Laura Feels "Alone"

I often ask myself, "How did Laura Ingalls Wilder get through hard times?"  The Ingalls family didn't lack challenges.  There were hellish house guests and no Spotify.  During this period of self-quarantine, I decided to reread The Long Winter to discover - What Would Laura Do?

Chapter 12 - "Alone"

George and Maggie Masters went on to have five children.  The oldest child, George, was the baby who wintered with the Ingalls.  

The title of chapter 12 is "Alone."  This is a great time to mention the Ingalls were NOT alone during the long winter - they had an additional family squatting in the attic.  After a shotgun wedding, George and Maggie Masters moved in with the Ingalls, along with their baby.  Their stay was meant to be brief, but due to blizzards and George's weak character - they sponged off the Ingalls all winter.  LIW despised the Masters for decades.  They did nothing to contribute to the struggling household.  George ate more than his share of food and didn't help Pa with chores. Maggie selfishly took the warmest spot next to the stove. 

The "Little House" series is built around the Ingalls surviving, as a family unit, against the challenges of pioneer life.  I was in my forties when I found out about the Masters and felt used.  I didn't want extra people messing up my vision of Laura and her family.   If you want to read more about George and Maggie, I recommend the book Prairie Fires, by Caroline Fraser.

The school Mary eventually attended,

So, back to chapter 12.   It kicks off with Laura knitting lace and Mary talking about going to college.  I feel animosity towards Mary for constantly bringing up college while Laura has resigned herself to a life of teaching school to help support the family.  But, I also admire Ma and Pa's progressive thinking in sending Mary to the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, Iowa.  (Mary completed the 7 year program in 1889.)

As a child, I remember wanting a braid as long as Mary's braid in this illustration.  I never achieved that dream.

The light disappears while Laura is counting stitches.  It is another storm!  Ma is worried about Pa.  Luckily he bursts into the living room bragging, "I beat the blizzard to the stable by the width of a gnat's eyebrow!"  

After dinner, Laura begs Pa to play the fiddle.  Pa begins the show by mimicking the sounds of the wind on his fiddle.  "Queer shivers tingled up Laura's backbone and prickled over her scalp, and still the wild, changing melody came from the fiddle till she couldn't bear it."  Buzzkill Ma puts a stop to Pa's fiddle improv by saying, "We will likely hear enough of that without your playing it, Charles"

I relate to Pa mimicking the unsettling winds.  While sheltering in place, I have been reading a lot.  Many of my book choices take place during tragic events.  I was reading Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly, at the beginning of the quarantine.  The book follows three women during WWII.  I tried to abandon the book, but couldn't.  I had to find out what happened to the characters.  I also ordered Midnight in Chernobyl, by Adam Higginbotham.  For some reason I thought getting up to speed on Chernobyl during a pandemic was a great idea.  My daughter has the right idea, she has been listening to the Harry Potter series on Audible.  Today she is starting book three, perhaps I will join her and learn about Chernobyl another time.  

The chapter closes with the Ingalls metaphorically "hitting the hay".  Laura heads to the attic and looks out the window.  She can see nothing.   Loneliness (despite the Masters family bunking with her) and fear envelope her.  "Town and prairie were lost in the wild storm which was neither earth nor sky, nothing but fierce winds and a blank whiteness."  

WWLD

• Find a creative project and keep your hands busy
• Listen to uplifting music
• Hold a grudge for years  (Use your own judgement on this one.)

Join me next time for chapter 13, "We'll Weather the Blast."

Prairie Eydie

NOTE:  Please feel free to "reach out" if you are struggling with finding out about The Masters.  I am here for you.