Guest post by Daniel Rabe
Mary’s summer visit is about over, she’s heading back to college on Monday. So this chapter is Sunday, and Laura decides to spend it with Mary, and not take the usual Sunday afternoon drive with Almanzo.
In the morning, they go to church with Pa, as Ma has decided to stay home with Carrie and Grace, for it is a hot day. Of course Laura and Mary dress up for church, and Pa remarks that he is not “spruce enough to beau two such fine looking young ladies to church”. The term “beau” is just not in vogue nowadays, but it was back then, and is quaint.
I find it interesting that often Laura tells of her feeling that Reverend Brown’s sermons are not at all interesting. One wonders what kind of content he used in his messages. Another church related comment by Laura is that when they could not find three places together, Pa sits with the graybeards in the “amen corner”. This says that in this church, it was alright for them to say “Amen” to an item in the sermon, although I don’t imagine it ever coming from Laura!
Laura does such a detailed job of always describing the dresses, and here she is again telling about hers and Mary’s dresses down to the smallest item. We know that earlier she had described that hoops were in fashion in ladies dresses, and this becomes important as she relates an amusing incident in the service that morning, one which was more interesting than Reverend Brown’s message I’m sure!
A kitten wandered into church and after playing in the front near the pulpit, is chased by a dog! Apparently pets were not forbidden in this church! So the kitten finds refuge under Laura’s skirt, and begins to climb up the inner rings of her hoops! Laura stifles her laughter, but is silently shaking, and being hushed by Mary. The kitten escapes, not discovered by the dog, and after church Laura tells them the funny story, so that even reserved Mary had to smile.
I find it kind of fun to contrast the things about the church and compare to today. They had to dress up nice, when many churches now have gone to casual dress code. Some like Mary were very reserved, while Laura admits that she was never interested in Reverend Brown’s sermons, and as far as being behaved in church, was a “hopeless case”, finding amusement in the kitten. However, we do know that she always had to at least know the text of the message to report to Pa and prove she was listening.
In the late afternoon, Laura and Mary go for their walk, and it will be the last one, for Laura will be married before long. Mary is lamenting that things will not be the same, but Laura is trying to assure her that she will be able to visit Laura on Almanzo’s farm, where there will be trees, and sunsets. Mary asks if Laura might put off her wedding until next June, and Laura, in a premonition to what happens, says “it will be just the ceremony, anyway”. How many young ladies now would be seeing their wedding that way? My thought is that Laura is viewing it through the lens of there not being a wedding. But Laura quickly tells Mary that she is ready to get married now, for she is 18, and is done teaching school, having done three terms, and wants to be settled in their own home. Besides, she had earlier said that she and Almanzo seem to “belong together”. Now, when Laura wrote this book, remember that is was 60 years after the events, so she had all of those years to know that she and Almanzo did indeed belong together.
At this point, we can see that Laura is not looking back at the past as much as forward to the future. She closes this chapter by telling Mary that “maybe the times that are coming may be even better. You never know”.
Comments6
I always assumed that it was warm weather so the doors and windows of the church were left open for ventilation and the puppy and kitten just wandered in off the street. I can imagine that must have been a pleasant diversion from Rev. Brown’s sermon, especially when the kitten sought refuge in Laura’s skirt! I know that I rarely found sermons interesting when I was going to church as a child. In fact, if I listened, I would often dissect them for logic and find them lacking! I think that Laura once described Rev. Brown as what we would call a “hellfire and brimstone” preacher, the type who are always yelling about sin and evil, as opposed to the more reserved and kindly Rev. Alden.
I’ve read that Laura remained interested in fashion all her life and did like to be stylish when she went out. We can certainly believe that given her vivid descriptions of her clothing in THGY!
I wonder if Mary hadn’t gone blind, if she might have been eager to marry herself and move away like Laura, rather than wishing everyone would stay at home. Perhaps she still would have been a shy, “home girl” like Emily Dickinson.
I think it is interesting that this is really the last chapter that really talks about Mary…she is mentioned a bit later in this book, but it is just a quick line. And I don’t think she is mentioned in the First Four Years at all. I know that real Mary was still going to college, but I wonder how many times after this scene Laura and Mary had a chance to walk, talk and dream together? After all, Laura would soon be occupied with crops, money worries, a baby and more.
I’ve often wondered if Mary had not been blind, if she would have been the one to snag Almanzo, or perhaps, his brother.
I could see her with Royal more easily than Manly! Mary was always a sedate, inside sort of girl for the most part so a shopkeeper husband might have appealed to her! Almanzo was a farmer at heart and Laura was a more physical girl who could handle farm work better! Not to mention that fact that she stood up to his overbearing sister! 🙂
I have often wondered how Laura’s relationship with Eliza Jane worked out over time, once they were sisters-in-law. Perhaps they were rarely in touch.
Only thing is, in real life, Royal was 18 years older than Mary. The (elder) Wilders’ kids were really spread out in age although it appeared in Farmer Boy that they were only 2-3 years apart at most.
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