# A Problem explained — Driven Back to Eden

> Chapter companion for Driven Back to Eden by Edward Payson Roe.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on the challenges of raising children in a cramped New York City flat. His wife is growing thin and irritable, Bobsey is wild and hard to manage, Merton is sullen and smoking cigarettes, and Winnie is exposed to inappropriate material. The family's living conditions are inadequate, and the narrator realizes he must find a solution to give his children a better environment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Escape from City Life

The cramped flat, lack of space for children, and negative urban influences drive the family to consider leaving the city.

### Family and Parental Duty

The narrator feels responsible for his children's upbringing and well-being, grappling with how to provide a better environment.

### Health and Wellbeing

The wife's declining health, Merton's pallor, and Bobsey's wild energy highlight the physical and mental toll of city life.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The father and problem-solver, observing the family's struggles and contemplating a move to the country.

### Merton

The eldest son, caught smoking cigarettes with other boys, sullen and lacking constructive activities.

### Bobsey

The youngest son, hyperactive and hard to manage, runs away frequently and gets into fights.

### Winnie

The daughter, caught with a cheap, vile journal from a neighbor, showing vulnerability to negative influences.

### Mousie

The frail, pale daughter of fourteen, always saying she is better but never getting well.

### Mrs. Durham

The wife and mother, growing thin, nervous, and irritable from the strain of managing the household and children.

## Key lines

> Our living room was to him like a cage to a wild bird, and slip away he would, to his mother’s alarm; for he was almost certain to get into mischief or trouble.

Bobsey felt trapped in the apartment and constantly escaped, causing his mother anxiety because he inevitably got into trouble.

_Illustrates the confinement of city living for an active child._

> There is no crop in the country so important as that of boys and girls.

Raising children is the most vital task, more important than any agricultural crop.

_Foreshadows the family's move to a farm as a solution to child-rearing problems._

> I felt that my problem was to give these children something to do that would not harm them, for do something they certainly would.

The narrator realized he needed to provide constructive activities for his children, as they were bound to be active anyway.

_Highlights the need for a healthier environment and purposeful work._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se/chapters/i-a-problem
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/driven_back_to_eden_se/chapters