# So Big — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for So Big by Edna Ferber.

- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/i.md): Selina Peake, living in a boarding house with her father Simeon, visits her friend Julie Hempel. She returns home to find her father has been killed by a stray bullet in a gambling house. The chapter then reflects on Sel
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/ii.md): Selina Peake travels to High Prairie to begin teaching at the Dutch school, accompanied by Klaas Pool. She marvels at the beauty of the cabbage fields, comparing them to jewels and Persian patches, which amuses Klaas. Th
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/iii.md): Selina arrives at the Klaas Pool farmhouse in High Prairie, meeting Maartje Pool and her two daughters, Geertje and Jozina. She is shown to her bedroom, where Maartje reveals a centuries-old Dutch bride's chest containin
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/iv.md): Selina endures the harsh winter mornings at the Pool farm, refusing to dress behind the kitchen stove like the others. She battles the cold, the frozen water, and her icy corset, even drawing a demon face on the parlor s
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/v.md): Selina attends church and a box social, where she first notices Pervus DeJong and the Widow Paarlenberg. She bids on and wins Pervus's basket, leading to a conversation in which she offers to teach him arithmetic and rea
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/vi.md): Selina begins teaching Pervus DeJong on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings at the Pool household. Roelf Pool, jealous of the attention Selina gives Pervus, acts out but eventually retreats to his work-shed. Selina 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/vii.md): Selina marries Pervus DeJong in May, just two months after their engagement. She struggles with the reality of becoming a farmer's wife, confiding her fears to Maartje Pool, who shares her own story of running away befor
- [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/viii.md): Selina adapts to farm life, learning about its hardships and mismanagement while maintaining her home and appearance. She uses her savings and creativity to improve the house, bonds with Roelf Pool over shared aesthetic 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/ix.md): Dirk is eight years old, and Selina struggles against Pervus's traditional farming and parenting. She fights for Dirk's schooling and slowly pushes for agricultural innovation, like planting asparagus on the west sixteen
- [Selina Takes the Reins](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/x.md): After Pervus's death, Selina DeJong defies the expectations of her High Prairie community by deciding to drive the farm's vegetable wagon to the Chicago Haymarket herself. Despite the shock and disapproval of neighbors, 
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xi.md): Selina DeJong takes her produce to the Chicago Haymarket, facing a devastating day of rejection and hardship. After sleeping in her wagon, she attempts to sell vegetables door-to-door on Prairie Avenue, enduring a humili
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xii.md): Selina DeJong, determined to give her son Dirk a beautiful life, resists offers of help from her friend Julie Arnold and Julie's father August Hempel. She insists on working the farm herself and keeping Dirk away from th
- [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xiii.md): Selina manages the farm with hired help while Dirk attends school. She tries to subtly guide his future without pressure, buying books and magazines on various professions. Selina learns of Roelf Pool's success as a scul
- [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xiv.md): Dirk works as a draughtsman at Hollis & Sprague, Architects in Chicago, but feels frustrated by the slow pace of his career. He spends weekends with Selina at the farm, where they discuss architecture and his ambitions. 
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xv.md): Selina encourages Dirk to visit Paula Storm at Stormwood. Dirk visits Paula's lavish estate, where he is impressed by her stables and coach house, and they discuss his dissatisfaction with his architectural career. Paula
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xvi.md): Selina DeJong, now middle-aged and living a simple life on her farm, contrasts her own plain appearance and habits with the elaborate beauty routines of her friend Julie Arnold. Julie warns Selina that Dirk and Paula are
- [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xvii.md): Selina DeJong has become a successful farmer, famous for her produce, while her son Dirk achieves financial success in Chicago but lives a narrow, monotonous life. Selina contrasts her own vibrant curiosity and engagemen
- [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xviii.md): Dirk DeJong, now a successful businessman, seeks a commercial artist for a national advertising campaign. He contacts Dallas O'Mara, a talented and independent female artist. Despite initial friction over her fee of $1,5
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xix.md): Dirk DeJong, now a successful businessman, finds his values shifting under the influence of Dallas O'Mara, who sees life similarly to his mother Selina. He grows irritated with the pretensions of North Shore society, inc
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xx.md): Dirk DeJong visits Dallas O'Mara's studio and unexpectedly finds her entertaining General Emile Goguet and Roelf Pool. Roelf, recognizing Dirk as Selina's son, proposes they all drive out to visit Selina on her farm. The
- [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xxi.md): Selina hosts a tea at the farm for General Goguet, Roelf Pool, Dallas O'Mara, and Dirk. Dallas admires Selina's beauty and wants to paint her portrait. Roelf and Selina share a deep, affectionate conversation about their

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