Plagiarism In Nella Larsen's Mrs. Adis By Sheila Dee-Smith

Nella Larsen, an up-and-coming author, came to realize the destruction that plagiarism can have on one’s career. Plagiarism is defined as “the use of the words, information, insights, or ideas of another without crediting that person through proper citation” (USNA). In 1930 she published Sanctuary, which was extremely similar both in plot and verbiage to Mrs. Adis by Sheila Kaye-Smith. Although nearly everyone, common people and literary scholars alike, believes this to be a work of plagiarism, she has attempted to defend her actions. However, her defense is meager at best. Larsen’s plagiarism is blatant, compromising her personal and professional integrity, and her defense becomes transparent when the incriminating evidence is presented. The plots of Mrs. Adis and Sanctuary are unmistakably similar. In both stories a man goes into a house that is occupied at the time by the mother of a friend. Both men tell the mothers that they shot someone. The mother figures begrudgingly grant them a place to hide so they can escape the authorities not because they want to, but because the mothers know that their respective sons would want them to do so. The mothers lead both men into small rooms that are located off the kitchen. While the men are hiding

The words are not word for word, but it is clear that they have been slightly altered to avoid a complete copy. For example in Mrs. Adis we find this group of text: “‘I’m in trouble.’ His hands were shaking a little. ‘What you done?’ ‘I shot a man, Mrs. Adis’” (Kaye-Smith 321). In Sanctuary the text reads: “‘Ah’s in trouble, Mis’Poole,’ the man explained, his voice shaking, his fingers twitching. ‘W’at you done now?’ ‘Shot a man, Mis’Poole’” (Larsen 15). The similarities in plot surely point to plagiarism, but the extremely similar quotes from each story truly cement that Larsen plagiarized Kaye-Smith’s