Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Politics and Religion
Laura Ingalls Wilder rediscovered

Laura Ingalls Wilder rediscovered

Last updated on: May 29, 2015 at 5:30 am by Gene Veith

0 Comments

Laura Ingalls Wilder rediscovered 2015-05-28T14:13:56-04:00 Gene Veith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Some weeks ago, I blogged about the publication of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memoir, entitled Pioneer Girl. This was the manuscript she wrote about her life on the frontier that she could not get published, whereupon she switched gears to write a slightly fictionalized version in a series of books for children. These became the nine titles in the Little House books, which, in turn, have become classics of American literature. The publication of that original autobiography by the South Dakota Historical Society–complete with photographs, historical annotations, and scholarly notes that give the real-life context for the later novels–has proven to be a literary sensation. The small press was having trouble keeping up with the demand, and Amazon was overwhelmed with lengthy backorders. (Something that seems to have been rectified. Last I checked, the book is available now, without the earlier delay, from Amazon.)

The day my post went up, in which I said how anxious I was to read Pioneer Girl and lamented how hard it was to get ahold of, the intrepid librarian where I teach, Sarah Pensgard, told me that she had found a copy for the library. So I checked it out and was soon immersed in the real world of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Pioneer Girl is a delight to read as it recounts the dangers and joys and personalities of the novels. But we can be thankful the book was not published originally and that Mrs. Wilder turned from writing an autobiography to writing novels, from being a recorder of facts to an artistic creator. Pioneer Girl sets down in a sentence what Mrs. Wilder would later develop into entire chapters. Part of the genius of the series of novels is the way their style reflects the age and mindset of its central character Laura (moving from the first person “I” of the autobiography to the third person “she” of the novels). The earliest books, which have Laura, the point of view character, as a little girl, have a simple style and a naive perspective that reflect the consciousness of early childhood. As Laura grows into a spirited child, a feisty adolescent, and a thoughtful young woman, the style and voice of the novels mature accordingly.

You don’t really have that in Pioneer Girl, of course, which gives the perspective of an elderly woman looking back on her life, but there are still flashes of stylistic genius. For example, how she renders her memory of looking out the back of a covered wagon, the opening from her secure home-on-the-road framing a sight of limitless untamed wilderness. Or when she describes her fear as a little girl no more than five of the wolves that prowled outside their tiny cabin in Indian Territory (on the Kansas side of the border not far from where I grew up), along with her absolute confidence that Pa with his rifle and their family dog would protect her. (Later she wakes up at night to watch the wolves surrounding their cabin howling at the moon.)

The family moves more than just about anyone in our supposedly highly-mobile society today–from New York to Missouri, then to Kansas, then to Wisconsin, then to Minnesota, then to South Dakota, then to Iowa, then to South Dakota again, and then back to Missouri–and doing so in covered wagons that took weeks to get anywhere. The reasons were not just Pa’s wanderlust, as it sometimes seems in the novels, but more importantly, as we learn in Pioneer Girl, the difficulties of making a living on the frontier. The government first allowed the Ingalls to start a homestead in the Osage Nation, but then sent troops to make the settlers leave. Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls (Pa and Ma) try to run an Inn in Iowa, but it ends disastrously as they have to sneak out town at night because they can’t pay their rent. In Minnesota, the family loses everything when a plague of grasshoppers wipes out their crops. (This is unforgettably described in On the Banks of Plum Creek. Also here in Pioneer Girl. In the midst of a harrowing description of grasshoppers covering the ground, eating all plant life, climbing on their clothes as the family is trying to keep them out, we read about the chickens who are just loving it, excitedly pecking up all the grasshoppers they can eat.)

The family endured natural disasters (the grasshoppers, prairie fires, blizzards), dangers from human beings (Indians, outlaws, unsavory frontiersmen), disease (such as the one that blinded Laura’s sister Mary), and the threat of starvation (during long winters). But they also played and sang and socialized and enjoyed each others’ company, handling the difficulties with resourcefulness and an inspiring refusal to let anything defeat them.

I love the apparatus of this volume, all of the footnotes, side-bars, maps, and old photographs. The juxtaposition is instructive. Here are the 19th century daguerreotypes, with their stiff poses and unsmiling faces. But these are alongside lively accounts of these people laughing, going on sleigh rides, courting, and having a good time. We realize that these photographs are not just historical relics but glimpses, through dated technology, of human beings just like we are, only those who had to deal with hardships we are presently oblivious to.

I appreciate the Pioneer Girl for re-introducing me to Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am looking forward now to re-reading the Little House novels.

P. S.: Thanks to Trip Friendly for alerting me to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Documentary that his company has put together, drawing on the material uncovered in the Pioneer Girl. He also pointed me to the Little House on the Prairie website, devoted to all things Laura Ingalls Wilder.

History

Literature

Personal

children's literature

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pioneer Girl

Previous Post

May 28, 2015

You Might Be a Lutheran If…

Next Post

May 29, 2015 Between first sleep and second sleep

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I know wired earbuds are making a comeback (I never stopped using them as I ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"VCRs, tape decks, and cassette players are all having a revival among a segment of ..."

Tom Hering

Luther on Tools

"As a (retired) lawyer I see potential liability from sharing things like power or sharp ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

"I am not sure the items you mentioned, though disused, discontinued, discarded, could be considered ..."

reg

Luther on Tools

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category America Apologetics Art baseball Bible Blog Christ Church crime Culture Economics Education Ethics Family Food Football Government History Holidays Holy Week Humor International Islam Language Law Life Issues Literature Media Medicine Movies Music Nature News Personal Philosophy Politics psychology Reformation Religions Sacraments Science sex Social Science Sports technology television terrorism Theology Uncategorized Vocation war

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the central prayer of Christian faith, taught by Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Lord's Prayer The Shema The Hail Mary The Jesus Prayer

Books by This Author Books by Gene Veith

See All Titles »