“Why is a raven like a writing desk?” a Mad Hatter once asked over tea.
While the connection between two such disparate subjects plagued even the author of that question, there is another set of subjects whose relationship is much more tenable: Thomas Wolfe and a pachyderm named Henrietta.
Today on World Elephant Day, let’s explore the little-known connection between Thomas Wolfe and an Appalachian elephant.
A Few Words about Look Homeward, Angel
Asheville’s native son, Thomas Wolfe, was the youngest of eight children belonging to W.O. Wolfe, who owned a monument business, and Julia Wolfe, who ran a boarding house. When he was 26, Thomas began writing what would become his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel. The book was a fictionalized account of his early years in Asheville, complete with references to both of his parents’ businesses. In fact, the title refers to a Carrara marble monument that sat outside his father’s shop: an angel with one hand “lifted in benediction” toward the heavens.
With his rich characterizations and elaborate prose, Look Homeward, Angel debuted to national success in 1929. The novel catapulted the young Wolfe to a position among the biggest authors of his day. And in fact, Wolfe remains near the top of any list of the best authors of his generation.
Who was Henrietta the elephant?
In 1959, more than two decades after Wolfe’s premature death in 1938, the Asheville Zoo welcomed a new tenant: a 7,000-pound Asian elephant named Henrietta. At the time, the zoo was home to a number of exotic animals, including lion cubs and pythons. Henrietta was a beloved addition to the zoo’s residents. As the years progressed, she was among the last exotic animals housed in the zoo. Today, the zoo has been reimagined as the WNC Nature Center and focuses on animals and plants of the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.
Sadly, Henrietta developed rheumatoid arthritis in her advanced age. She was humanely euthanized on February 9, 1982 when she could no longer stand. A memorial stone stands at the nature center in her honor to this day.
What’s the Connection between Thomas Wolfe and Henrietta the Elephant?
In 1983, on what would have been Wolfe’s 83rd birthday, Asheville recognized their most famous author by erecting a monument downtown in his honor. Fittingly, the design they chose was a bronze replica of the eponymous angel of his first novel. The bronze monument was created by Dan Millspaugh, a professional artist who also taught at UNC Asheville for decades. Like the original, this angel is also poised with a finger lifted skyward.
In 2019, while searching through historical documents regarding the bronze angel, we noticed something interesting. In Millspaugh’s early sketches of the sculpture, an elephant was present and active at the sculpture’s unveiling. We reached out to the artist at the time to ask about his vision. Sadly, Millspaugh passed away in 2021 after a 20-year battle with prostate cancer and we may never know for sure why he included an elephant in his sketch. However, it stands to reason that he envisioned an Asheville celebrity present at the monument’s debut: Henrietta. However, when Henrietta died during the creation of the angel sculpture, the idea to have her present had to be scrapped.
The dates and circumstances line up in such a way that connect Thomas Wolfe, an Asheville-born author who spent many of his adult years away, with Henrietta, an Asian-born elephant who spent the last years of her life in Appalachia. However, without speaking to the artist himself, it’s possible that Millspaugh’s sketches will remain at least a little bit of an Asheville literary mystery.
Learn More about Asheville’s Literary History on the AVL Lit Tour
Would you like to hear more about Thomas Wolfe’s angel and where the original monument ended up?
Learn more about many of Asheville’s literary greats on the next AVL Lit Tour. We cover dozens of stories about Asheville-area authors from the 19th century to the present. And you can enjoy taking in the sights of the city.