tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9196316261585940971.post7488484322348751621..comments2023-07-06T06:04:07.849-07:00Comments on Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife: Making Peace with the Vocations We Don't HaveAnna Mussmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11631139113615066986noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9196316261585940971.post-19285368834457093252016-07-15T14:31:33.095-07:002016-07-15T14:31:33.095-07:00This is beautiful. Thank you, Anna.This is beautiful. Thank you, Anna.Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894104738417832461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9196316261585940971.post-23848975133461578012016-07-14T16:31:49.699-07:002016-07-14T16:31:49.699-07:00I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who ...I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like it. I think part of what I disliked was that her children made no effort to get to know their mother, but that we were supposed to feel sorry for Abby that no one appreciated what she gave up. It was kind of an artificial construct, I felt.Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9196316261585940971.post-62956849785073478152016-07-12T16:56:28.805-07:002016-07-12T16:56:28.805-07:00Interesting. I read that book in my late teens and...Interesting. I read that book in my late teens and didn't like it either, but I don't remember it well enough to know how I'd feel about it today.<br /><br />It sounds like you're on to something. I remember being annoyed that Abbie's adult kids don't seem to appreciate her, and perhaps that is part of the problem that you describe. Perhaps the way in which she gave up her dreams meant hiding a part of herself from her family? And therefore they didn't know the whole her? Or maybe that's just me being modern.Anna Mussmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631139113615066986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9196316261585940971.post-86009405118898641392016-07-09T13:22:58.703-07:002016-07-09T13:22:58.703-07:00Thank you! This article has helped me figure out ...Thank you! This article has helped me figure out a big part of why I didn't like a book I read recently, <i>A Lantern in Her Hand</i> by Bess Streeter Aldrich. As I read your article, I went, "OH! This is what I kept feeling was lacking, but couldn't quite put my finger on."<br /><br />(SPOILERS)<br /><br />The protagonist, Abbie Deal, dreams of being a fine lady who sings and paints. She has a beautiful singing voice and some artistic talent, but then she marries a farmer and raises lots of children who go on to be singers and painters and never understand that their mother ever had dreams like theirs OR that she gave them up for her children. They don't understand how she could be happy with her simple life of house- and farmwork. <br /><br />And neither did I. Because the author did a masterful job of exploring Abbie's dreaming and longing to use these gifts, but when Abbie gave them up for her children, it was very ho-hum, oh well, let's get on with the story. I think it's supposed to come across as fine and sacrificial, and exalt the life of a mother and wife. But it felt flat to me. There was no emotional resonance to the fact that Abbie realized that her dreams were not as important as she'd once thought. She knew that her life had been important, but no one else acknowledged this, and even the author seemed a little uninvolved and unappreciative. Which made me angry. Which made me not like the book.<br /><br />Because a simple life of doing what God sets before you is a blessed thing, and if an author is going to set out to show that, then they should show it and not sort of backhandedly say, "Oh, this was good too."<br /><br />(End of rant.)Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com