1924 trip to Europe. "While its subject matter is essentially Europe," informed Koch, "it is, in reality, an assessment of that world through the eyes of America too." Williams focused directly on America and the Depression in his aptly titled short story collection, The Knife of the Times. In these stories and in other similar works of the thirties, "Williams blamed the inadequacies of American culture for both the emotional and economic plight of many of his subjects," declared James Guimond. Williams's novel trilogy, White Mule, In the Money, and The Build-Up, also focused on America, and on one family in particular--his wife's. He first conceived the idea for White Mule because he wanted to write about a baby--he delivered more than two thousand in his career--and had heard stories of Floss's babyhood. But beyond the story of the infant Floss Stecher is the story of her infant American family, immigrants growing toward success in America. Philip Rahv gave this description of Joe and Gurlie Stecher: "Gurlie is so rife with the natural humors of a wife that she emerges as a veritable goddess of the home, but since it is an American home she is constantly urging her husband to get into the game, beat the other fellow, and make money. Joe's principal motivation, however, is his pride of workmanship; he is the pure artisan, the man who has not yet been alienated from the product of his labor and who thinks of money as the reward of labor and nothing else." In In the Money Williams follows Joe as he establishes his own printing business and moves to the suburbs, making way for the picture of middle-class life he presents in The Build-Up. W. T. Schott gave these examples of Williams's focus: "The stolid admirable Joe, the arrogant Gurlie on her upward march in society, a neighbor woman ranting her spitefulness,... Flossie and her sister at their little-girl wrangling over bathroom privileges." Reed Whittemore felt that such moments reveal ...
