Edgar Lee Masters’ “Doctor Meyers”
The third poem in the Minerva Jones series features “Doctor Meyers,” who performed the abortion that led to the death of the unfortunate poetess.
Introduction and Text of “Doctor Meyers”
Edgar Lee Masters’”Doctor Meyers” from Spoon River Anthology is an American-Innovative sonnet that innovatively and without rime begins with a couplet and then moves through the poem in four tercets. The doctor’s involvement in Minerva’s situation deepens the drama and helps to fill out the characterization of the participants in this sordid event.
Doctor Meyers
No other man, unless it was Doc Hill,
Did more for people in this town than I.
And all the weak, the halt, the improvident
And those who could not pay flocked to me.
I was good-hearted, easy Doctor Meyers.
I was healthy, happy, in comfortable fortune,
Blest with a congenial mate, my children raised,
All wedded, doing well in the world.
And then one night, Minerva, the poetess,
Came to me in her trouble, crying.
I tried to help her out—she died—
They indicted me, the newspapers disgraced me,
My wife perished of a broken heart.
And pneumonia finished me.
Reading of “Doctor Meyers”
Commentary on “Doctor Meyers”
The third poem in the “Minerva Jones” series features “Doctor Meyers” the physician, who performed the illegal abortion that led to the death of the unfortunate poetess.
The Couplet: Braggart or Accurate and Evenhanded?
No other man, unless it was Doc Hill,
Did more for people in this town than I.
The epitaph “Doctor Meyers” continues the “Minerva” series in the third installment of this mini-drama.
In the opening couplet, Doctor Meyers informs his listeners that he “did more for people of this town” than anyone else, with the possible exception of “Doc Hill.” A first impression taken from a cynical point of view might suppose that the character of Doctor Meyers resembles that of a braggart.
But because he reckons that another doctor might have done more for the people, the reader is likely to conclude that Doctor Meyers’ testimony is accurate and evenhanded.
The doctor does make it clear that he feels his service to his community had always been useful and valuable. He sets up his drama in a way that makes his down-fall even more tragic than it otherwise would have been.
First Tercet: A Sympathetic Practice
And all the weak, the halt, the improvident
And those who could not pay flocked to me.
I was good-hearted, easy Doctor Meyers.
Doctor Mayers then describes his medical practice as a sympathetic one that cared for “all the weak, the halt, the improvident.” And additionally, the sick ones “who could not pay” found Doctor Meyers helpful and accommodating as well.
The doctor says that he was “good-hearted, easy Doctor Meyers,” and he is proffering the thoughts of those he had served. Thus, he has established his stellar reputation as a fine, upstanding Spoon River citizen.
Again, a cynical view could be taken, but, in fact, he must have provided helpful services to those in need; otherwise, there is no explaining why patients “flocked to” him. Also, he must have provided valuable medical services to most of the citizens because he remained financially well off.
Second Tercet: A Successful Life
I was healthy, happy, in comfortable fortune,
Blest with a congenial mate, my children raised,
All wedded, doing well in the world.
The doctor then reports the quality of his life, describing it as “healthy, happy, in comfortable fortune.” He had been “blest with a congenial mate,” and their children were successful and all married.
Doctor Meyers had achieved the success for which most people strive. His successful, content life sets up the drama for his downfall. This description of his life reveals one who has done his duty without deceiving or undermining others in his zeal to thrive. Such a person deserves to live out his life in peace and tranquility—or so it would seem.
Third Tercet: Fate and the Unhealthy Turn
And then one night, Minerva, the poetess,
Came to me in her trouble, crying.
I tried to help her out—she died—
But then the doctor’s fate takes an unhealthy turn, when one fateful night the village “poetess” Minerva Jones came to him crying because she was pregnant and unmarried.
Minerva was seeking to rid herself of her inconvenient condition.
The doctor tried to “help her out,” but then Minerva died. By “help her out,” the doctor is euphemistically referring to the fact that he broke the law by performing an illegal abortion, killing Minerva’s unborn baby.
In the first poem of the series, the reader had learned that Minerva had gone to Doctor Meyers after becoming impregnated with “Butch” Weldy’s child; Minerva reports that she died after treatment by Doctor Meyers.
Fourth Tercet: When Abortion Was Still Murder
They indicted me, the newspapers disgraced me,
My wife perished of a broken heart.
And pneumonia finished me.
Because abortion was illegal at that time, (Roe v Wade was decided in 1973, and these poems were written between 1900 and 1915), the doctor was arrested, indicted, and faced prison. Of course, his fate was reported in the newspapers, and the turn of events adversely affected his wife. He states that he died of “pneumonia.”
Mrs. Meyers’ Perspective
Without the next poem, “Mrs. Meyers,” number 4 in this series which offers testimony from the doctor’s wife, the reader might remain of the mind that Doctor Meyers did not deserve his fate. But Mrs. Meyers puts things in their proper perspective. Even so, the reader will continue to feel a certain amount of pity for this poor physician.
Everyone associated with macabre tale deserves pity, even Minerva, who sought the abortion. And unwanted pregnancy seldom leads to a congenial outcome. Mrs. Meyers’ contribution offers a useful bit of information, helping fill out some of the details about this series.
The Minerva Jones Sequence
- Minerva Jones The “Minerva Jones” epitaph features one of the most depraved characters of the Spoon River talking dead. She is self-absorbed and haughty, lacking empathy and self-awareness, causing her to remain ignorant of her own discordant thoughts.
- “Indignation” Jones In the second epitaph of the “Minerva” series, the poetess’ father, “Indignation” Jones, fulminates against Spoon River society.
- Doctor Meyers The third epitaph in the Minerva Jones series features “Doctor Meyers,” who performed the abortion that led to the death of the unfortunate poetess.
- Mrs. Meyers In the fourth epitaph in this series,”Mrs. Meyers,” Dr. Meyers’ wife testifies that her husband, whom she calls “poor soul,” reaped what he sowed for his actions in life. The religious woman offers advice for a pleasant and peaceful life, reminding humanity to “Love God and keep his commandments.”
- “Butch” Weldy The fifth and final epitaph “‘Butch’ Weldy” concludes the “Minerva Jones” series. Butch declaims about his ordeal after a work related accident—with nary a nod to Minerva.
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