Driven Back to Eden · Chapter
New Prospects explained
The family decides to move to the country after much discussion, believing it will be best for the children's moral and physical well-being.
What happens
The family decides to move to the country after much discussion, believing it will be best for the children's moral and physical well-being. Bobsey provides a divine justification, and each child expresses hopes for the new life: Merton wants adventure, Mousie a garden, Winnie chickens and freedom, and Bobsey a pig. The narrator begins planning the move, seeking a suitable location.
Themes in this chapter
Escape from City Life
The family decides to leave their narrow city rooms and the influence of neighbors like the Daggetts for a healthier, more virtuous country life.
Return to Nature
Bobsey's comment about God placing the first people in a garden frames the move as a return to an idyllic, natural state.
Moral Education and Discipline
The move is motivated by a desire to improve the children's behavior, with Winnie's restlessness and Bobsey's sense of shortcomings being key concerns.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The father and narrator, who takes on the task of finding the new farm and manages the family's excitement and planning.
- Bobsey
The youngest child, who interprets the move as a return to the Garden of Eden and dreams of owning a pig.
- Merton
The son who desires a region with Indians, bears, and big game, showing his adventurous spirit.
- Mousie
The tenderhearted daughter who looks forward to a large flower garden where roots can grow freely.
- Winnie
The impulsive and restless daughter, promised chickens and woodland rambles to distract her from Melissa Daggett.
- Melissa Daggett
A sly neighbor girl whose secrets lose their appeal for Winnie once the country move is promised.
Key passages
“We’ll all be good soon, won’t we?”
Bobsey expresses hope that the move will make the family behave better.
Bobsey connects the country life with moral improvement, echoing his mother's teaching about the Garden of Eden.
“Mousie’s soft black eyes always lighted up at the prospect of a flower garden that should be as big as our sitting room.”
Mousie's face brightens at the thought of a garden as large as their current apartment's sitting room.
The garden symbolizes freedom and health for the frail Mousie, who had kept houseplants in the city.
“We were beginning to learn that we could no more keep her in our sitting room than we could restrain a mountain brook that foams into a rocky basin only to foam out again.”
The narrator realizes that confining Winnie indoors is as impossible as stopping a mountain stream from flowing.
Winnie's restless energy is compared to a natural force, justifying the move to the countryside.