The Song of the Lark

Dr. Archie and Fred discuss Dr. Archie’s lack of interest in getting married again. Dr. Archie tells Fred he’s going to New York to visit Thea. Moving to Germany years ago helped launch Thea’s career; she’s now a successful singer. Fred has seen Thea a few times over the years, but they’re no longer close. Fred is still married to Edith, who is in a sanitorium and therefore prevents his divorce.

In the last few years, both of Thea’s parents have died.

When Thea was living in Germany, her father died suddenly of cancer. Mrs. Kronborg’s health swiftly declined over her grief. Dr. Archie wrote to Thea telling her to come to Moonstone, but Thea had just been offered the opportunity to take over a part and make her debut in Dresden, so she stayed in Europe while her mother died. Mrs. Kronborg remained proud of Thea and wished she could have seen her perform.

In New York City, Dr. Archie attends a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in which Thea is performing. She performs well, but Dr. Archie is disappointed because he feels disconnected from her. The woman on the stage “merely reminded him of Thea; this was not the girl herself” (196). After the show, Dr. Archie surprises Thea backstage. She looks old and haggard.

Fred travels to New York at the last minute with plans to watch Thea perform. When he and Dr. Archie meet, Dr. Archie tells him about finding Thea changed. Fred explains that the part she’s performing in the opera is challenging and must take a lot out of her. Fred believes that part of Thea’s talent is understanding her role; when she sings, it’s not just her voice but also the character she puts into her performance that makes her especially moving to the audience.

Thea wakes up exhausted by her performance. She senses that she’s pushed her art too far. Thea is not excited about her meeting with Dr. Archie because “[a] reality like Dr. Archie, poking up out of the past, reminded one of disappointments and losses, of a freedom that was no more” (203). She believes too much time has gone by; she doesn’t want to revisit her past except in memory. At their second meeting, Dr. Archie recognizes Thea as young and beautiful again. Fred joins them, and they discuss Thea’s chances of more roles in New York.

Thea is called in to replace a singer at the opera at the last minute. She rushes to the theater while Fred stews in frustration for her because she hasn’t had the chance to rehearse the part. The show goes well. Fred notes that only in extremely stimulating situations is Thea “entirely illuminated, or wholly present. At other times there was something a little cold and empty, like a big room with no people in it” (210). She requires pressure or performance opportunities in order to feel alive.

Oliver Landry is Thea’s friend and a fellow singer. He owns a big house in New York, and Fred goes home with him after a show. Fred finds the house lonely without a wife, but Landry enjoys the home because there isn’t a woman there. They discuss Thea’s talent. Landry tells him “the important thing is that [Thea] was born full of color, with a rich personality” (213); she is skilled as a performer but rude and intimidating to the other female singers.

Thea is nervous about an upcoming performance in an opera she’s been trying to get cast in for years. Dr. Archie talks to Thea about her lack of a personal life. She admits that her work is her entire life. Thea also tells Dr. Archie about a man named Nordquist, a fellow singer she fell in love with and would have married had he not already been married with children. Thea tells him about the competitive nature of her work. She still sees popular singers as lesser than her and believes, “We stand for things that are irreconcilable, absolutely. You can’t try to do things right and not despise the people who do them wrong. How can I be indifferent? If that doesn’t matter, then nothing matters” (218-19). Thea sees herself as a true artist and traces the beginning of that identity to her origins in Moonstone.

In a conversation with Fred, Thea reflects that understanding the hard reality of life is what makes her an artist. Although she’s achieved success in her career, she believes that the rest of her life and career will be marked by constant struggle. Fred admits that he’s not sorry that he helped to enable the woman she’s become, but that there’s a lot about his past he would change, such as never having had a son. Thea still loves Fred but recognizes that they wouldn’t have made a good couple, because she’s too serious.

When Thea has a difficult time falling asleep due to stress, she reimagines her family life in Moonstone.

The Harsanyis watch Thea perform in her next opera, which makes Thea happy. Mr. Harsanyi is now a famous musician and is impressed by Thea’s performance. When a reporter asks Mr. Harsanyi what Thea’s secret to artistry is, he replies that it is her passion. Unbeknownst to Thea, Spanish Johnny is also in the audience.

The novel ends by explaining that the story in The Song of the Lark is of Thea’s beginnings and foreshadows her future illustrious career.

The narrative flashes forward to Moonstone in the year 1909. Tillie is the only Kronborg still in Moonstone. Tillie is proud of Thea’s legendary fame. Tillie once had dreams of her own, and now she lives vicariously through Thea.