Self Discovery in the Works of Jewett
The intimate nature of Dunnet Landing with its surroundings is noted within the first few pages. The narrator relays fondly:
�a lover of Dunnet Landing returned to find the unchanged shores of the pointed firs, the same quaintness of the village with its elaborate conventionalities; all that mixture of remoteness, and childish certainty of being the center of civilization of which her affectionate dreams had told(1).
Certainly the narrator is one of these ‘lovers’ of Dunnet Landing. She integrates her concept of the town with the natural environment as a way of qualifying the familiarity of the community. As a relative of the pine tree, the pointed firs maintain that evergreen quality which holds true throughout the tumultuous exchange of the seasons. She believes that this almost immortal quality is related directly to the town itself, for just as the firs will retain their brilliant luster so also will the town remain unchanged in her fond memories. This warmth of expression foreshadows the narrator’s encounters with the other characters as an approaching sense of community and friendship to soon be offered.
It is very easy to ignore the charisma of the narrator herself due to the format of the narrative. Nevertheless, it is very important to take note of this quality. The mere fact that the narrator makes no ‘enemies’ in her journey tells the reader volumes about her personality and inherent magnetism. She approaches each encounter as a personal test in sociability to either make friends or find incompatibility-the latter not a desired outcome. The narrator seems to place emphasis on finding herself a friendly acquaintance with all those she meets and puts forth a noble effort on all occasions.
Even the self-proclaimed hermit, Captain Littlepage, opens up to the narrator’s warmth and upon departing cordially invites her to “Step in some afternoonâÂ?¦ (28)” with all the affability of good friends rather than first acquaintances.
Nonetheless, perhaps the clearest example of this friendly desire is expressed in her initial interactions with Mrs. Fosdick. The narrator describes her as “âÂ?¦a strange sailâÂ?¦(55)” which is to say that her unfamiliarity with the woman was at first alienating. She seemed to be under a certain amount of anxiety over meeting this woman and fears incompatibility for unexplained reasons. Nevertheless, her worry proves to be unwarranted as she wins Mrs. Fosdick over in a relatively short interval of time. The narrator proudly declares that, “By the time we thought it discreet to join our hostess we were already sincere friends (58).” There is a certain amount of triumph in this sincere bond for the narrator and she continues to thrive on her social abilities throughout each scenario.
In this mission to befriend people, the narrator asserts her desire to learn and observe. She is not a harsh judge of each character but rather shows superfluous compassion. Her deeply rooted yearning to learn of the condition of others and to not only sympathize but also empathize with them is a trait as venerable as those found in the beaming Mrs. Blackett in which the narrator so liberally gives her highest esteem to. Nevertheless, in this mission to befriend she is also acquiring knowledge of the human condition and asserting the desire to understand what inspires the human spirit.
The reader learns about the discoveries of the narrator in a number of different passages in which she appears to be speaking only of nature as a grand ‘character’. As a way of expression the state of the narrator seems to be represented through the firs themselves as the narration moves along. Just before she is to make the sojourn to Green Island she notes the state of the trees.
�there was a fine view of the harbor and its long stretches of shore all
covered by the great army of the pointed firs, darkly cloaked and standing
as if they waited to embark(28).
The personification of the firs seems to hint at a personal relationship between these trees and the character of the narrator. Just as these trees are standing in a resolute position to embark so also is the narrator prepared to make the journey with Mrs. Todd to the alluring Green Island and on a more general interpretation her resolve to ‘march’ forward in life with confidence.
The findings of the narrator are not necessarily earth shattering and thus tend to escape the casual reader. However, under closer examination some fairly interesting personal insights can be uncovered. Some essential ideas that the narrator seem to cherish come directly from the keen sentiment of Mrs. Todd, Mrs. Blackett, Elijah Tilley and William.
After the Bowden family reunion, the narrator reflects on the ‘success’ of the time spent. She closely observes Mrs. Blackett and her daughter’s interactions and comes to a very enlightening resolve about the effects of time on the heart.
Neither of my companions was troubled by her burden of years. I hoped in
my heart that I might be like them as I lived on into age, and then smiled to
think that I too was no longer very young. So we always keep the same hearts,
though our outer framework fails and shows the touch of time. (112)
She treasures the examples before her and vows to approach her ‘old’ age with the same vitality of heart. She notes that she too is not very young which seems to make this advice even more significant to her present decisions.
Elijah Tilley has his own simple sentiment to add to the acquiring emotions of the narrator. His reflections on his deceased wife are solemn, yet seeping with a sense of gratitude toward her life and love for her familiar characteristics. After he proceeds to describe in detail a great many intricate and seemingly irrelevant qualities of his former wife he declares fervently “..how I think o’ all them little things!(122)” The value of these ‘little things’ is certainly what most of the novel proves to accentuate and the narrator unquestionably seeks to glorify the minute things in light of the immense picture.
William’s contribution proves to be a more abstract one in comparison to the previous ones. He introduces the narrator to the liberating nature of space within the scope of the enthralling ‘character’ of the natural world as affecting the soul. Although William is a man in voluntary isolation from most of mankind he is in very intimate connection with the community offered by the physical aspects of earth. He acts as the narrator’s guide on Green Island much like Virgil was to Dante when embarking on the infamous journey of the inferno. They climb to the highest point of the Island and without any exchange of words the narrator looks out into the vast view before her.
It gave a sudden sense of space, for nothing stopped the eye or hedged one
in-that sense of liberty in space and time which great prospects always
give(44-5).
The sheer immensity of the vision seems to impress the narrator with an immediate sense of awe. She feels the liberation of space and relates that to the moment as being captured with that same immortality that she expresses upon citing the pointed firs. It’s that sense of eternity which nature provokes in the human mind that allows this brief reflection to hold such impact on the narrator.
Though the action of the novel is very slight, concentrated only on the acquaintance of each character in a scenario to scenario based format, the narrator goes away with a tremendous amount of understanding that had hitherto escaped her. In satisfaction near the end of the novel she once again relates herself to the natural environment as she asserts that:
There was no autumnal mist on the coast, nor any August fog; instead of
these, the sea, the sky, all the long shore line and the inland hills, with
every bush of bay and every fir-top, gained a deeper color and a sharper
clearness(127).
The absence of mist or fog along the coast correlates to the dissipation of confusion within the narrator’s mind. The deepening in color of the pointed firs as well as the new clarity of their rich hue appears to amalgamate into a fresh lucidity of mind for the narrator. She feels a sense of renewal in her journey at this departure of Dunnet Landing. The visit has increased her sense of humanities needs and motivations and she greatly values this unique glimpse into community.
Towards the end of the novel, the reader learns that the narrator is coming to an abrupt understanding of the transient nature of the pleasures of Dunnet Landing as relating to all aspects of life. She solemnly confesses that, “âÂ?¦we die before our own eyes; [and]âÂ?¦ see some chapters of our lives come to their natural end(129).” Though this chapter has indeed come to its end there is no indication that the narrator will allow this to prevent more chapters from collecting. She accepts the facts of departure in life and retains the memories fondly in her mind.
Nonetheless, Mrs. Todd’s gruff characteristics in the end prove to trouble the narrator who was evidently searching for a more cordial and certain parting. When the narrator doesn’t receive the warm departing remarks she believes she has due after such a pleasant visit she appears to be a bit brash in her actions. She asserts that “I could not part so, I ran after her to say good-by, but she shook her head and waved her hand without looking back when she heard my hurrying stepsâÂ?¦ (129)”
Apparently Mrs. Todd disapproves of this mildly brash attempt to rectify her troubled mind. Not only does this stress the idea of composure but it also enforces the ambiguity of a ‘chapter ending’. While the narrator seeks for something final and definite, Mrs. Todd signifies a continuation of daily activity. The reader can assume that Mrs. Todd will continue to go about her herbal practices and visit people of her acquaintance-her life does not end with the narrator’s absence. Elijah Tilley also enforces these values for when the narrator waves goodbye to him he simply responds to her excitement with “âÂ?¦a solemn nod(130).”
Clearly this invokes the clichÃ?© that “all good things must come to an end” as the narrator is learning it seems for the first time that she must accept the natural progression of her life from one stage to another. She shows her understanding of this as she relays:
�at last I lost sight of her as she slowly crossed an open space on one of
the higher points of land, and disappear again behind a dark clump of
juniper and the pointed firs(129, 130).
As she watches Mrs. Todd disappear she closes the memory with bittersweet sentiment. To say that she observes her until she passes behind the pointed firs is to say that she passes into her memory in a very unique way as her great “âÂ?¦sibylâÂ?¦(7)” departing back into her familiar daily existence.
Similarly as the narrator departs from the town itself, she closes the memory of the visit into the whispering of the sea breeze that propels her onward in her life.
Presently the wind began to blow and we struck out seaward to double
the long sheltering headland of the cape, and when I looked back again,
the islands and the headland had run together and Dunnet Landing and
all its coasts were lost to sight. (131)
The intricate correlations of nature with the narrator’s journey ring clearly in these closing lines. Although there is no obvious closure to the book it is understandable that she has learned a great deal and feels satisfied with the interactions. There is a triumphant feeling that pervades these last lines and invokes feelings of the immense scope of nature as compared to the immense excursion of life. Although the village is lost to sight it is clear that it is not lost to memory-a distinction that emphasizes the intangible features of the human experience rather than the palpable.
Even though the reader knows nothing of the narrator’s name, family, age, or place of birth this does not take away from the visit to the small coastal town. In essence it proves to allow the reader a ‘blank slate’ in which to write the experiences of Dunnet Landing on just as the narrator herself formulates her own perceptions. Since there are no preconceived notions of the narrator’s experience and understandings imposed on the reader it makes each scenario a fascinating exploration of social techniques and human aspirations. The reader is to take part in this sojourn and discover with the narrator the simple aspects of life that are the very things that enhance our everyday experience and make life worth living. Her emphasis on simplicity is very distinct and carries with it a power only found in the plainness of those slight daily ‘adventures’.
Works Cited:
Jewett, Sarah Orne. The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories. New York: Signet Classics, 2000.
