The Sheltered Life

“The Sheltered Life” looks at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Ellen Glasgow’s attempts to sustain romantic attachments while maintaining their success as writers. Rawlings spent much of her time in Richmond interrogating friends and relations about Glasgow’s romantic relationships, especially her confirmed engagement to Henry Anderson. Rawlings herself was married to Norton Baskin after her initial marriage to Charles Rawlings fell apart over their volatile tempers and professional jealousies. Glasgow never married and found it difficult to sustain her romantic affairs for any length of time. Both women prioritized their professional lives as writers over romantic attachments and were regularly frustrated by their partners’ inability to understand their lives as writers.