Edgar Lee Masters’ "Reuben Pantier"

In Edgar Lee Masters' American classic Spoon River Anthology the epitaph of "Reuben Pantier," son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Pantier, tells Reuben's story as he addresses his high school teacher, Miss Emily Sparks. (Emily's story follows.)

Reuben Pantier

Well, Emily Sparks, your prayers were not wasted,
Your love was not all in vain.
I owe whatever I was in life
To your hope that would not give me up,
To your love that saw me still as good.
Dear Emily Sparks, let me tell you the story.
I pass the effect of my father and mother;
The milliner’s daughter made me trouble
And out I went in the world,
Where I passed through every peril known
Of wine and women and joy of life.
One night, in a room in the Rue de Rivoli,
I was drinking wine with a black-eyed cocotte,
And the tears swam into my eyes.
She thought they were amorous tears and smiled
For thought of her conquest over me.
But my soul was three thousand miles away,
In the days when you taught me in Spoon River.
And just because you no more could love me,
Nor pray for me, nor write me letters,
The eternal silence of you spoke instead.
And the black-eyed cocotte took the tears for hers,
As well as the deceiving kisses I gave her.
Somehow, from that hour, I had a new vision—
Dear Emily Sparks!

Reuben Pantier's colorful character helps dramatize the power of spiritual love for healing the mind, heart, and soul, even through the distance of miles and decades.

First Movement: Remembering Her Prayers

Well, Emily Sparks, your prayers were not wasted,
Your love was not all in vain.
I owe whatever I was in life
To your hope that would not give me up,
To your love that saw me still as good.

Reuben Pantier, addressing his former teacher, Emily Sparks, reveals that the teacher had prayed for her student and always believed in his good nature. His opening remark hints that he did not move through this life as untroubled as he might have liked, but that with the good will of his former teacher, he has been able to salvage some self esteem.

Thus, Reuben tells Miss Sparks that she had not prayed for him in vain and that her care for him had not been a waste of her time and effort. He further asserts that he remains indebted to her for offering sheltering love and hope. He thanks her for seeing the good in him, even though he might not have thought himself good at the time.

Second Movement: A Dysfunctional Childhood

Dear Emily Sparks, let me tell you the story.
I pass the effect of my father and mother;
The milliner’s daughter made me trouble
And out I went in the world,
Where I passed through every peril known
Of wine and women and joy of life.

In the second movement, Reuben tells his "story" to Miss Sparks. He managed to survive the withering childhood that might have blighted the life of one less strong willed. As readers have experienced in his parents epitaphs, his childhood must have been blighted by their selfish behavior, especially his mother.

But his parents formed a dysfunctional couple whose example would have proved negative for children. Nevertheless, Reuben claims that he survived this negative environment.

After "pass[ing] the effect of [his] father and mother," however, he was caused great difficulty in a relationship with "the milliner’s daughter." Leaving Spoon River and going out into the world, he met with all sorts of evil and was ensnared in a dangerous lifestyle. He became a womanizer and one given to debauchery.

Third Movement: Mistaken Tears

One night, in a room in the Rue de Rivoli,
I was drinking wine with a black-eyed cocotte,
And the tears swam into my eyes.
She thought they were amorous tears and smiled
For thought of her conquest over me.

Finally, Reuben gets to the heart of his "story": one night he finds himself in a Paris hotel room with a "dark-eyed cocotte." The prostitute sees that Reuben’s eyes have become brimmed with tears, and she thinks he is crying "amorous tears" for her. He reports that she thought his tears showed her power over him, or as he puts it, "for thought of her conquest over me."

Fourth Movement: Spiritual Love Washes through Him

But my soul was three thousand miles away,
In the days when you taught me in Spoon River.
And just because you no more could love me,
Nor pray for me, nor write me letters,
The eternal silence of you spoke instead.

Reuben then declaims that his not with the prostitute but many mile away and many years back to the time when he was a student of Miss Emily’s. Thus his heart and mind were not with the prostitute in France but back with his former teacher in his old home town of Spoon River.

Reuben then declares that even though he was no longer in the physical presence of the one person who showed him care and attention, his soul became aware of the love she had shown him, and "the eternal silence of you spoke instead."

Fifth Movement: A Change of Vision and Heart

And the black-eyed cocotte took the tears for hers,
As well as the deceiving kisses I gave her.
Somehow, from that hour, I had a new vision—
Dear Emily Sparks!

The prostitute’s mistaken belief that Reuben cared for her motivated him to understand that the reality of spiritual love is stronger and more satisfying than the false affection of a physical relationship.

Thus from that time forward, his life had changed for the better. He saw the world in a different light—a spiritual light. And he realized that it was the prayers and love he had been afforded by "Dear Emily Sparks" that sparked his new understanding.

Related Edgar Lee Masters Information

• Life Sketch of Edgar Lee Masters - Edgar Lee Masters’ American classic "Spoon River Anthology" brought the poet into the literary spotlight, and no other work from his extensive writings has attracted more attention, including his sequel to Spoon River The New Spoon River.

Commentaries on Other Edgar Lee Masters Poems

• Edgar Lee Masters’ "The Hill" - The poem "The Hill" opens Edgar Lee Masters’ American classic Spoon River Anthology, which is told in a series of dramatic epitaphs by the deceased residents of Spoon River, an imaginary town in Illinois. The work might be considered a character study in poetry.
• Edgar Lee Masters’ "Hod Putt" - Hod Putt considered himself a loser in life, but he envied those who were successful.
• Edgar Lee Masters' "Minerva Jones." DiscoverHubPages. - First in a series of five, the "Minerva Jones" epitaph features one of the most depraved characters of the Spoon River talking dead. She is self-absorbed and haughty, lacking empathy and self-awareness, causing her to remain ignorant of her own discordant thoughts.
• Edgar Lee Masters' "'Indignation' Jones" - In the second poem/epigraph of the "Minerva" series, the poetess’ father, "Indignation" Jones, fulminates against Spoon River society.
• Edgar Lee Masters' "'Butch' Weldy" - The epitaph "'Butch' Weldy" concludes the "Minerva" series. Butch declaims about his ordeal after a work-related accident with nary a nod to Minerva.