loaded rifle in search of Jimmie, but is intercepted by a deputy sheriff. Bert Munroe hysterically accuses Shark of attempted murder. The bond hearing reveals that Shark is virtually penniless, exposing the myth of his purported wealth and business acumen. Shattered and shamed, his wife finds a new strength in herself to face the family's disgrace. Shark rallies at Katherine's faith in his potential to be a genuine success. The family leaves the valley forever.
Biographer Robert S. Hughes Jr. ranks the Shark Wicks narrative among the finest in the collection. The brief, yet revealing emergence of Katherine Wick's sense of self in her husband's moment of truth is a key thematic element in the tale. Hughes cites this passage:
Warren French suggests that the Wicks family "may have been served by the destruction of an illusion" thereby freeing Shark, Katherine and Alice from their stultifying existence in the valley.French, 1975 p. 60
Chapter IV Tularecito or "little frog" is a physically deformed man-child. Abandoned in infancy, he is raised by a local ranch owner. Even as a little boy he possesses immense physical strength. A superb farm worker, he is particularly skilled at caring for animals. He is normally passive and tractable: his only outbursts occur when his handiwork is molested. Tularecito begins to attend school at age eleven. Though lacking any aptitude for reading and writing, he reveals an extraordinary talent for drawing highly naturalistic and accurate images of local animals on the chalkboard. When he finds his creations erased in the morning, he flies into a rage; the traumatized teacher resigns. A new instructor, Miss Morgan, recognizes Tularecito's special needs and encourages them. She introduces him to fairy tales; he is particularly fascinated by the habits of gnomes. Lacking any intimate human relationships, Tularecito comes to believe that these mythical beings are members of his own race. Wishing to assuage his loneliness, he embarks on a quest to discover the Gnome's cave-dwellings. His search leads him to Bert Munroe's orchard, where he begins digging a tunnel at the base of a peach tree. He returns the next day to find Bert filling in the hole. Infuriated, Tularecito beats Bert senseless with the shovel. When a group of local men arrive to investigate they subdue him after a violent struggle. Tularecito is committed to an asylum for the criminally insane.Hughes, 1989 p. 99-100: Plot summary