The House Without Windows · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The House Without Windows by Barbara Newhall Follett.
Chapter 1
Dedication
The book is dedicated to the author's two playmates, J. H. and S. W. F.
Chapter 2
The House Without Windows And Eepersip’s Life There
Eepersip lives in a house without windows, feeling trapped and longing for the natural world outside. She spends her days in a meadow, finding freedom and connection with nature, but must return to the oppressive home where her parents fail to understand her.
Chapter 3
I: The Meadow
Eepersip spends a blissful summer in the meadow, playing with butterflies and her pets Snowflake and Chippy, and feeling a deep connection to nature. She later runs away to the wild, befriends a doe and fawn, discards her shoes and stockings, and dances freely on Eiki-ennern Peak. Her parents and neighbors attempt to capture her but fail, as she becomes increasingly wild and elusive.
Chapter 4
II: The Sea
Eepersip returns to the sea and lives near the cottage, wearing a mermaid dress of seaweeds. She explores the shoreline, swims, and watches the waves. After a long swim, she lands on a different shore where she meets a little boy named Toby Carrenda. They play together, but when Toby's mother calls, Eepersip is horrified to learn he lives with others. She later decides to use the abandoned Carrenda cottage to prepare a home for her sister Fleuriss, waiting through winter until spring. During a great storm, she revels in the sea's fury, then spends a magical moonlit night before saying goodbye to the meadow.
Chapter 5
III: The Mountains
Eepersip, now living wild, devises a plan to entice her little sister Fleuriss away from home using flowers, ferns, and fairy-like displays. She hides in a lilac bush, leaves apple-blossoms on Fleuriss's bed, and is thrilled when Fleuriss mistakes her for a nymph. Later, Eepersip takes Fleuriss on explorations through gardens and forests, then leaves her alone for a few days to scout a path to the mountains. Eepersip undertakes a difficult solo climb up a snowy peak, enduring cold and steep terrain, and finally reaches a high summit overlooking a vast mountain range.
Chapter 6
Historical Note
Barbara Newhall Follett's father, Wilson Follett, provides a detailed account of the creation and revision of the story of Eepersip. He explains how the nine-year-old Barbara wrote the original draft, lost it in a fire, and painstakingly reconstructed it from memory. The note describes the maturation of the author between ages nine and twelve, the minimal editorial help provided, and the value of the work as a rare expression of a child's pure, unmediated love of nature.
Chapter 7
Endnotes
The endnotes provide supplementary details, including a description of the cordary berry and a note on the author's favorite childhood books.