Penelope Niven

by Thornton Wilder

  Untermeyer, Louis, 312

  Updike, John, 675

  Valéry, Paul, 308–9, 429

  Van Dusen, Henry Pitney, 321

  Van Heusen, Jimmy, 652

  Van Vechten, Carl, 578

  Varney, Ellwood, Jr., 81

  Vega Carpio, Lope Félix de, 213, 214, 549, 571, 593, 594, 595, 596, 605, 607, 622, 637, 647

  Verdi, Giuseppe, 695

  Verdi, William Francis, 301

  Verhaeren, Émile, 27, 122

  Verissimo, Erico, 519

  Villegas, Micaela (Perichole), 305, 307, 311, 499

  Voltaire, 404

  Wager, Charles H. A., 96, 131, 142, 154–55, 183

  academic career of, 118

  encouragement from, 109, 110, 121, 136, 216, 269–70, 458

  and TNW at Oberlin, 104, 114, 118, 122, 126, 132, 134

  TNW’s letters to, 144, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 156, 203, 263

  Wagner, Charles L., 271, 299

  Waldinger, Ernst, 497

  Walker, Coleman, 284

  Walpole, Horace, 213, 317, 679

  Walpole, Hugh, 312, 314, 339–40

  Walter, Bruno, 403

  Waram, Percy, 471

  Washburn, Alice F., 329

  Waters, Ethel, 643

  Watson, James D., 698

  Weeks, Edward “Ted,” 295–96, 655

  Weingartner, Felix, 403

  Weissman, Herman, 558

  We Live Again (film), 384, 386

  Welles, Orson, 395, 406, 452, 509, 531, 532, 553

  Wells, H. G., 234, 413, 526

  Wertheimer, Amy Weil, 248, 667

  and friendship, 260–61, 270–72, 283, 289, 292, 299

  TNW’s letters to, 249, 252, 254, 256–59, 271–72, 280, 291–92, 366, 398, 400, 414, 420, 444, 543, 550, 563, 577, 589, 662, 666, 676, 681

  Wescott, Glenway, 278, 298, 313, 319, 438, 591, 653

  West, Rebecca, 233, 526

  Wharton, Edith, 278, 319, 447

  White, E. B., 663

  Whitehead, Alfred North, 428

  Whitman, Walt, 343, 410, 438, 439, 607, 608, 609, 615

  Whitney, William Dwight, 189, 666

  Wilcox, Wendell, 437, 523

  Wilder, Amos Lincoln (grandfather), 2, 8, 39

  Wilder, Amos Niven (brother):

  birth of, 1, 11

  in California, 25–28, 37, 49, 55, 56, 58, 64, 69–70

  and Charlotte’s illness, 515, 518, 521, 696

  childhood of, 1–2, 17–18, 22–28, 32–35

  Croix de Guerre awarded to, 157

  death of, 701

  and farmwork, 24, 65, 80–82, 93

  health problems of, 376–78, 513

  and his father, 29, 47, 52, 65, 99, 229, 235, 250, 368, 415

  and his mother, 138

  in Hong Kong, 19, 22–25

  honorary degrees to, 617, 646

  in Maine, 111, 616

  marriage to Catharine, 377–78, 380, 399, 411, 412

  memories of, 14, 15, 26–27, 29

  and the ministry, 250, 255, 273, 291

  and money matters, 26–27, 79, 420

  in New Haven, 229, 230

  at Oberlin, 73, 75, 77, 78, 83, 94, 96, 123, 147

  at Oxford, 174, 195, 205, 216, 218–19, 223

  personality of, 65, 70, 73–74, 93

  poetry of, 34, 139, 218–19, 250, 291, 367, 376, 484, 515–16, 687

  and religion, 13, 115, 192, 376

  retirement of, 663

  schooling of, 23, 37, 47, 69–70

  and tennis, 33, 35, 70, 99, 105, 112, 179, 223

  and TNW’s work, 394, 600–601

  at University of Brussels, 179, 192

  at University of Chicago, 617

  wife and family of, 418, 429, 484, 518, 554

  and World War I, 83–84, 115–16, 117–18, 122–23, 127–28, 136–37, 144, 150, 154, 157, 159, 164, 166–67, 169, 172, 235, 376

  at Yale, 84, 89, 92, 98, 144, 147, 174, 178, 179, 223, 239, 250, 376

  Wilder, Amos Parker (father):

  advice to children from, 32–36, 48, 126, 143, 168, 194–95, 201, 207, 209, 228–29, 236, 250, 297, 328

  aging of, 346, 364, 369, 410

  birth of, 2

  in California, 80–81

  children of, 1, 14, 23–24, 29, 37, 368, 513–14

  control wielded by, 38, 49, 56, 65–67, 73–74, 75, 80–83, 89, 92, 93, 98, 99, 104–5, 111, 116, 125–26, 134–35, 140, 141, 146, 159, 164, 173, 179, 188, 195, 200–202, 229, 235–36, 239, 260, 364, 367–68

  death of, 415–16, 701

  early years of, 3, 8–10, 68

  farmwork for sons of, 24, 35, 65, 74, 80–82, 93, 100, 105, 106, 110, 129, 134, 140, 179

  health problems of, 57–58, 61, 65–66, 67, 76, 78–79, 82, 84, 98, 188, 235, 328, 364, 378, 387, 398, 410–11, 412

  in Hong Kong, 18–25, 29–30, 31

  and Isabella, 6, 7–8, 25, 29, 50–51, 140, 188, 229, 230, 274

  and money matters, 9, 20–21, 26–27, 51, 55–57, 58, 69, 79, 119, 190, 195–96, 200, 226–27, 236, 260, 297, 326, 328, 364–65, 420

  moralizing letters from, 33–35, 45, 48, 73, 99, 108, 187–89, 216, 303, 364, 368, 378, 516

  as newspaperman, 10, 12–14, 15–16, 51, 57, 323, 329, 415

  as public speaker, 7, 10, 12–13, 16, 31, 61, 76, 121, 138, 172, 188, 217, 234

  and religion, 13, 48

  in Shanghai, see China

  and Six O-Clock Club, 12

  as teetotaler, 3, 15, 22–23, 30, 36, 38, 55, 75, 76, 95

  vacations taken by, 80, 82, 111, 208, 275

  and World War I, 116, 118, 128, 164, 165, 166, 168

  at Yale, 8–9, 10, 146, 178, 239

  and Yale-in-China, 82, 98, 116, 121, 138, 150, 188

  Wilder, Amos Tappan (nephew), 484, 665, 702

  Wilder, Catharine Dix “Dixie” (niece), 418, 666, 678, 693

  Wilder, Catharine Kerlin (ANW’s wife), 377–78, 380, 399, 411, 412, 418, 429, 484, 616, 701

  Wilder, Charlotte Elizabeth (sister):

  awards and honors to, 411, 484–85

  birth of, 1, 11

  in Boston, 219, 234, 250–51

  in California, 25–28, 37, 64, 66, 71–72, 75, 83

  at Chefoo school, 46–49, 51, 52, 58, 59, 71

  childhood of, 1–2, 17, 22–28, 32–35

  in China, 38, 47–49, 54–55, 57

  death of, 701

  emotional and mental health of, 255–56, 409, 510–11, 512–19, 521–22, 524–25, 528, 529, 533, 534, 557–58, 574, 575–76, 578, 582–83, 617–20, 625, 695–97

  in Europe, 174, 189, 196, 215

  and family separations, 49, 57, 70–71, 85, 375–76

  and her father, 34, 35, 47, 48, 52, 80, 82, 141, 229, 367–68, 373–74, 415, 513–14

  in Hong Kong, 19, 22–25

  independence sought by, 285–86, 329, 373–76, 411, 417, 456, 482, 514–15, 583, 618

  lobotomy of, 513, 583, 618–19

  and money matters, 205, 219, 420, 456, 482, 514, 521, 524–25

  at Mount Holyoke, 92, 98–99, 102, 114, 116, 140–41, 144, 150, 164, 174, 255

  personality of, 47, 52, 71, 85, 141, 188, 291

  poetry of, 34, 84, 139, 141, 196, 219, 251, 255, 367, 369, 373, 411, 429, 460, 484–85, 515–16

  at Radcliffe, 239, 255

  and sexuality, 368, 374–75, 515–16

  at Smith College, 323, 329, 373

  summer activities, 80, 82, 104–5

  teaching, 291, 323, 329

  and temperance pledge, 55

  and TNW’s work, 346, 516

  and WPA, 411, 429, 482

  and YWCA, 174, 189

  Wilder, Charlotte Elizabeth (sister), writings of:

  “Hollows,” 141

  “In a Corner of France,” 273

  Mortal Sequence, 460, 484, 516

  “Of Persons, Not Alive,” 374

  Phases of the Moon, 485, 515, 516, 517

  Wilder, Charlotte Topliff Porter (grand
mother), 2, 3

  Wilder, George (no relation), 46

  Wilder, Isabel (sister):

  birth and childhood of, 1–2, 11, 17, 22–28, 35, 47

  in California, 26–28, 37, 83, 84–85

  and Charlotte’s illness, 511, 513, 517, 522, 618, 696

  death of, 701

  in England, 195, 205, 216, 217–18, 223, 323

  in Europe, 47, 49, 51, 55, 66, 70

  and family obligations, 517–18, 574–75, 577, 699

  and Federal Writers’ Project, 484

  health problems of, 468–69, 592, 696, 699

  and her father, 116, 117, 229, 368, 410, 411, 415

  and home, 371–73, 411, 417, 634

  in Hong Kong, 19, 22–25

  memories of, 14, 71

  and money matters, 223, 329, 420, 456, 524, 696

  in New Haven, 92, 98, 122, 188, 249–50, 371–73

  in New York, 234–35, 474

  at Northfield, 116–17, 146, 164

  romantic problems of, 189–90, 218, 372, 428–29, 431–32, 457, 459

  summer activities, 104–5, 140, 273, 616

  TNW’s travels with, 326–27, 463, 663, 667, 668

  and TNW’s work, 333, 350, 365, 372–73, 448, 477, 483, 488, 519, 541, 544, 551, 554, 555, 558, 572–73, 574–75, 589, 615, 656, 659, 660, 669, 674, 677, 678, 679

  as writer, 138, 139, 190, 217, 367, 369, 371–72, 428, 460

  at Yale, 239, 249–50, 326

  Wilder, Isabel (sister), writings of:

  At Dusk, 217

  The Empty-Handed, 217

  Heart Be Still, 372, 397

  Let Winter Go, 372, 428–29, 574

  Mother and Four, 372

  Wilder, Isabella Thornton Niven (mother), 3–8

  and APW, 6, 7–8, 25, 29, 50–51, 140, 188, 229, 230, 274

  birth and background of, 4–5

  in California, 25–31, 32, 74–75, 82–83

  and Charlotte’s illness, 510–11, 513, 517, 518, 521–22, 524–25

  children of, 1–2, 11, 13, 75

  in China, 37–40

  cultural interests of, 11, 14, 27, 87, 108, 122, 139, 460

  death of, 577, 578, 579, 701

  early years of, 4, 6–7

  in England, 195, 205, 216, 314, 323, 331

  in Europe, 46–47, 48, 49, 50–51, 55, 60–61, 66, 216–17

  health problems of, 551, 577

  home and family, 363, 367, 379, 413, 417, 459–60, 484

  in Hong Kong, 21–22

  and money matters, 83, 92, 119, 195, 231, 326, 329, 346, 420, 456, 518, 519

  in New Haven, 92, 98, 122, 229–31, 326, 332, 474

  personal traits of, 6, 27, 108, 273–74, 577, 589

  poems by, 122, 138, 367, 413, 577

  Red Cross work of, 84, 122

  and religion, 13, 139

  schooling of, 4, 117

  and TNW in Rome, 180, 186, 190–91

  and wartime, 129, 134, 538, 551, 559, 562

  Wilder, Janet Frances (sister):

  birth of, 1, 35–36, 37

  in California, 83

  and Charlotte’s illness, 696–97

  childhood of, 138, 140, 369–70

  engagement of, 508; see also Dakin, Janet Wilder

  in England, 195, 205, 216, 323, 370

  in Europe, 47, 49, 55, 66, 70

  and independence, 368, 369, 411, 415

  and money matters, 329

  at Mount Holyoke, 370–71, 484, 508

  in New Haven, 92, 98, 116, 122, 188, 234, 250, 326, 370

  science interest of, 217, 370–71, 415, 417–18

  as teacher, 484, 508

  as writer, 371

  Wilder, Julian (uncle), 22, 39, 114

  Wilder, Theodore (no relation), 99, 109, 156–57

  Wilder, Theophilus (grandfather), 2

  Wilder, Theophilus (twin brother, stillborn), 1, 11, 682

  Wilder, Thornton Niven:

  as actor, 120, 465, 466, 469, 477, 495, 591–92, 607–8, 647

  and aging, 674, 681–83, 690–95, 697–98, 700

  and alcohol use, 630–32

  awards and honors to, 157, 175, 313, 322, 352, 451, 549, 564–65, 591, 613, 616–17, 639, 640, 645, 660, 663, 666, 669

  and biographers, 679–80

  birth and childhood of, 1–2, 11, 13–14, 17–28, 32–35, 62

  in California, 25–28, 37, 64, 66–70, 72–73, 74–75, 77–78, 83, 92–93

  as camp counselor, 223–26

  and Charlotte’s illness, 518, 521–22, 524–25, 529, 534, 625

  at Chefoo school, 40–49, 51, 52–54, 58, 59

  in China, 38–49, 54–55, 57, 62–63

  and Chrysler convertible, 484, 487–88, 494–96, 507

  and clothes, 64, 78, 90, 91, 119, 120, 202–3

  and college plans, 84, 88–92, 95, 124–25, 134, 144, 170

  and death, 691–92

  death and burial of, 699, 701–3

  discipline of, 387–88, 476

  and Eros, 609, 694–95

  in Europe, 274, 275–79, 326–27, 400–401, 402–4, 408–10, 429–33, 442, 604–5, 614, 616, 622, 640, 646, 663–64, 665–66, 676–77

  “An Evening with Thornton Wilder,” 653

  evolution as a writer, 588–89, 641, 643, 673, 702–3

  and existentialism, 571–72

  and fame, 313–14, 317, 318, 321, 323, 324, 325, 333, 347, 408, 458, 651, 674–75

  family background of, 2–4

  and family obligations, 296–97, 347, 361, 364, 368–69, 420, 517, 534, 625, 634

  and family separations, 47, 49, 57, 63, 67, 70, 71, 92, 138, 141, 366–67

  family visits of, 144, 271–72, 273, 291, 294, 369

  and farmwork, 81, 93, 100, 105, 106–11, 129, 134, 139–40, 141–44, 179

  FBI investigation of, 495–97

  financial support for family from, 205, 226–27, 231, 328–30, 398, 410, 412, 420, 517, 534

  friendships of, 93, 99, 121, 136, 191, 260–62, 291–93, 353–56, 360, 395, 403, 413–14, 418–19, 430–31, 608–9, 651, 658–59, 679

  health problems of, 214, 301, 339, 397–98, 563, 565–66, 611–12, 637, 664–65, 681–82, 690–91

  and his brother, 63, 136–37, 154

  and his father, 24, 33, 34–35, 39, 40, 42, 47, 49, 52, 58, 60, 63, 67–68, 72–73, 77–78, 84, 93, 104, 105, 108, 109, 110, 119–20, 124, 125–26, 130, 135, 145, 146–47, 159, 160, 164, 168, 178–79, 180–81, 188–89, 190, 193–96, 200–202, 212, 220, 227, 228–29, 235–36, 239, 260, 297, 368, 378, 410–11, 412, 413

  and his mother, 28, 58, 59, 60, 63, 72, 74–75, 96, 110, 128, 190–91, 219–20, 226–27, 229–32, 271, 273–74, 298, 370, 379, 413, 417, 577, 579

  in Hollywood, 383–87, 534–36

  and home, 280–81, 362–66, 417

  in Hong Kong, 19–25

  journals of, see Wilder, Thornton Niven, journals of

  at Lawrenceville, 202–5, 208–11, 214–15, 222, 231, 238, 245, 297–98, 300–301

  at MacDowell Colony, 236–38, 272, 298, 327, 331, 425, 490, 491, 630, 665, 678

  in Maine, 111–14

  Marsh’s portrait of, 174

  as mentor, 650–51, 675–76

  and money matters, 64, 89, 90–91, 100, 119, 121, 145, 190, 195–96, 200, 215, 226–27, 260, 274, 291, 296–97, 314, 325, 328–30, 338, 346–47, 360–61, 364–65, 386–87, 388, 394, 397, 398–99, 410, 412–13, 420, 456, 512, 518, 536, 591, 625, 660, 695–96

  and music, 37, 70, 87, 97–98, 108, 215, 284, 608, 657

  at Oberlin, 91–92, 94–98, 99–104, 114, 116, 117–22, 123, 124–26, 131–33, 134–36

  as outsider, 63, 66, 90, 129, 159, 291

  in Paris, 196–200, 216, 262, 283–84

  and patriotism, 410, 429

  personal traits of, 289–90, 300

  at Princeton, 240, 251–52, 254, 259–60, 271, 273

  privacy sought by, 256–59, 433–34, 438, 440, 500, 604

  as public lecturer, 243, 316–17, 330–31, 338, 34
1, 344, 350, 351–52, 365, 386, 412, 592, 593, 597–98, 599–602, 609–13, 623, 644–45

  and religion, 13, 62, 107–9, 122, 126, 137, 175, 192, 215, 267, 290, 351

  restlessness of, 173, 294, 365, 369, 383, 430, 474, 480, 590, 604

  in Rome, 180, 181–92, 193–94, 196, 216, 262, 278, 423–24, 441, 579

  running cross-country, 44–45, 52

  and S4N, 177–78, 220, 243, 245

  screenwriting, 383–87, 480, 482–83, 534–38, 620, 646

  and sea travel, 182, 487, 664, 680

  and sexuality, 171, 264, 336, 427–28, 433–40, 499, 603, 632–33, 694–95

  solitude of, 44–45, 52, 71, 75, 112–13, 365, 404, 416–17, 430, 473, 494, 505, 506, 599, 604, 611–12, 631, 656

  and spirituality, 97, 109, 215–16, 267, 312, 416, 439, 635, 669, 673, 703

  and teaching, 83, 203–4, 209, 211, 214, 215–16, 220, 222, 228, 239–40, 303, 319, 328, 331, 345, 346, 360–61, 378, 393, 412, 420, 522

  temperance pledge of, 55, 320, 358, 630

  and the theater, 27, 28, 34–35, 72–73, 77, 84, 85–86, 241, 248, 349, 418, 419, 424, 660

  on Time cover, 623

  as tutor, 247–48, 274, 294, 298–99

  as twinless twin, 1, 137, 307, 566, 682

  on unamism, 199

  at University of Chicago, 341, 345–46, 355, 365, 393, 412, 414–15, 420, 522–23

  in West Indies, 416–17

  and women, 99, 102, 156–57, 191, 247–48, 256–58, 260–62, 270–72, 283, 289, 291–92, 589–90, 672

  and World War I, 128–31, 132–33, 134, 136, 145, 159, 160–61, 163, 164–66, 167–68, 169, 172

  and World War II, 528, 529–30, 537, 538–41, 544, 545, 550–51, 553–54, 556–65, 569

  writing ambitions of, 45, 88, 91, 95, 96, 125, 152, 153, 161, 178, 187, 194, 258–59, 347–48; see also Wilder, Thornton Niven, writings of

  at Yale, 144–45, 146–53, 158–60, 170, 171, 173, 174–78

  Wilder, Thornton Niven, journals of:

  on European trip, 275–79

  on “Induration,” 689

  on journey to Hong Kong, 18

  letter book, 222

  on the nature of love, 632–34

  notes on reading, 101, 212–14, 237–38, 334, 613, 637

  notes on writings, 28, 100–101, 131, 306, 335, 337–38, 401, 402, 593–96, 598–99, 628, 635, 637–38, 642–43, 656, 689–90

  at Oberlin, 131–33

  “On Happy Endings, and the Pessimist,” 521

  self-assessments in, 215–16, 485–86, 493–94, 505–6, 594, 605–7, 622

  “Sketch for a Portrait of Tia [Anna] Bates,” 520

  talking to himself in, 136, 212, 257–58, 290, 382, 499–500, 503, 520–21, 595, 598–99, 604, 605, 611, 613, 628, 632, 637–38, 646, 648

  on wars, 132–33, 136, 492, 608