Driven Back to Eden · Chapter
IX: “Breaking Camp” explained
The family prepares to leave the city, treating their departure like a military campaign to inspire the children.
What happens
The family prepares to leave the city, treating their departure like a military campaign to inspire the children. They sell bulky furniture, pack carefully, and manage expenses. The father ties Bobsey to a chair to keep him out of trouble. The mother feels sentimental about leaving the home where her children were born, but the father reassures her that the country will be healthier for them, both physically and morally.
Themes in this chapter
Escape from City Life
The family eagerly leaves the city, with the father citing moral and physical dangers of urban living, such as contagions and the influence of Melissa Daggett.
Family and Parental Duty
The father takes charge of the move, using discipline and storytelling to guide the children, while the mother reflects on her emotional ties to the home where she raised them.
Self-Reliance and Hard Work
The family economizes by selling bulky items and packing carefully, treating the move as a military operation requiring discipline and resourcefulness.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The father and narrator who orchestrates the move, using military metaphors to motivate the children and managing the logistics of breaking camp.
- Winnie
Winnie is inclined to tell neighbor children about the move, but the father discourages this for secrecy.
- Bobsey
Bobsey becomes mischievous and unmanageable during packing; the father ties him to a chair, and he eventually falls asleep.
- Mousie
Tenderhearted Mousie checks on Bobsey after he is tied up and reports that he has fallen asleep.
- Merton
Merton remarks with a veteran's air that 'the old camp is about broken up,' showing his enthusiasm for the move.
- Robert Durham
Robert is the father, who speaks with Winifred about the dangers of city life and the hope for a healthier future in the country.
Key passages
“Like soldiers short of ammunition, we had to make every dollar tell, and when by thought and management we could save a little it was talked over as a triumph to be proud of.”
We had to be very careful with our money, and every small saving felt like a victory.
The father uses a military metaphor to emphasize the family's frugality and pride in managing their finances.
“I told him about a great commander who, in an important fight, was strapped to a mast, so that he could oversee everything. Then I tied the little fellow into a chair.”
I distracted Bobsey with a story about a commander tied to a mast, then actually tied him to a chair to keep him still.
The father uses a creative and somewhat humorous method to control Bobsey's disruptive behavior during packing.
“But greater dangers for Winnie and Merton lurk in this street—yes, in this very house;” and I exulted over the thought that we were about to bid Melissa Daggett a final goodbye.”
The real dangers to our children are here in the city, and I'm glad we're finally leaving Melissa Daggett behind.
The father expresses relief at escaping the moral and social dangers of their urban neighborhood.