This Side of the Mountain jobs because he could not stand to be patronized. Emma Bell Miles, herself, came from a third class, the middle class, her parents both schoolteachers. Because her life touched all three classes, she was acutely aware of these various lifestyles. Even the most cursory glance at the life of Emma Bell Miles raises an important question: how could anyone so talented in so many different ways as Emma Bell Miles have lived as she did, ill-housed, ill-fed, and often devoid of even the bare necessities while her art, her literature and her scholarship were adding layers of meaning, and even refinement, to people of all classes of society. Of course her individual circumstances must be taken into account. Both her husband and her father were often over-bearing, insensitive and unhelpful. Their personal problems were exacerbated by a sexist society which tended to reinforce their negative traits and discourage their positive impulses. Further, Emma Bell Miles herself, seriously ill much of her adult life, did not always respond to adversity in the most constructive manner. Nevertheless, I believe any attempt to understand the contradictions in the life of Emma Bell Miles needs to take into account four factors beyond individual circumstances and gender inequity. First, I believe that the poverty of Emma Bell Miles was at least partially a by-product of the class structure of society and class chauvinism. Many of the privileged, then as now, remain incredibly insensitive to the needs of the poor. Indeed, there are those among the rich and powerful who tend to feel particularly threatened by those from lower classes who are more talented than they are. Whether Emma Bell Miles was directly exploited may be a matter for conjecture, but obviously, she lacked the wherewithal to make the kind of contacts necessary for material success. Second, the life of Emma Bell Miles was full of suffering because of a health care delivery system which remains, even one hundred years later, completely out-of-step with the affluence of our society as a whole. Adequate health care, both for her physical ailments and for her depression, and for the rest of her family as well, could have made a huge difference, and it could for thousands of others today as well. Third, Emma Bell Miles suffered from inadequate institutional support. Much credit belongs to Lincoln Memorial University for making her author-in-residence for a semester and to Tusculum College for inviting her to lecture. Meanwhile, other institutions feted the already materially successful and sometimes turned their backs on important writers who weren't literally so "well-established." Fourth, we remain a society which offers inadequate support for expectant mothers, children, and their families. Other regional writers, for example, Byron Herbert Reece and Janice Holt Giles, lived at times at a subsistence level, but the difficulties that Emma and Frank Miles experienced were multiplied many times over because they were trying to raise a family while dealing with poverty, health problems and class issues. Now as then, parents who are raising the next generation of citizens deserve greater support from the society as a whole. Allfour of these problems are over one hundred years old, but they still persist. Today many "independent scholars" still contribute substantially, some living at subsistence levels, as do some artists, writers andsmallbusinessowners. Foryears,myownfamilytriedtoeekout a living as booksellers specializing in Appalachia while raising seven children. We will always appreciate the support and understanding, for example, of Grace Toney Edwards who was the only academic whose institution paid us each year to come to her campus. Some improvements have been made in the last hundred years. How glorious programs such as food stamps and TennCare would have been to the Miles family, but we still need to fight against class chauvinism, for decent health care and for support to families with children as well as for institutional support for struggling artists, writers and scholars. This support should be based on the contributions made, not just titles and formal credentials earned. Emma Bell Miles , Age 21 ...