Hands

Sherwood Anderson’s story “Hands” appears in his 1919 collection titled Winesburg, Ohio. Sometimes referred to as a novel rather than a short story collection due to its internally cohesive narrative, Winesburg, Ohio is a portrait of a town in 25 character sketches. George Willard is the common thread in the stories as his character interacts with the town’s various “grotesque” denizens. “Hands,” the collection’s much-anthologized first story, concerns Wing Biddlebaum, a former schoolteacher forced to leave his position after being accused of molesting a young boy in Pennsylvania. The stories in Winesburg, Ohio are loosely based on Anderson’s childhood in Clyde, Ohio, and are regarded by many scholars as one of the most significant portrayals of small-town American life from the period.

This guide refers to the 2010 reprint of Winesburg, Ohio from Barnes & Noble with an introduction by Ted Olson, available on Archive.org.

Content Warning: This guide discusses sexual assault, pedophilia, and molestation.

The story opens with Wing Biddlebaum pacing his veranda in Winesburg, Ohio. The “fat little old man” watches a wagon of berry pickers pass by on the dirt highway (3). Its occupants are laughing and when one of the youths tries to drag a young woman off the cart, she screams. A girl calls out to Wing Biddlebaum, joking that his hair is in his eyes. Wing Biddlebaum is bald, but nevertheless, his hands flutter around his head as though tidying his hair.

Wing Biddlebaum has lived in Winesburg for 20 years but does not feel part of the community. His one friend is the young reporter George Willard, who sometimes walks past his house and stops to talk to him. On this particular evening, he is anxiously hoping George Willard will call by.

The narrator describes how Wing Biddlebaum changes in George Willard’s company. He becomes animated and makes impassioned speeches, waving his expressive hands. The rest of the time, Wing Biddlebaum tries to hide his hands “in his pockets or behind his back” (4). He envies the men of the town, who all have “inexpressive hands” used solely for the practical purpose of work. George Willard is curious about his friend’s strange relationship to his hands but holds back from asking about it, afraid of upsetting him.

Once, when Wing Biddlebaum was describing an idealized “pastoral golden age” to Willard featuring “clean-limbed young men” enjoying the outdoors together (5), he placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders. As his hands moved to “caress” George Willard, Wing Biddlebaum looked horrified and “thrust his hands deep into his trouser pockets” (6). Looking distressed, he told George Willard he had to leave.

In a flashback, the narrator describes how Wing Biddlebaum was once Adolph Myers, a teacher beloved by the students of an all-boys school. When talking passionately to the boys about following their dreams, he had a habit of touching them. The narrator assures readers that the “stoking of the shoulders and the touching of the hair” was an innocent expression of enthusiasm (7). However, one “half-witted” boy recounted his sexual dreams about his teacher as if they were a reality, causing Adolph Myers to be labelled a pedophile.

After the accusation of molestation was made, Adolph Myers was beaten by Henry Bradford, owner of the local saloon. That night, a lynch mob threatened to hang him, but the townsmen were mollified by his “small, white, and pitiful” figure and allowed him to escape (7). Adolph Myers fled the town under the cover of darkness, and while “he did not understand what had happened, he felt that the hands must be to blame” (8). He moved to Winesburg, assuming the name Wing Biddlebaum and the occupation of strawberry-picker, for which he became renowned due to his extraordinarily quick hands.

The story ends back at Wing Biddlebaum’s house after the sun has set and George Willard has not come for a visit. The night is dark and silent, and Wing Biddlebaum is lonely. He makes himself a meal of bread and honey and contemplates his “hunger” for George Willard’s company, which he sees as an expression of “his love of man” (8). The final image of the story is of Wing Biddlebaum on his hands and knees, rapidly picking up breadcrumbs from the floor and eating them. The narrator compares this pose to a priest in prayer, reciting the holy rosary.