Life In The Iron Mills Summary

Life in the Iron Mills is a short story by Rebecca Harding Davis. The storyline is set in the industrial world of the 19th century, and it has been acclaimed as one of the greatest examples of realistic prose in American literature. This work by Davis is key to those who study both labor and minorities’ issues (especially women’s issues), and is a living testimony to the plight of factory workers in mid-19th century America. Davis writes about the life in a small village which socio-economic center lies on iron mills and similar industrial work. The life in the village, as well as in the iron mills, is described as oppressive, polluted, and dull. The small village is inhabited by the mill workers, most of whom are men. In her description of the workers, the author refers to them as masses of men who work have bended to the ground, their bodies begrimed by the smoke and ashes of the mills, their lives imprisoned by the circumstances they find

The main hero of the story is Hugh Wolf, one of those iron mill workers, who has aspirations for a better future, and who possesses significant artistic talents. Wolf is the creator of the Korl Woman. This is a sculpture that shows his artistic side. The statue is made out of korl, and is made to represent the effect of industrialism on the working class. In the story, the Korl Woman becomes a symbol of the iron mill worker, of the need of the laborer to be acknowledged and respected by his work. The Korl woman further represents the rights of all workers, especially the rights of women and other minorities. But this work by Hugh Wolf also reveals the real image of women that existed in 19th century America. The intensity of the woman, the power of womanhood and motherhood, the strength of the female figure: they are all part of the sculpture made by Wolf. The author uses this symbol as a way to depict the situation of the laborers in the iron mills, while questioning the way American society viewed women