Elizabeth and Her German Garden · Chapter
January 15th explained
The narrator reflects on her hopes and fears for her children's future, the gardener's departure due to a ghost, and the challenges of finding a new gardener.
What happens
The narrator reflects on her hopes and fears for her children's future, the gardener's departure due to a ghost, and the challenges of finding a new gardener. Minora's presence grows tense as she copies conversations for her book, while Irais and the narrator discuss Minora's writing and their own domestic frustrations. The chapter also touches on the impending school inspector's visit and the narrator's irritation with Irais's extended stay.
Themes in this chapter
Motherhood and Childhood
The narrator discusses training her children to love the garden and worries about their future social desires, while Minora observes and copies a mother's bedtime routine with her baby.
Marriage and Domestic Life
Irais's strained marriage is highlighted by her husband's refusal to hold doors open, and the Man of Wrath's stubborn habit of holding his glass in his left hand.
Conformity and Eccentricity
Minora plans to adopt a male pen name to avoid feminine stereotypes, while the narrator and Irais mock her pretensions.
Characters to notice
- Elizabeth
Reflects on training her children, dealing with the gardener's departure, and managing Minora and Irais.
- Minora
Grows silent at bedtime, copies conversations for her book, and plans to use a male pseudonym.
- Irais
Criticizes Minora's writing, avoids sleeping with her, and neglects her sick husband.
- April
Announces she will start going to 'partings' at age twelve; holds her glass in the wrong hand.
- The Man of Wrath
Persists in holding his glass in his left hand to avoid appearing improved by marriage.
Key passages
“The gardener is leaving on the first of April, and I am trying to find another.”
The gardener has given notice and will depart on April 1st, so I am searching for a replacement.
The gardener's departure is linked to the cook seeing a ghost.
“Minora grows very silent as bedtime approaches, and relents towards Irais and myself; and, after having shown us all day how little she approves us, when the bedroom candles are brought she quite begins to cling.”
As bedtime nears, Minora becomes quiet and more affectionate toward Irais and me, despite her earlier disapproval.
Minora's fear of sleeping alone makes her seek company.
“Irais is not to be taken in by such simple wiles, and has told me she would rather sleep with fifty ghosts than with one Minora.”
Irais is not fooled by Minora's offer and prefers sleeping with ghosts over sharing a room with Minora.
Irais finds Minora's company more unbearable than supernatural phenomena.
“Shades of the prison-house begin to close here upon the growing boy, and prisons compass the Teuton about on every side all through life to such an extent that he has to walk very delicately indeed if he would stay outside them and pay for their maintenance.”
The threat of legal punishment looms over German children as they grow, forcing them to be cautious to avoid fines or imprisonment.
The narrator critiques the strict German education laws.
“Irais was silent. I hope she was reflecting that it is not worse to neglect one's art than one's husband, and her husband is lying all this time stretched on a bed of sickness, while she is spending her days so agreeably with me.”
Irais remained quiet, and I hoped she realized that neglecting her art is no worse than neglecting her sick husband, whom she has left to stay with me.
The narrator subtly criticizes Irais for abandoning her husband.
