"A Young Girl in 1941 with No Waist at All" is a short story by

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

, published in '' Mademoiselle'' in May 1947. The story has not been published in any anthology. It is of literary interest today largely because the character of Ray is seen as an early version of the character Seymour from Salinger's better known work " A Perfect Day for Bananafish".

Plot

''Shoeless Joe'' and ''Field of Dreams''

The story is also of interest to film buffs. The name of the main character, Ray Kinsella, is also the name of the main character in the 1982 book '' Shoeless Joe'' by

W. P. Kinsella William Patrick "W. P." Kinsella (May 25, 1935September 16, 2016) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, known for his novel ''Shoeless Joe'' (1982), which was adapted into the movie ''Field of Dreams'' in 1989. His work often concern ...

(who coincidentally shares the character's last name) which was adapted into the film ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel ''Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'' (1989). W.P. Kinsella, who had never met Salinger, created a wholly imagined character (aside from his being a recluse) based on the author of ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...

'', a book that had great meaning to him when he was a young man. To get a feel for Salinger, he re-read his body of work. "I made sure to make him a nice character so that he couldn’t sue me." Salinger had also used the surname shared by writer and protagonist in ''The Catcher in the Rye'' (

Holden Caulfield Holden Caulfield (identified as "Holden Morrisey Caulfield" in the story "Slight Rebellion Off Madison" , and "Holden V. Caulfield" in ''The Catcher In The Rye'') is a fictional character in the works of author J. D. Salinger. He's most famous ...

's roommate Richard Kinsella). Known for his litigiousness, Salinger contacted Kinsella's publisher via his attorneys to express outrage over having been portrayed in ''Shoeless Joe'' and intimated he would sue should the character "J. D. Salinger" appear in any other medium, should ''Shoeless Joe'' be adapted. In the novel ''Shoeless Joe'', Ray Kinsella seeks out J. D. Salinger, although in the film this character was renamed Terence Mann as the movie producers were worried over being sued by Salinger. The producers believed that it was not significant to jettison Salinger, as they figured only 15% of the potential audience would know who the author was. Kinsella told ''

Maclean's Magazine ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'' in a 2010 interview on the death of Salinger that many of the book's readers believe that Salinger is a wholly fictional character. Kinsella denied that Salinger, as a writer, had any real influence on his own writing.

References

Short stories by J. D. Salinger 1947 short stories Works originally published in Mademoiselle (magazine) {{1940s-story-stub