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Chapter 8: Psychosocial Development in
Early Childhood
Introduction
Chapter 8 begins with discussion of the development of self-concept, self-definition, and
self-esteem. Cultural and developmental influences on these concepts are detailed.
Understanding emotion is another important aspect of psychosocial development during
the 3–6 year age span. Erikson suggests that the crucial developmental task during this time
period is initiative vs. guilt and that this is directly linked to how children acquire self-esteem.
Another critical task for children during the 3–6 year age range is formation of gender
identity. The authors explore five theoretical perspectives on gender development:
• biological approaches
• evolutionary development approaches
• psychoanalytic approaches
• socialization learning approaches
• cognitive approaches
The section on gender is concluded with a discussion of family, peer, and cultural influences.
The authors then examine play behaviors of children, including different types of play,
cognitive levels of play, social dimensions of play, imaginary playmates, gender, and culture
influences on play behaviors.
In the section of the chapter that addresses parenting, the authors make a distinction
between reinforcement and punishment forms of discipline. The authors then introduce Diana
Baumrind’s typology on parenting styles, which includes the following four styles:
• authoritarian
• permissive
• authoritative
• neglectful or uninvolved
Support and criticism for this model is also addressed, and the authors discuss cultural variance
in parenting styles. Several other important topics are highlighted in this section including
altruism, aggression, and fearfulness.
The chapter is concluded with a discussion on siblings, with special attention placed on
only children, as well as the importance of playmates and friends during early childhood.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss emotional and personality development in early childhood.
• Self-concept: Sense of self; descriptive and evaluative mental picture of one’s abilities
and traits.
• Cognitive construction: A system of descriptive and evaluative representations about the
self.
Self-Esteem
GENDER
• Gender identity: Awareness, developed in early childhood, that one is male or female.
Gender Differences
• Gender roles: Behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and traits that a culture considers
appropriate for males or for females.
• Gender-typing: Socialization process whereby children, at an early age, learn
appropriate gender roles.
• Gender stereotypes: Preconceived generalizations about male or female role behavior.
• Biological approach: Perspective on gender development that looks at the biological
bases of gender.
Biological Approaches
• Corpus callosum: The band of tissue joining the right and left cortical hemispheres.
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH): A female disorder in which females have high
prenatal levels of androgens resulting in ambiguous genitalia and other masculine
characteristics.
• Androgens: Male sex hormones.
• Estrogens: Female sex hormones.
• Theory of sexual selection: Darwin's theory that the selection of sexual partners is a
response to the differing reproductive pressures that early men and women confronted in
the struggle for survival of the species.
Psychoanalytic Approaches
Cognitive Approaches
• Gender constancy: Awareness that one will always be male or female. Also called sex-
category constancy. This appears to develop in three stages:
• Gender identity: Awareness of one's own gender and that of others.
• Gender stability: Realization that gender remains the same with age.
• Gender consistency: Realization that gender remains constant even if outward
appearances, like hairstyle or apparel, are altered.
Gender-Schema Theory
• Social learning theory: Walter Mischel and Albert Bandura’s expansion of social
learning theory; holds that children learn gender roles through socialization.
Family Influences
Peer Influences
Cultural Influences
• Functional play: In Piaget’s and Smilansky’s terminology, the lowest cognitive level of
play, involving repetitive muscular movements.
• Constructive play: In Piaget’s and Smilansky’s terminology, the second cognitive level
of play, involving use of objects or materials to make something.
• Dramatic play: In Piaget’s and Smilansky’s terminology, the third cognitive level of
play, involving imaginary people or situations; also called fantasy play, pretend play, or
imaginative play.
• Formal games with rules: In Piaget’s and Smilansky’s terminology, the fourth cognitive
level of play, involving organized games with known procedures and penalties, such as
hopscotch and marbles.
• Parallel constructive play: Playing near another child, but not directly interacting with
them.
• Reticent play: A combination of Parten's onlooker and unoccupied categories of play;
often seen as a manifestation of shyness or a prelude to joining in others’ play.
PARENTING
Forms of Discipline
• External reinforcements: Rewards for behavior that come from outside the child, such as
candy or praise.
• Internal reward: A sense of pleasure or accomplishment.
• Corporal punishment: Use of physical force with the intention of causing pain, but not
injury, to correct or control behavior.
• Psychological aggression: Aggression aimed at damaging or interfering with another
person's relationships, reputation, or psychological well-being; also called indirect,
covert, or relational aggression.
Parenting Styles
Prosocial Behavior
• Altruism: Behavior intended to help others out of inner concern and without expectation
of external reward; may involve self-denial or self-sacrifice.
• Prosocial behavior: Any voluntary behavior intended to help others.
Aggression
Influences on Aggression
Fearfulness
Sibling Relationships
Directions: Begin by asking the class, either as a whole or in small groups, how many of them
had an imaginary companion or “secret friend” when they were younger. If no one is willing to
disclose personal information, you might ask them to speculate on why they think some children
create imaginary companions. If they do disclose personal information, ask them to share more
details about the type of imaginary friend they had, how old they were when the friend appeared,
and any other details they feel comfortable sharing. Lead the class in a discussion of the function
of imaginary friends and any positive or negative reactions they have to this phenomenon.
Wrap-Up: Often students will see this behavior as an indication that children are
“psychologically disturbed,” at which point information from studies such Taylor, M., Carlson,
S. M., et al. (2004), can be presented to help students understand more fully the variables
involved in creating imaginary friends. A discussion of myths about imaginary friends is a good
way to conclude the session.
Reference:
Taylor, M., Carlson, S. M., et al.. (2004). The characteristics and correlates of fantasy in school-
age children: Imaginary companions, impersonation, and social understanding.
Developmental Psychology, 40, 1173–1187.
Objective: To help students identify young children's gender stereotypes and knowledge.
Directions: Show the following film clip from Connect: Gender stereotype beliefs at age 6.
After watching this film clip, have the class break into small groups.
The task for each group is to devise a list of questions that could be asked to children between
the ages of 3 and 6 to demonstrate their knowledge and beliefs about gender stereotypes. Have
each group generate a list of at least ten questions that the group thinks would best get the
children to reveal these beliefs and thoughts.
Objective: To begin a lecture on gender identity development and to address preconceived ideas
students may have about gender.
Directions: Information taken from Ann Rinzler’s book Why Eve Doesn't Have an Adam's
Apple: A Dictionary of Sex Differences makes for an interesting awareness lesson on gender.
Rinzler notes that men and women are not always the same, although they are equal. Ask
students some of the following questions, or refer to Rinzler’s work for more gender-related
questions.
1. Q: Whose hands are warmer? A: Usually a man’s, because at room temperature, healthy
men have a larger flow of blood to their fingers than do healthy women. When a woman
warms up, however, the flow of blood to her hands will exceed a man’s, because her
blood vessels are more expandable. Thus, a woman’s body can accept 40 percent more
blood during pregnancy, often with no increase in blood pressure.
2. Q: Whose armpits are smellier? A: A woman’s. Men perspire most heavily on the upper
chest from glands secreting only salts and water. Women sweat most heavily under the
arms from glands that secrete fatty substances in addition to salts and water. Bacteria
digest the fatty substances, and their by-products make this sweat smellier.
3. Q: Whose nose knows this rose from that rose? A: Probably a woman’s. The ability to
smell, taste, and hear is influenced by a variety of hormones, especially the adrenal
hormones. At almost every point in the cycle, a woman’s sense of smell is more acute.
Her senses become even sharper as the monthly production of estrogen increases,
peaking at ovulation.
4. Q: Who’s gasping for air in the bedroom? A: Probably a man. Men below age 55 are 10
to 15 times more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. After age 55, women catch up.
5. Q: Whose heart will still be beating when it’s 78 years old? A: Odds are, a woman’s. As
of 2003, life expectancy was about 80 for women, 74.3 for men.
Reference:
Rinzler, C. A. (1996). Why Eve doesn't have an Adam's apple: A dictionary of sex differences.
New York, NY: Facts on File.
Objective: To begin a lecture on gender identity development and to address preconceived ideas
that students may have about gender.
Directions: Social learning theory suggests that parental modeling of gender roles may play a
critical part in gender role identity development. Have students reflect on what kinds of
messages or models their own families demonstrated about gender. Because some students were
likely raised by single parents, make the questions more generic by asking students to include
their memories of close relatives or close friends. You may also want to include answers from
students in married or long-term relationships concerning their current arrangements. Sample
questions might include the following:
• Who most often drove the car?
• Who was in charge of buying presents for relatives?
• Who did the laundry?
• Who waters or mows the lawn?
Wrap-Up: Have students create a list of common household tasks and delineate them by gender.
This exercise is more interesting if students of different ages participate.
Objective: To examine how sex-role stereotypes may be depicted in cartoons that are watched
by young children.
Directions: Record a popular children’s television cartoon. Show the recording in class. Have
the students keep notes on the following factors as they view the show, and then discuss them at
the conclusion of the viewing.
• What are the numbers of male and female characters?
• How are the male and female characters dressed?
• What are the jobs of the male and female characters?
• Which character cares for children, protects others, shows nurturing behaviors?
• Which character displays aggression?
Wrap-Up: At the end of the session, total the information that was collected and discuss how
male and female role models are depicted. How might a boy or girl feel about this cartoon? How
might a child’s self-esteem be increased or diminished after watching this show?
Directions: This exercise is designed to help students think about gender-role messages acquired
through the socialization process. Have students generate as many clichés as they can about
appropriate behavior for girls and boys. Examples might include the following:
• “Big boys don’t cry.”
• “Take it like a man.”
• “Boys will be boys.”
• “Girls can’t do math.”
• “Sugar and spice and everything nice.”
• “Nice girls know how to keep their mouths shut.”
Once they have accumulated a list of phrases, have students discuss the validity of each cliché
and how such clichés might be useful and/or harmful.
A variation of this exercise is to take popular music and look for these gender-role messages.
Have each student bring an example of gender role development from a song. You can then pick
several of these and play the songs. Have the students discuss how music and music videos are a
major source of socialization for children and adults.
Objective: To have students discuss and develop a better understanding of common childhood
fears and effective/ineffective methods of dealing with them.
Directions: A good introduction to this topic is the short film Monsters in the Closet:
Childhood Fears, available from Films Media Group. Following the film, ask students who are
willing to share about their childhood fears. List the fears on the board and notice common
themes and unusual fears. It is interesting to examine the fears to see if there are gender
differences or generational differences if you have students of a wide variety of ages in the
classroom.
Reference:
Monsters in the closet: Childhood fears. (Films Media Group, 1997, 17 min.).
Directions: Is it possible to improve the lives of children by improving the quality of parenting?
Students might debate the following proposal:
Pro: A person must prove a minimal degree of competency to qualify to drive a car, graduate
from school, or practice a profession. It should not be assumed that individuals will be good
parents just because they are human. There are many controllable factors that can be used as
screening criteria to prevent the birth of impaired children and to eliminate detrimental home
environments. Genetic counseling, parenting classes, medical examinations, and husband-wife
planning are now common practices of concerned prospective parents. Licensing parents makes
just as much sense as licensing doctors, teachers, or electricians!
Con: The goal of making children healthy and happy is indeed an admirable one. However, this
goal cannot be used as an excuse to implement a pernicious, licensing bureaucracy that would
sanctify elitism by denying disfavored individuals the right to reproduce. There is no way to
establish what minimal competencies should be, let alone enforce the standards. Licensing would
not prevent poor parenting any more than licensing prevents poor driving. There are too many
other factors to consider. Individuals have the right to decide about their own parenting!
The following points give arguments that might be advanced to support each side of the debate.
1. Parents have the right to choose parenthood and bear its consequences.
2. The minimal standards could be changed capriciously or maliciously to include height,
weight, nearsightedness, skin color, education, income, and so on.
3. Who would make the decisions granting or denying permission for parenthood?
4. Scientists are not certain what a good parent is or whether a child has to have a competent
parent in order to be emotionally and physically healthy.
5. Some of the world's most competent, creative, and constructive individuals emerged from
handicapping conditions.
6. Birth-control methods are not always effective or practiced. What happens when an
"unlicensed pregnancy" is discovered?
References:
American Psychologist. Special issue. Psychology and children: Current research and practice.
1979 (Oct.), 34, See articles by Sroufe, Bronfenbrenner, David & Baldwin, Starr,
Schwarz, Kagan, and Shore.
Chamberlin, R., Szumowski, E., & Zastowny, T. An evaluation of efforts to educate mothers
about child development in pediatric office practices. American Journal of Public Health,
1979, 69, 875–886.
Students can be asked to vote anonymously for the debate winner or asked to write down what
they learned that they did not know before about parenting education.
Sample Answers
• As a young child, you would think that you are a girl, and you could become distressed
about what has happened.
• As an older child (7 or older), you would know that you are a boy and this may have been
embarrassing, but it did not make you into a girl.
Another variation can be added that asks about a 4-year-old girl with very short hair.
Sample Answers:
• First step: Single representations—Children's thinking is isolated, one-dimensional. They
cannot imagine having two emotions at once. They cannot decenter, or consider different
aspects of themselves at the same time. Thinking is all-or-nothing.
• Second step: Representational mappings—At about age 5 or 6, children begin to link one
aspect of their self to another. But the logical connections among parts of their images of
themselves are still expressed in completely positive, all-or-nothing terms.
• Third step: Representational systems—In middle childhood, children begin to integrate
features of themselves into a general, multidimensional concept. Self-descriptions
become more balanced and all-or-nothing thinking declines.
List the different types of play according to Parten. Provide an example of each type as
demonstrated in childhood and an example of how this type of play appears in adulthood.
Sample Answers
• Unoccupied play—child watches others in the room but without much attention; college
student relaxes after an exam with little attention
• Onlooker play—child stands and watches others play with a new bike; adult attends
sporting event or concert
This is a good chance for students to understand how play crosses the life span, even though it
may be more frequently observed in children.
Objective: To help develop awareness of media influences and social learning theory.
Directions: Watch two hours of children’s television to determine the number of gender-
stereotyped events. It may be helpful to record the two hours so you can stop the film while
writing.
Preparation:
Determine which two hours you will watch. Set up the recording equipment and get paper and a
pen. Before you watch the programs, think about examples of gender stereotyping. If the
characters were stereotyped, what would they look like? If the characters play stereotyped role,
what would they act like?
Your Report:
Write a paper giving your observations and your reactions. Your paper should have an
introduction that explains the assignment and how you carried it out. Your introduction should
define gender stereotyping. The body of the paper should summarize your observations and give
many examples. The conclusion should highlight the main findings of your observations and
your reactions.
Specifics:
Your paper should:
• be four to six pages long
• be typed, double spaced, and have one-inch margins.
• have a cover sheet that includes your name, the title of your paper, your ID#, course name
and section number, and the date
Objective: To help you gain a deeper understanding of altruism and aggression in children.
Directions:
Research:
Look for books, journal articles, magazine or newspaper articles, or reliable Internet sources that
discuss ways of fostering altruism and/or decreasing aggression in children. For this assignment,
you should focus is on specific ways parents can increase altruism and decrease aggression, as
opposed to a more theoretical or research-oriented approaches.
Write a brochure:
Based upon your research, write a brochure that gives parents very concrete and specific
suggestions for how they can increase altruism and decrease aggression in their children.
Objective: To learn more about research on media violence and its developmental influences on
children.
Directions: There is considerable debate about the issue of how TV violence affects children.
Some groups are convinced there is clear evidence that television violence increases the
likelihood of real-life violence. Some groups do not think the evidence is clear. Others propose
that watching violence can actually be an outlet for aggression and, thereby, reduce aggression.
Your instructor will assign one of the positions to you and perhaps assign a particular age group
for you to focus on. Your research and your paper should cover the side of the debate assigned to
you.
Research:
This topic continues to be controversial. As you research the effects of television violence on
children, try to separate facts and opinions. Look for controlled research studies. Try to
determine whether someone’s argument is based on opinion, correlational data, or experimental
data. Also, when reading about an experiment, pay attention to the age of the children involved.
The paper:
• should be typed, double spaced, and have one-inch margins
• should include a cover sheet that provides your name, the title of your paper, your ID#,
course name and section number, and the date
• must reference all your sources using APA format
Class Vote:
When the debate has ended, class members will vote on their position: (1) Television violence
does foster an increase in aggressive behavior in children, (2) television violence does not foster
an increase in aggressive behavior in children, or (3) more evidence is still needed to be certain
whether TV violence increases children’s aggressive behavior.
Directions: Choose three books that have children in the 3–6 age range as prominent characters.
There are numerous books in the children's section of the library. Pick books that develop the
characters of this age group to the extent that you can get a good view of their thinking styles.
Although there are many books to choose from, classic characters like Ramona, Fudge, and Junie
B. Jones are good choices.
Read the books, looking for examples that illustrate characteristics of children's cognitive styles
at this age. Look for specific examples regarding any topic in this chapter of your textbook,
related to children's thinking styles at this age, such as gender identity, self-esteem, altruism,
aggression, or emotions towards the self.
Write a paper:
Cite specific examples that illustrate concepts of children’s thinking. Include at least three
examples from each book. Summarize your findings and your conclusions as to the ability of the
authors to accurately portray the children's thinking styles in a manner appropriate for their age.
Specifics:
Your paper should:
• be two to four pages long
• be typed, double spaced, and have one-inch margins
• have a cover sheet that includes your name, the title of your paper, your ID#, course name
and section number, and the date
• reference all sources using APA format
Directions:
Make an appointment:
For this assignment you may observe at any type of preschool program. Call to make an
appointment to observe at a preschool. Be polite and courteous on the phone. It is also important
to be honest that this observation is a class assignment. Observing for one full day or half-day
would be the most valuable.
Observation:
Watch the children and note the following:
o the types of toys they prefer and whether these are gender-consistent
Record these observations and any others you feel are significant.
Write a Paper:
Write a paper giving your observations and your reactions. You should have an introduction that
explains the assignment and how you carried it out. The body of the paper should contain one
paragraph that summarizes your findings for each category listed above. The conclusion should
highlight the main findings of your observations.
Directions: The goal of this project is to interview preschool-age children about gender
stereotypes. Contact a preschool or Head Start center, and ask permission to interview children in
the age range of 3–5. Be sure to let the representative of the preschool know why you are
conducting these interviews and how they will be used. Give them time to ask parents'
permission, because you will be taping the children. If permission is granted, videotape the
children's answers to your questions.
Use the questionnaire generated by the class in Suggested Lecture Opener 8.3, or develop
your own. The questions should be age-appropriate questions designed to ascertain the children's
knowledge and beliefs about gender stereotyping. Include questions about the types of jobs the
preschoolers think boys and girls should have, roles in the home such as who cooks or washes
the clothes, and a host of other possible topic areas.
Take with you a doll or paper doll that looks gender ambiguous. Show the doll, dressed
as a boy, to the children, and tell the children that it is a boy. Then change its clothes to girls'
clothes. Ask them if the doll is now a boy or a girl to see if the idea of gender constancy has
developed. Let them elaborate about why the doll has or has not changed sex.
• Your questionnaire.
• A short (10–12 minute) video of the highlights of the interviews. Be prepared to show this
video to the class.
Directions: For this assignment you will need to visit the toy section in a local department store
or a toy store in your area. Try to pick a store that carries many types of toys for young children.
Walk through the toy store or toy section, and look closely at how the toys are packaged.
Are there boys or girls or both on the packages? Are the children American? What ethnic groups
are represented? If you compare the scene on the package to the toy that is being marketed, are
gender stereotypes being encouraged?
Also, consider the task of buying a gender-neutral toy. What toys can you find at the toy
store that do not encourage gender stereotyping in young children?
Your Report:
Write a paper giving your observations and your reactions. You should have an introduction that
explains the assignment and how you carried it out. Your introduction should define gender
stereotyping. The body of the paper should summarize your observations and give many
examples. The conclusion should highlight the main findings of your observations, your
reactions, and examples of gender-neutral toys.
Specifics:
Your paper should:
• be 4–6 pages long
• be typed, double spaced, and have one-inch margins
• have a cover sheet that includes your name, the title of your paper, your ID#, course name
and section number, and the date
• reference all sources using APA format
2. Visit a local preschool program or the preschool classroom(s) of a day care facility. How
often do conflicts arise among the children? Describe any displays of aggression you
observe. What seems to instigate aggressive interactions? Are there gender differences in
aggression? How do the caregivers respond to children's aggression? Try to characterize the
type of discipline they use.
3. Interview a parent of a single child and a parent of two children. Ask each parent about the
reasons for the decision to have either one or two children. In addition, ask each parent about
his or her beliefs about only children: In what ways are only children are different from
children with siblings? Compare the parents' responses with information in this chapter.
4. Watch an episode of Veggie Tales or Barney and look for examples of prosocial behavior.
What do you think young children watching this program would learn about altruism and
caring for others?
Siblings at Play Video 1.5 min 8.3 Describe play in early childhood.
The first years: What to expect. (Films Media Group, 2002, DVD 19 min.)
The toddler and preschool years. (Films Media Group, 2000, DVD 28 min.)
Bedtime tantrums, poor mealtime manners, whining for attention, refusing to share—all
are typical behaviors in young children that can test the patience of the most devoted
parent or caregiver. Filmed with real families, this program shows how to use positive
discipline techniques such as time-outs and problem solving to guide youngsters into
better behavior.
Suggested Readings
Axline, V. M. (1990). Dibs in search of self. New York, NY: Ballantine.
This immensely moving and readable classic is the story of the play therapy that enabled
a silent, withdrawn child to become his true, intelligent, and emotionally expressive self.
Farber, A., & Mazlish, E. (2004). Siblings without rivalry, expanded edition. New York, NY:
Harper Collins.
This book offers dozens of practical guidelines and real-life examples for fostering
healthy and cooperative sibling relationships. Updated with new information in its 10th
anniversary edition.
Gimpel, G., & Holland, M. (2003) Emotional and behavioral problems of young children.
New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Gimpel, a professor of psychology at Utah State University, and Holland, a therapist in
private practice, provide tools and resources for addressing common emotional and
behavioral problems in preschool and kindergarten children, discussing problems with
eating and sleeping, as well as the effects of physical and sexual abuse. They
demonstrate a variety of assessment methods and offer guidelines for planning and
implementing home- and school-based interventions.
Lantieri, L., & Goleman, D. (2008). Building emotional intelligence. Boulder, CO: Sounds
True Inc.
In Building Emotional Intelligence, pioneering educator Linda Lantieri joins forces with
internationally renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman to offer a guide for helping
children quiet their minds, calm their bodies, and identify and manage their emotions.
Based on Goleman's years of study and research in the importance of emotional
intelligence to success.
Gardere, J. (2002). Smart parenting for African-Americans: Helping your kids thrive in a
difficult world. New York, NY: Dafina.
A realistic guide for today's parents raising African-American children. The author
looks at some major threats to black children--including academic failure, drugs, gangs,
irresponsible sex, and attraction to crime.
Landreth, G. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship, 2nd ed. New York: Brunner-
Routledge.
Provides comprehensive and detailed information for creating therapeutic relationships
with children and facilitating the play therapy process. Guidelines, transcripts, and case
examples are provided for governing sensitive issues at every stage of the therapeutic
process, from the first meeting to the end of the relationship.
Rinzler, C. A. (1996). Why Eve doesn't have an Adam's apple: A dictionary of sex
differences. New York, NY: Facts on File.
The premise for Rinzler's book is that men and women, though equal, are clearly not the
same. Her dictionary spans the broad spectrum of sex differences. A list of references
arranged under dictionary terms concludes the book, providing readers with full
Rubin, L. B. (1997). The transcendent child: Tales of triumph over the past. New York, NY:
Harper.
This book contains inspirational case studies of children who have exhibited resiliency
and overcome difficult experiences to triumph in their present circumstances.
Web Resources
The Child Psychologist
http://www.childpsychology.com/
This site contains a wealth of information on specific childhood and adolescent mental
health issues and concerns including diagnosis and treatment terminology.
Discipline
http://www.loveandlogic.com/t-parents.aspx?gclid=CJ2pltjg_L8CFUVo7Aod5F8ADA
This site has a variety of books and training for parenting.
V
MR. WELLAWAY’S host and his host’s wife descended the stairs
together just as the maid issued from the dining-room to announce
dinner, and once seated, the conversation turned to the storm, to the
utter disruption of the telephone service, and to the game of golf the
two men had been unable to finish. In the midst of the conversation
Mr. Wellaway studied the monogram on the handles of his fork and
spoon. It was one of those triumphs of monogrammery that are so
beautiful as to be absolutely illegible. The name on the butter-knife
handle was legible, however. It was “Sarah.”
The soup had been consumed, and the roast carved when Mr.
Wellaway’s host looked at his wife and raised his eyebrows. She
smiled in acknowledgment of the signal.
“Don’t you think some names are supremely odd?” she asked Mr.
Wellaway. “My husband was telling me of one that came under his
notice to-day. What was it, dear?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t have noticed it but for the circumstances,” said
Mr. Wellaway’s host; “but it was a rather ridiculous name for a human
being. Can you imagine any one carrying around the name of
Wellaway?”
Mr. Wellaway gasped.
“Imagine being a Wellaway!” said Sarah. “Isn’t it an inhospitable
name? It seems to suggest ‘Good-by; I’m glad you’re gone.’ Doesn’t
it?”
“I can see the man with my mind’s eye,” said Mr. Wellaway’s
host. “A tall, thin fellow, with sandy sideburns. Probably a floor-
walker in some shop, with a perpetual smile.”
“But tell him the rest,” said Sarah, chuckling.
“Oh, the rest—that’s too funny!” said Mr. Wellaway’s host. “I had
a letter this morning from this Mrs. Wellaway—”
Mr. Wellaway turned very red and moved uneasily in his chair.
“I ought to tell you that—that I know Mrs. Wellaway,” he
stammered. “I—I know her quite well. In fact—”
“Then you’ll appreciate this,” said his host, merrily. “You know the
business I’m in. Every one knows it. So you can imagine how I
laughed when I read this letter.”
From the inside pocket of his coat Mr. Wellaway’s host took a
letter. He removed the envelop and placed it on the table, address
down.
“Listen to this,” he said: “‘Dear Sir: Only the greatest anguish of
mind induces me to write to you and ask your assistance. It may be
that I am the victim of an insane jealousy, but I fear the explanation
is not so innocent. I distrust my husband, and anything is better than
the pangs of uncertainty I now suffer. If your time is not entirely
taken, I wish, therefore, to engage you to make certain that my fears
are baseless or well founded. Please consider the matter as most
confidential, for I am only addressing you because I know that when
a matter is put in your hands it never receives the slightest publicity.
Yours truly, Mrs. Edgar Wellaway.’”
When he had read the letter, Mr. Wellaway’s host lay back in his
chair and laughed until the tears ran from his eyes, and his wife
joined him, and their joy was so great they did not notice that Mr.
Wellaway turned from red to white and choked on the bit of food he
had attempted to swallow. When they observed him, he was rapidly
turning purple, and with one accord they sprang from their chairs and
began thumping him vigorously on the back. In a minute they had
thumped so vigorously that Mr. Wellaway was pushing them away
with his hands. He was still gasping for breath when they half led,
half carried him to the parlor and laid him on a lounge.
“By George!” said his host, self-accusingly, “I shouldn’t have read
you that letter. But I didn’t know you would think it so funny as all
that. Do you feel all right now?”
“I feel—I feel—” gasped Mr. Wellaway. He could not express his
feelings.
“Well, it was funny, writing that to me, of all people, wasn’t it?”
said Mr. Wellaway’s host. “‘Not the slightest publicity.’ I suppose she
looked up the name in the telephone directory, and got the wrong
address. I know the fellow she was writing to. Same name as mine.
Same middle initial. Think you can finish that dinner now?”
“No, thank you,” said Mr. Wellaway. “I think I’d like to rest here.”
“Just as you wish,” said his host. “Hello! There’s the telephone
bell. You can ’phone your wife now, if you wish.”
“No, thank you,” said Mr. Wellaway, meekly. “I’ll not. It’s of no
importance—no importance whatever.”
VI
“WELL, what do you think!” exclaimed Mr. Wellaway’s host’s wife a
few minutes later, as she entered the parlor. “Of all the remarkable
things! You would never guess it. Who do you think just called me on
the ’phone? That Mrs. Wellaway!”
“No!” exclaimed Mr. Wellaway’s host, and Mr. Wellaway sat
straight up on the lounge.
“But she did,” said Sarah. “And she’s hunting that distrusted
husband! She telephoned the country club, and the steward told her
there had been no strangers there except your guest, so she
telephoned here! Imagine the assurance of the—”
She stopped short and stared at Mr. Wellaway. He was going
through all the symptoms of intense pain accompanied by loss of
intelligence. Then he asked feebly,
“What—what did you tell her?”
“I told her he wasn’t here, and hadn’t been here, of course,” said
Mr. Wellaway’s hostess, “and that we did not know any such man,
and that I didn’t believe he had come to Westcote at all, and that if I
had a husband I couldn’t trust, I’d keep better track of him than she
did.”
“Did you—did you tell her all that?” asked Mr. Wellaway with
anguish.
They stared at him in dismay.
“See here,” said his host, suddenly, “are you Mr. Wellaway?”
For answer Mr. Wellaway dropped back on the lounge and
covered his face with his hands.
“Now, I’ll never, never be able to make Mary believe I was here,”
he said, and then he groaned miserably.
VII
“OH, I’m so sorry!” said Mr. Wellaway’s hostess in real distress.
“We were absolutely unaware, Mr. Wellaway. We meant no harm.
Roger did not know your name. But you can fix it all right. You can
telephone Mrs. Wellaway that you are here. Telephone her
immediately.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Wellaway. “I’ll do that. That’s what I must do,” and
he went up the stairs to the telephone. He returned in ten minutes
and found his host and hostess sitting opposite each other, staring at
each other with sober faces. They looked at him eagerly as he
entered. His face showed no relief.
“She says,” he said, “she says she don’t believe I’m here. She
says I could telephone from anywhere, and say I was anywhere else.
She says she just telephoned here, and knows I’m not here. And
then she asked me where I was telephoning from, and—”
Mr. Wellaway broke down and hid his face in his hands.
“And I didn’t know where I was telephoning from!” he moaned. “I
didn’t know the street or the house number, or—or the name!”
“You didn’t know the name!” cried Mr. Wellaway’s host. “You
didn’t know my name was Murchison?”
“Murchison?” said Mr. Wellaway, blankly. “Not the—not the
Murchison? Not Roger P. Murchison, the advertising agent, the
publicity man?”
“Of course,” said Mr. Wellaway’s host. For a full minute Mr.
Wellaway stared at Mr. Murchison.
“I know,” said Mr. Wellaway. “You eat at the Fifth Avenue! You sit
by the palm just to the left of the third window every noon.”
“By George!” exclaimed Mr. Murchison. “I knew your face was
familiar. And you sit at the end table right by the first window. Why,
I’ve seen you there every day for a year.”
“Of course you have,” said Mr. Wellaway, cheerfully. “That
explains everything. It makes it all as simple as—” His face fell
suddenly. “But it doesn’t make it any easier about Mary.”
Mr. Murchison might have said that Mary was none of his
concern, but he creased his brow in thought.
“Sarah,” he said at length, “run up-stairs and telephone Mrs.
Wellaway that her husband is here. Tell her he means to stay over
Sunday, and that he wants her to hire a taxicab and come out
immediately and stay over Sunday. Tell her our game of golf was a
tie, and I insist that Mr. Wellaway play off the tie to-morrow
afternoon.”
Mrs. Murchison disappeared.
“And now,” said Mr. Murchison, genially, “you know my name,
and you know my business, and I know your name, and everything is
all right, and I’m mighty glad to know you as long as you are not a
floor-walker. Oh, pardon me!” he added quickly, “you are not a floor-
walker, are you? You didn’t say what your business was.”
Mr. Wellaway blushed.
“Names,” he said. “I’m a genealogist. My business is looking up
names.”
Drawn by Henry Raleigh
“MR. WELLAWAY’S HOST THREW HIS BAG OF CLUBS ON THE
GRASS AS THOUGH IT WERE RED HOT, AND STARTED AT A
FULL RUN FOR THE CLUB-HOUSE”
STELLA MARIS
BY WILLIAM J. LOCKE
Author of “The Beloved Vagabond,” “The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne,” “Septimus,”
“The Glory of Clementina,” etc.
CHAPTER XXII
T HEY found him lying on the sofa, a pitiable object, the whole of
his head from the back of his neck to his eyebrows swathed in
bandages. His clothes were mere limp and discolored
wrappings. They looked as though they had been wet through, for
the red of his tie had run into his shirt-front and collar. The coarse
black sprouts on pallid cheek and upper lip gave him an appearance
of indescribable grime. His eyes were sunken and feverish.
Unity uttered a little cry as she saw him, but checked it quickly,
and threw herself on her knees by his side.
“Thank God you’re alive!”
He put his hand on her head.
“I’m all right,” he said faintly; “but you shouldn’t have come.
That’s why I didn’t go straight home. I didn’t want to frighten you. I’m
a ghastly sight, and I should have scared your aunt out of her wits.”
“But how, in Heaven’s name, man,” said Herold, “did you get into
this state?”
“Something hit me over the head, and I spent the night in rain
and sea-water on the rocks.”
“On the rocks? Where? At Southcliff?”
“Yes,” said John, “at Southcliff. I was a fool to go down, but I’ve
been a fool all my life, so a bit more folly doesn’t matter.” He closed
his eyes. “Give me a drink, Wallie—some brandy.”
Herold went into the dining-room, which adjoined the library, and
returned with decanter, syphon, and glasses. He poured out a
brandy and soda for John and watched him drink it; then he realized
that he, too, would be the better for stimulant. With an abstemious
man’s idea of taking brandy as medicine, he poured out for himself
an extravagant dose, mixed a little soda-water with it, and gulped it
down.
“That’ll do me good,” said John; but on saying it he fell to
shivering, despite the heat of the summer afternoon.
“You’ve caught a chill,” cried Unity. She counseled home and bed
at once.
“Not yet,” he murmured. “It was all I could do to get here. Let me
rest for a couple of hours. I shall be all right. I’m not going to bed,” he
declared with sudden irritability; “I’ve never gone to bed in the
daytime in my life. I’ve never been ill, and I’m not going to be ill now.
I’m only stiff and tired.”
“You’ll go to bed here right away,” said Herold.
John protested. Herold insisted.
“Those infernal clothes—you must get them off at once,” said he.
John being physically weak, his natural obstinacy gave way. Unity
saw the sense of the suggestion; but it was giving trouble.
“Not a bit,” said Herold. “There’s a spare bedroom. John can
have mine, which is aired. Mrs. Ripley will see to it.”
He went out to give the necessary orders. Unity busied herself
with unlacing and taking off the stiffened boots. Herold returned,
beckoned to Unity, and whispered that he had telephoned for a
doctor. Then he said to John:
“How are you feeling, dear old man?”
“My head’s queer, devilish queer. Something fell on it last night
and knocked me out of time. It was raining, and I was sheltering
under the cliff on the beach, the other side of the path, where you
can see the lights of the house, when down came the thing. I must
have recovered just before dawn; for I remember staggering about in
a dazed way. I must have taken the road round the cliff, thinking it
the upper road, and missed my footing and fallen down. I came to
about nine this morning, on the rocks, the tide washing over my legs.
I’m black and blue all over. Wonder I didn’t break my neck. But I’m
tough.”
“Thank God you’re alive!” said Unity again.
He passed his hands over his eyes. “Yes. You must have thought
all manner of things, dear. I didn’t realize till Ripley told me that I
hadn’t let you know. I went out, meaning to catch the 7:15 and come
back by the last train. But this thing knocked all memory out of me.
I’m sorry.”
Herold looked in bewilderment at the stricken giant. Even now he
had not accounted for the lunatic and almost tragic adventure. What
was he doing on the beach in the rain? What were the happenings
subsequent to his recovering consciousness at nine o’clock?
“Does it worry you to talk?” he asked.
“No. It did at first—I mean this morning. But I’m all right now—
nearly all right. I’d like to tell you. I picked myself up, all over blood, a
devil of a mess, and crawled to the doctor’s—not Ransome; the
other chap, Theed. He’s the nearest; and, besides, I didn’t want to
go to Ransome. I don’t think any one saw me. Theed took me in and
fixed me up and dried my clothes. Of course he wanted to drag me
to the Channel House, but I wouldn’t let him. I made him swear not
to tell them. I don’t want them to know. Neither of you must say
anything. He also tried to fit me out. But, you know, he’s about five
foot nothing; it was absurd. As soon as I could manage it, he stuck
me in a train, much against his will, and I came on here. That’s all.”
“If only I had known!” said Herold. “I was down there all the
morning.”
“You?”
“I had a letter from Julia, summoning me.”
“So had I.” He closed his eyes again for a moment. Then he
asked, “How is Stella?”
“I had a long talk with her. I may have straightened things out a
bit. She’ll come round. There’s no cause for worry for the present.
Julia is a good soul, but she has no sense of proportion, and where
Stella is concerned she exaggerates.”
When a man has had rocks fall on his head, and again has fallen
on his head upon rocks, it is best to soothe what is left of his mind.
And after he had partly soothed it,—a very difficult matter, first,
because it was in a troubled and despairing state, and, secondly,
because John, never having taken Unity into his confidence,
references had to be veiled,—he satisfied the need of another
brandy and soda. Then Ripley came in to announce that the room
was ready.
“Ripley and I will see to him,” said Herold to Unity. “You had
better go and fetch him a change of clothes and things he may
want.”
“Mayn’t I wait till the doctor comes?” she pleaded.
“Of course, my dear. There’s no hurry,” said Herold.
The two men helped Risca to his feet, and, taking him to the
bedroom, undressed him, clothed him in warm pajamas, and put him
into the bed, where a hot-water bottle diffused grateful heat. Herold
had seen the livid bruises on his great, muscular limbs.
“Any one but you,” said he, with forced cheeriness, “would have
been smashed to bits, like an egg.”
“I tell you I’m tough,” John growled. “It’s only to please you that I
submit to this silly foolery of going to bed.”
As soon as Ripley was dismissed, he called Herold to his side.
“I would like to tell you everything, Wallie. I couldn’t in the other
room. Unity, poor child, knows nothing at all about things. Naturally. I
had been worried all the afternoon. I thought I saw her—you know—
hanging about outside the office. It was just before I met you at the
club. I didn’t tell you,—perhaps I ought to,—but that was why I was
so upset. But you’ll forgive me. You’ve always forgiven me. Anyway, I
thought I saw her. It was just a flash, for she, if it was she, was
swallowed up in the traffic of Fleet Street. After leaving the club, I
went back to the office—verification in proofs of something in
Baxter’s article. I found odds and ends to do. Then I went home, and
Julia’s letter lay on my table. I’ve been off my head of late, Wallie.
For the matter of that, I’m still off it. I’ve hardly slept for weeks. I
found Julia’s letter. I looked at my watch. There was just time to
catch the 7:15. I ran out, jumped into a taxi, and caught it just as it
was starting. But as I passed by a third-class carriage,—in fact, I
realized it only after I had gone several yards beyond; one rushes,
you know,—I seemed to see her face—those thin lips and cold eyes
—framed in the window. The guard pitched me into a carriage. I
looked out for her at all the stations. At Tring Bay the usual crowd got
out. I didn’t see her. No one like her got out at Southcliff. What’s the
matter, Wallie?” He broke off suddenly.
“Nothing, man; nothing,” said Herold, turning away and fumbling
for his cigarette-case.
“You looked as if you had seen a ghost. It was I who saw the
ghost.” He laughed. And the laugh, coming from the haggard face
below the brow-reaching white bandage, was horrible.
“Your brain was playing you tricks,” said Herold. “You got to
Southcliff. What happened?”
“I felt a fool,” said John. “Can’t you see what a fool a man feels
when he knows he has played the fool?”
Bit by bit he revealed himself. At the gate of the Channel House
he reflected. He had not the courage to enter. Stella would be up and
about. He resolved to wait until she went to bed. He wandered down
to the beach. The rain began to fall, fine, almost imperceptible. The
beacon-light in the west window threw a vanishing shaft into the
darkness.
“We saw it once—don’t you remember?—years ago when you
gave her the name—Stellamaris. I sat like a fool and watched the
window. How long I don’t know. My God! Wallie, you don’t know what
it is to be shaken and racked by the want of a woman—”
“By love for a woman, you mean,” said Herold.
“It’s the same thing. At last I saw her. She stood defined in the
light. She had changed. I cried out toward her like an idiot,”—the
rugged, grim half face visible beneath the bandage was grotesque, a
parody of passion,—“and I stayed there, watching, after she had
gone away. How long I don’t know. It was impossible to ring at the
door and see Oliver and Julia.”
He laughed again. “You must have some sense of humor, my
dear man. Fancy Oliver and Julia! What could I have said to them?
What could they have said to me? I sat staring up at her window.
The rain was falling. Everything was still. It was night. You know how
quiet everything is there. Then I seemed to hear footsteps and I
turned, and a kind of shape—a woman’s—disappeared. I know I was
off my head, but I began to think. I had a funny experience once—
I’ve never told you. It was the day she came out of prison. I sat down
in St. James’s Park and fell half asleep,—that sort of dog sleep one
has when one’s tired,—and I thought I saw her going for Stella—
Stella in her bed at the Channel House—going to strangle her. This
came into my mind, and then something hit me,—a chunk of
overhanging cliff loosened by the rain, I suppose,—and, as I’ve told
you, it knocked me out. But it’s devilish odd that she should be mixed
up in it.”
“As I said, your brain was playing you tricks,” said Herold,
outwardly calm; but within himself he shuddered to his soul. The
woman was like a foul spirit hovering unseen about those he loved.
Presently the doctor, a young man with a cheery face, came in
and made his examination. There was no serious damage done. The
only thing to fear was the chill. If the patient’s temperature went
down in the morning, he could quite safely be moved to his own
home. For the present rest was imperative, immediate sleep
desirable. He wrote a prescription, and with pleasant words went
away. Then Unity, summoned to the room, heard the doctor’s
comforting opinion.
“I’ll be with you to-morrow,” said John.
“You don’t mind leaving him to Mrs. Ripley and me just for one
night?” asked Herold.
“He’s always safe with you,” Unity replied, her eyes fixed not on
him, but on John Risca. “Good-by, Guardian dear.”
John drew an arm from beneath the bedclothes and put it round
her thin shoulders. “Good-by, dear. Forgive me for giving you such a
fright, and make my peace with auntie. You’ll be coming back with
my things, won’t you?”
“Of course; but you’ll be asleep then.”
“I shouldn’t wonder,” said John.
She made him cover up his arm again and tucked the bedclothes
snugly about him, her finger-tips lingering by his cheeks.
“I’ll leave you, too. Try and get to sleep,” said Herold.
They went together out of the room and back to the library.
“Has he said anything more?”
He stood before her trembling all over.
“What is the matter?”
He burst into an uncontrollable cry. “It’s that hellish woman again!
He saw her spying on him outside his office, he saw her in a railway
carriage on the train he took. Because she disappeared each time,
he thinks it was an hallucination; and somehow he was aware of her
presence just before the piece of rock came down.”
Unity’s face beneath the skimpy hair and rubbishy tam-o’-shanter
was white and strained.
“She threw it. I knew she threw it.”
“So do I. He saw her. She disappeared as she did that night in
the fog. A woman like that isn’t human. She has the power of
disappearing at will. You can’t measure her cunning.”
“What did he go down for?”
He told her. Unity’s lips twitched.
“And he sat there in the rain just looking at her window?”
She put out her hand. “Good-by, Mr. Herold. When you see Miss
Stellamaris, you’ll tell her I’m a good girl—in that way, you know—
and that I love her. She has been a kind of beautiful angel to me—
has always been with me. It’s funny; I can’t explain. But you
understand. If you’d only let her see that, I’d be so happy—and
perhaps she’d be happier.”
“I’ll do my utmost,” said Herold.
He accompanied her down-stairs, and when she had gone, he
returned to the library and walked about. The horror of the woman
was upon him. He drank another brandy and soda. After a while
Ripley came in with a soiled card on a tray. He looked at it stupidly
—“Mr. Edwin Travers”—and nodded.
“Shall I show the gentleman up?”
He nodded again, thinking of the woman.
When the visitor came in he vaguely recognized him as a broken-
down actor, a colleague of early days. As in a dream he bade the
man sit down, and gave him cigarettes and drink, and heard with his
outer ears an interminable tale of misfortune. At the end of it he went
to his desk and wrote out a check, which he handed to his guest.