Poquette has a bachelor's degree in English and specializes in writing about literature. In the following essay, Poquette discusses Cressida Garnet's inability to have a successful marriage in Cather's story.

In his 1990 essay, "Disinterring the 'Scandal' of Willa Cather: Youth and the Bright Medusa," in Criticism, R. M. Robertson noted that Cather's short story collection, "like all her books, comes out in favor of high Art as the best means of countering the money-grubbing . . . that rules the modern world Willa Cather saw." To Cather, art should be practiced for art's sake alone, not for money or fame. In stories where the author did depict rich and successful artists, events rarely turn out well.

In the case of "The Diamond Mine," Cressida Garnet, a successful opera singer, dies on the Titanic. Up until her death, Cressida's life is not much more rosy. Her family is totally dependent upon...