# The Getting of Wisdom explained — The Getting of Wisdom

> Chapter companion for The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

## What happens

Laura Rambotham leaves her family home to attend boarding school, experiencing a mix of excitement and anxiety. She is accompanied by her mother and younger siblings to the train station, where she says goodbye and begins her journey into a new world of education and social dynamics.

## Themes in this chapter

### Education and the Nature of Wisdom

Laura's departure for school marks the beginning of her formal education, but also hints at the informal lessons she will learn about social hierarchies and self-perception.

### Family and Maternal Expectations

The farewell scene highlights the mother's hopes and anxieties for Laura's future, setting up the tension between family loyalty and personal growth.

## Character check-ins

### Laura Rambotham

The protagonist, leaving home for boarding school, feeling both eager and nervous.

### Mother

Laura's mother, who accompanies her to the station and gives her advice before departure.

### Pin

Laura's younger sister, present at the farewell at the station.

### Leppie

Laura's younger brother, also at the station to see her off.

## Key lines

> Laura Rambotham was leaving home.

Laura Rambotham was departing from her family home.

_Opening line establishing the chapter's central event._

> She was a thin, pale child, with a great deal of straight, lank, black hair, which was brushed back from her forehead and plaited into a long pigtail.

Laura was a slender, fair-skinned girl with long, straight black hair pulled back into a braid.

_Physical description of Laura at the start of her journey._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/the-getting-of-wisdom
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters