"A Superman" is a short story by Hall Ruffy found in the Winter, 1911 issue of Rhythm. It tells of a seemingly ordinary cafe, most likely in France, considering that whatever dialogue is written in interaction with the waiting staff of the cafe is in French. Two people are seated separately at the cafe; once they were lovers, now they watch each other from afar. "A Superman" offers a tense glimpse into the furtive thoughts of these two, going about a seemingly ordinary activity, disturbed inwardly by the sight of one another. The interruption propmts him to get drunk, whereupon he reveals that she has left him for a wealthy fat man, the one whom she is with. She, despite her having left her lover for another, is unhappy. She is young and attractive, and imagines leaving at that moment in the cafe, for her old beloved. The story is interrupted by a picture. It is a copy of a painting by Auguste Chaubaud. It looks dreary and dark, dotted with globs of paint. It seems to portray a desolate street scene, under a patched umbrella, potentially seats in a cafe, with a dark silhouettes in the distance. The cafe is described as lively in the story, as though busy and bright in the daytime; moreover, the painting has no particularly distinct connection to the story, despite its location amid the pages of the narrative. The artist is different, as is even listed separately in the table of contents at the beginning of the magazine issue. Why then place the picture in between in story's content? It reminds me of a line in the text: "Just in that moment he was in the passive condition when one seems to be outside of life. All was like a picture which he looked at critically; the pale green chairs and tables; the laurel trees in white boxes looking unreal in the brilliant light with men and women dotted about." The description with its "white boxes" and "dotted" imagery is reminiscent of a similar scene, maybe and a different time of day, or a different season, one cannot be entirely sure, but it influences the imagery within one's own imagination.
The end of the story also hosts a small "Study" in the blank half of the page below the text. The picture, by J. D. Fergusson portrays an open champagne bottle, upon a cluttered table, potentially and illustration of the scenario described in the story, when the man gets drunk. Also a thought provoking piece of art.
In addition, the story itself begins with a French epigraph, although the story itself is not in French; however, there are many French articles in this particular issue of Rhythm, mostly proceeding this particular story. The influence of the French language and culture within the sequence of what goes into the issue itself is an interesting way to view what material surround this story, and why the issue was assembled in its particular fashion.
