Driven Back to Eden · Chapter
Telling About Eden explained
The narrator returns home and recounts his adventures at the farm to his family, who react with excitement and enthusiasm.
What happens
The narrator returns home and recounts his adventures at the farm to his family, who react with excitement and enthusiasm. Mousie, Winnie, and Bobsey are particularly animated, while Merton envisions hunting. Later, the narrator discusses the decision with his wife, who reveals she has already decided to support the move based on his enthusiasm. They reflect on their happiness together and finalize their choice to invest in the country home.
Themes in this chapter
Escape from City Life
The family's excitement about leaving city flats for a country home underscores their desire for a new, healthier life.
Family and Parental Duty
The narrator and his wife prioritize the well-being and future of their children in their decision to move to the farm.
Characters to notice
- Mousie
Shows feverish excitement during the narrator's account of the farm.
- Winnie
Explodes with merriment over the mountain name and engages in playful banter with the narrator.
- Bobsey
Joins Winnie in merriment over the mountain name.
- Merton
Puts on serious and sportsmanlike airs, expecting to hunt game for income.
- Robert Durham
The narrator, who shares his adventures and discusses the farm decision with his wife.
Key passages
“It all depends on you. If you wish I will take you up the first pleasant day, so that you can see for yourself before we decide.”
The narrator tells his wife that the final decision is hers and offers to show her the farm before committing.
Highlights the collaborative decision-making between the couple.
“I saw you had the place in your eyes. La, Robert! I can read you like a book.”
The wife observes that the narrator's enthusiasm for the farm is obvious and she trusts his judgment.
Demonstrates the wife's intuitive understanding of her husband's feelings.