In his early letters to Capote, Arvin wrote poetically about his short stories: "They will gleam out in my mind from time to time for many days, and indeed much longer, like something seen suddenly ...
Chase and Arvin were professors in the English Department at Smith College. Arvin taught from 1922 to1960 and Chase taught from 1926 to1955. Newton Arvin, Hawthorne. Boston: Little, Brown, 1929.