Hands

The opening paragraph creates an idyllic tableau of country life that is interrupted when one of the berry pickers traveling past Wing Biddlebaum’s house, “a boy clad in a blue shirt,” suddenly “attempt[s] to drag after him one of the maidens, who scream[s] and protest[s] shrilly” (3). This potential assault, which is only briefly mentioned as the sun sets over the picturesque landscape, foreshadows the story’s commentary on consent, sexual impropriety, and scandal, as well as the ambiguity of external interpretations of events.

The story’s narrative structure is nonlinear and complex. As Wing Biddlebaum anxiously awaits a visit from George Willard, little else happens in the present-day storyline. The majority of events occur in the past, with flashbacks depicting Wing Biddlebaum’s conversations with George Willard and his earlier life in Pennsylvania, when he went by the name Adolph Myers. If the story can be said to have a climax, it is the scene where the townspeople prepared to lynch Adolph Myers. This incident explains the protagonist’s present social isolation and anxious behavior.

Anderson carefully structures the narrative to portray the protagonist in a sympathetic light before readers learn of the alleged molestation case. “Hands” begins its portrait of Wing Biddlebaum with a description of his “half decayed veranda” and “small house” (3). From the outset, he is depicted as nonthreatening and diminutive, from his humble home to his “girlish voice” and “nervous little hands” (3). George Willard’s friendship with Wing Biddlebaum contributes to the protagonist’s depiction as a gentle, misunderstood figure. The narrator’s inclusion of these details means the reader is more inclined to believe the later portrayal of him as an innocent victim of a false accusation, bewildered by events.

While the narrative strongly suggests that Wing Biddlebaum is innocent of the crime, ambiguities in the text raise doubt about the narrator’s reliability. For example, Wing Biddlebaum is described as a “fat little old man” (3) in the first paragraph, but by the end of the story, it is revealed that he is only 40, although he “looked sixty-five” (8). Similarly, during the 20-year flashback, Adolph Myers is presented as an entirely different person from Wing Biddlebaum: full of promise, enthusiasm, and joy. Meanwhile, Wing Biddlebaum’s desire to see Willard is open to more than one interpretation. The description of Wing Biddlebaum “hunger[ing] for the presence of the boy, who was the medium through which he expressed his love of man” (8) is deliberately ambiguous. On one level, it could express the protagonist’s love of mankind and a desire to connect with society through his only friend. On another level, the line could imply a sexual attraction to George Willard. Finally, the strangely inaccurate reference to George Willard as “the boy” could confirm the attraction to children for which Wing Biddlebaum was accused when he was Adolph Myers. The text’s ambiguities, typical of the Modernist style, call attention to the distinction between Appearance Versus Reality. The story’s use of a nonlinear plot told through flashbacks emphasizes the discrepancies between appearance and reality and the unreliability of memory.

Wing Biddlebaum’s hands are the story’s central symbol, representing his “difference” from the stereotypes of traditional masculinity and becoming characters in their own right. The protagonist’s “slender expressive fingers” mark him out as emotionally sensitive and creative (4). Ashamed of his hands as this sign of Otherness, he is “forever striving to conceal [them] in his pockets or behind his back” (4). As the agents of his undoing, the hands are represented as having a life and will of their own. The urge to touch George Willard is depicted as an involuntary action perpetrated by the same agents responsible for his alleged crime. Wing Biddlebaum’s lingering fear of physical contact and his reluctance to engage in any form of intimacy reflect the deep-rooted impact of past events on his psyche.

Wing Biddlebaum avoids the townspeople of Winesburg by remaining on his veranda, the symbol of his self-imposed limitations and imprisonment. He is an outsider looking in, within the context of a society that cannot see past his difference. Even within the “safe space” of his home, the protagonist cannot fully escape the judgment of others, as can be seen when he is the target of mockery from the berry pickers in the opening scene. The only place Wing Biddlebaum feels truly safe from prejudice is in the fantasy of the golden age. The golden age motif reflects the theme of social Alienation and Self-Estrangement, highlighting the stark contrast between Wing Biddlebaum’s current reality and his idealized vision of a harmonious and accepting society. When Wing Biddlebaum recounts his fantasy of “clean-limbed young men” coming to visit and talk to “an old man who sat beneath a tree” (5) to George Willard, for the first time, “he forgot the hands” (6). Breaking the doctrine by which he has lived for 20 years, “[k]eep your hands to yourself” (8), he touches George Willard just as he used to touch his students. His momentary lapse in self-preservation is due to his return to the golden age, when he was able to touch his students without fear and encourage them to cast out “doubt and disbelief” in favor of “dreams” (7).

Anderson’s story raises questions about the reliability of collective judgment and the concept of “normalcy.” The author suggests that, regardless of Wing Biddlebaum’s culpability, unchecked prejudice can lead to dire consequences, both on an individual and societal level. Through the depiction of his protagonist, he shows how potentially innocent actions can be misconstrued as sinister when they do not adhere to the accepted norms of masculinity. The narrative suggests that Toxic Masculinity and Prejudice Beget Violence, as Wing Biddlebaum’s failure to fulfil traditional expectations of masculinity are interpreted as proof of his guilt. Other men respond violently to reassert hetero-patriarchal values within the community. By presenting Wing Biddlebaum as an outsider and an outcast, “Hands” exposes the damaging effects of social norms that stigmatize individuals who deviate from prescribed gender roles.