CLASSIFICATION. See classification of “The Survivors.” Here the
elements all work toward unity of effect: even the thirty year period
contributes to the same unity. It is even necessary to the working out
of the penance. (Could it have been massed in such a way as to give
the reader the same consciousness of retribution as it here conveys?)
But the length of the action is not the length of the best short-story
action.
“Penance” provides an interesting companion-piece to “The Survivors.”
Notice that whereas in the former instance the _initial incident_ was
separated by the long space from the turning point of the action;
here the plot is completed except for the fact that Buckingham’s
understanding (the _dénouement_) comes after thirty years.
PLOT. The _initial impulse_ lies in Buckingham’s interest in Minnie.