The Able McLaughlins · Chapter
The Decision to Move to Town explained
As autumn fades into winter, Chirstie, anxious and fearful after a traumatic encounter with her uncle, spends her days in the cornfield with her baby.
What happens
As autumn fades into winter, Chirstie, anxious and fearful after a traumatic encounter with her uncle, spends her days in the cornfield with her baby. When Squire McLaughlin startles her, she flees in terror, mistaking him for a tramp. This incident prompts Wully to finally decide to leave farming and move to town to start a lumber business with his cousin, despite the disapproval of his father-in-law McNair. At a Sabbath dinner, the family gathers, and Libby Keith shows a cherished photograph of her children, drawing a poignant comparison to Bonnie Wee Johnnie.
Themes in this chapter
Violence and Trauma
Chirstie's extreme fear and flight from Squire McLaughlin reveal the lingering trauma from Peter Keith's return, driving Wully's decision to leave the farm.
Class and Ambition
Wully's choice to leave farming for the lumber business reflects a shift in ambition, spurred by the promise of railroad commerce and the desire to provide a safer, easier life for his family.
Family and Community Bonds
The Sabbath dinner gathering and Libby Keith's emotional display of her children's photograph underscore the deep familial connections and shared memories that bind the community.
Characters to notice
- Chirstie
Anxious and fearful after the trauma of Peter's return, she flees from Squire McLaughlin mistaking him for a tramp, and later begs him not to tell anyone.
- Wully McLaughlin
Decides to leave farming and move to town to start a lumber business after seeing his wife's terror, despite family opposition.
- Squire McLaughlin
Startles Chirstie while trying to shoot wild turkeys; he is amused by the incident and promises not to tell, though Chirstie doubts his discretion.
- Alex McNair
Scorns Wully's decision to leave farming, arguing that the land will go to waste and that the railroad's arrival makes farming more promising than ever.
- John Keith
Arrives with his wife Libby; he gently agrees that Bonnie Wee Johnnie resembles their lost son Davie.
- Isobel McLaughlin
Hosts the Sabbath dinner; she is moved to tears when she sees Libby Keith's photograph of her children.
Key passages
“The year’s calendar of color was almost at an end; only white was left for it now.”
The changing seasons had nearly completed their cycle, with winter's snow the only color remaining.
Opening metaphor for the passage of time and the approach of winter.
“With doors shut the house seemed a trap, a trap from whose windows she had often to be looking to reassure herself.”
When the doors were closed, Chirstie felt trapped inside the house and needed to look out the windows frequently to calm herself.
Illustrates Chirstie's claustrophobia and anxiety after Peter's return.
“He said he had never seen anything so amazing. Him to be chasing her, frightening her more and more!”
Squire McLaughlin declared the incident astonishing, noting how his attempt to approach had only increased her terror.
Squire's reaction to Chirstie's flight, highlighting the absurdity of the misunderstanding.
“Wealth has perhaps seldom fallen so suddenly upon a man so little dreaming of it.”
Rarely had fortune come so quickly to someone who never expected it.
Describes Houghton's unexpected prosperity from the mill and wheat sale during the war.
“He knew what his father would say to the idea that a man getting a dollar and seventy cents for wheat, should leave his land.”
Wully was aware that his father would strongly disapprove of abandoning farmland when wheat prices were high.
Shows the generational conflict over Wully's decision to leave farming.
