the eternal conflict of wealth and poverty, high estate and low, and is a direct indictment of society.
The invigorating wholesomeness of Němcová’s stories agreeably penetrates the consciousness of the reader, who is refreshed and inspired by their simple nobility without feeling that he has been “preached at.” Němcová’s method is marked by a simplicity, untrammeled directness, and a conviction of truth, which enlist one’s interest immediately. The traditional “happy ending” which the American craves and insists on in most of his novels and plays has the nearest Slav counterpart in Němcová’s thorough optimism, her absolute refusal to be cynical or bitter. Somehow, despite the inevitable sorrows which the truth of life forces her to depict, she leads her characters from “the slough of despond” to a logical “consummation devoutly to be wished.” This trait is the more remarkable in view of the fact that all the romance and joy was crushed out of her own life, which became a daily sordid struggle for bread for her family and herself, especially after the death of her son and the loss by her husband, who was never sympathetic with her ideals, of his position under the goverament. Němcová has created many faithfully drawn Czech and Slovak characters, her women especially being typical of their nation. She writes with a vigor, picturesqueness and purity, combined with the characteristic quiet Slav humor and poetic idealism, which never fail to appeal.
