Week of April 2, 2007

Chapter Nine: In Which I Have Another Child to Play with Me:

It seems Little Thankful was spoiled right from the beginning. Hitty came to live with her when Thankful turned four years old. She describes Little Thankful as high spirited. Her native nurse gave in to her whims at every turn. Little Thankful must have had the nurse wrapped right around her finger. The poor nurse was obviously at the mercy of this child and catered to her, perhaps to keep her position in the household.

Hitty says Little Thankful never lavished the same amount of care and affection upon her as Phoebe did, but she never treated her unkindly (at least until later).

Hitty was comfortable and well taken care of in Little Thankful’s household. She had new clothes and was clean again. That must have been a big comfort after traveling around in her dirty condition with the snake charmer. Life was quiet, but Hitty used this opportunity to improve her mind. She enjoyed learning the hymns and committed a number of them to memory. Hitty always seems to find something positive in every situation she becomes involved in.

The Sampler:

I question the ability of Little Thankful - age five according to the sampler - to complete such a task as that sampler. It doesn't look like a child's sampler to me! What do others who do needlework think?
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I seriously doubt Little Thankful’s ability to complete the sampler, too. I have thought that since the first time I saw it. Such an elaborate sampler requires so much planning to center all the mottos and motifs. It can take days of work with graph paper, lots of reworking the design so the corners meet properly. Had it been later, she might have had one of those pre-stamped samplers, but hers is one of the counted stitch sort. My daughters were only able to do simple stamped cross stitch, lazy daisies and stem stitch when they were about six, but it took a lot of patience for them to do it. They did it because I was doing it at the time.
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I suppose it depends on when her mother started her. It doesn't sound like there was a lot to do over there in India for the little girl. As for plotting the chart, etc., probably her mother did that part, and just set Thankful to the sewing bit. Children sure didn't have the free time we give our children now.
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But there would not have been a chart! Charting embroidery is a recent phenomena. The term 'sampler' is a shortened form of "exampler" i.e., example. The mother or teacher (since many samplers were done in 'dame' school) would mark the fabric where a row of stitches should begin and end, and the child would do them. Designs and alphabets would be taken from existing samplers, with some modifying allowed. The reason you find alphabets on so many samplers is that they were used to teach the child their letters, and later for marking the linens for their hope chest.
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I am lucky enough to be the keeper of a sampler stitched by my great-great-great grandmother "in the 9th year of her age," and my opinion on Little Thankful's sewing abilities is formed by what this sampler looks like. In design it's fairly similar to the top half of Thankful's sampler--the alphabet, numbers, some stylized flowers and a border of cross-stitched motifs and designs. If you look closely, it is not completely perfect; the letters in the top row are too large for all 26 to fit, and she starts over again with smaller letters in the second row; and not all the border designs are EXACTLY alike:-). So far as I know, too, she had a fairly typical early 19th century upbringing in modest circumstances, neither over-strict nor over-permissive. So I do tend to doubt that an average five-year old girl would be able, or even expected, to complete a sampler twice as large and quite a bit more complicated than one actually sewn by an eight-year old girl. And, more to the point, as Thankful is portrayed, she was mostly left to the care of her Indian nurse, who indulged her every desire. Keep her little darling from playing because she hadn't finished her daily stint of sewing? Not likely, in my opinion. But here's an odd coincidence: my g-g-g grandmother's name was Mehitabel, although she went by "Hetty" (as stitched on her sampler) rather than "Hitty."

[Sampler Photo Provided by Betsy Eisenmann]

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I can't remember how old Thankful was as I am behind in my chapters, but I think little girls learned to embroider early and were made to pick out the stitches and redo them until they were correct. I used to do a lot of embroidery and I worked hard to get irregular stitches for that primitive look, but the joke, to me, always was that no one in earlier days would have EVER allowed such irregular stitches even in a child's work because they were collecting linens for their trousseau AND practicing for sewing necessary clothing. It was a matter of practicality and learning.
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It has occurred to me that if Thankful started her sampler at the age of five, she might embroider her name and age first, then go on to work on it over several years, finishing it when she was older and more capable.
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My questioning Little Thankful's ability stems from what is a five year old capable of doing. Today's five year old (kindergarten child) generally knows their alphabet but look at the way they make their letters with a crayon or pencil. Now compare that with perfectly counted stitches. Yes, I know they had to take them out and do them over but even the words in the verse would have been a bit beyond a five year old. If she had been seven or eight, I would have found it more believable. By the way, I made that sampler and it isn't the easiest one I have ever done! Getting it to fit perfectly inside that border was no fun! At the time Rachel Field was writing the book, was she really familiar with the abilities of a five year old? Her own child came much later. Just food for thought.
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I think it's going to depend on the child and what input they've received. My older daughter was competently threading a yarn needle and stitching hole by hole on plastic canvas when she was two. By the time she was four, she was selling plastic canvas projects that were on a par with adult work, and she was very capable with counted cross stitch when she was five (took a people's choice ribbon in competition when she was nine with a very complicated, highly shaded piece). My younger daughter was embroidering competently when she was five, preferring that to cross stitch. Also, Thankful would have been considered to be age five up until her sixth birthday, which adds a little bit of time and skill, too.
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Other books I have read say that such a sampler could take years of work to complete. A girl might start one at age five, doing only the straight borders and simplest motifs, and progressing as she gains more skill and more control of her fine hand movements.
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Children used to be expected to do lots of things that adults don't usually do now! Remember, this was pre-sewing machines - all clothing was made and mended by hand - usually by the woman of the house. Only upper-class people had someone to make their clothes for them. So girls started learning to sew very early so that they could help with the mending, and later with the sewing of clothing and bedding. No sheets for sale at the local department store! And sheets and pillow cases were usually decorated with embroidery - as well as dresser scarves, doilies, antimacassars - everything was made by the mother and daughters.
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I grew up in my grandmom's house and she taught me to sew. It was not part of my regular education in school. Although I bought many samplers, I don't believe I ever finished any of them. Although I started at age 5, even the one I started at age12 never was completed.

Skills Expected of a Female Child/Young Woman (Provided by Ann):

You would be amazed at what was expected of a young girl. A basic sampler with alphabet, numbers and a proverb or saying with a simple border was a basic educational tool.

By 7 a girl was expected to complete a sampler with several styles of alphabets and numbers, a border using a number of different stitches and of course some motto to improve her character. She would also complete a sampler of darning patches duplicating the common fabric weaves used in her area.

Eventually she would add a knitted sampler and one of crochet patterns. She would also probably do a sampler quilt to record different pattern blocks and quilting motifs. These along with her copy book of recipes would be the foundation of her trousseau. Girls were expected to bring to their marriage enough linen to establish a household as well as enough clothing to last them through the first year of marriage.

This was not simple busy work either. Before the industrial revolution a family depended on the needle skills of the wife for survival as well as quality of life. While she MIGHT buy finished cloth, most women sewed all the clothing her family wore. She would also weave cloth for everyday linens and probably clothes as well.

Linens would have to be marked. Usually with initials or numbers to identify which bed they belonged to. This became even more important as middle class families began sending their laundry "out" so that the laundress would know what belonged to whom. All those white undergarments had to be washed as well.

The quality and quality of needlework was a real mark of affluence. It was a very visible indication that the family had time to educate its women and they had time to create things that were purely ornamental. By the late Victorian era, middle class homes covered every surface imaginable with some form of needlework.

Headed to Philadelphia:

Little Thankful leaves Hitty alone in the ship’s small cabin a good deal of time while headed to America. Since Phoebe always had Hitty with her on the Diana-Kate, Hitty was lonely on this voyage and missed being with the Little Thankful and the crew and watching everything that was going on. In her usual positive approach, she was happy that she at least could see the blue water and hear familiar sounds of shouted orders, of wind in the rigging, and the chanteys of the men as they hauled on their lines.

After seeing the streets of Philadelphia and the lovely homes and the church they passed, Hitty felt happier than she had been since she became parted from the Prebles. It is good to see Hitty happy again, if only for a little while.

The Party and Bad Behavior:

I think her grandmother really tried. She took Little Thankful right out shopping for a sash for her dress and slippers. There wasn’t time for a complete wardrobe for the party. Hitty felt very pleased with her new shawl.

Thankful was happy to have Hitty as her doll, and she even used a scrap from her own shawl to make a tiny wrap for Hitty. But at a birthday party, Thankful became embarrassed by Hitty's worn complexion when compared to the beautiful wax and china dolls of the other party-goers.

The first opportunity Thankful gets, she stuffs Hitty into the deep recesses of a horse-hair sofa. Poor, long-suffering Hitty spent many, many lonely years in the attic before she had a new owner.

At least she had that pretty shawl to comfort her!

My first reaction, after the shock of being stuffed into the chair would be to get rid of that shawl. I know that sounds petty, but if Thankful thought so little of me that she would stuff me in a sofa, I wouldn’t want any part of that shawl. My feelings would be terribly hurt. But one has to forgive. I understand that being a small girl, and never having been in a situation like that, she was very upset and didn’t handle the situation well. Still, it seemed extreme to part with a doll that has been her companion for two years, especially in that manner, and to never go back and get her. Little Thankful must have had second thoughts about what she had done, didn’t she???? Did she feel the loss of Hitty???? Perhaps not. Had Hitty served her purpose??? Probably so. Wasn’t Hitty good enough any more??? I guess not. Why didn’t Thankful just tuck Hitty away in her shawl until she could take her home? Little Thankful was dear to Hitty, and Hitty is devastated that Thankful is ashamed of her. “I think I have never suffered more in my life than when I realized what had happened.” That particular thought of Hitty’s makes me terribly sad.

I agree that Thankful was probably just trying to be like the other girls. She was raised in a foreign country without knowing any American girls, and didn't know how to act around the girls at the party.

I think her grandmother may have contributed to Thankful's actions by criticizing the child and her clothes. Then she goes to a party and the other children belittle her doll. She must have felt very insecure.

I don't have much to say about Little Thankful except that I'm glad this chapter is over and it was short. She certainly didn't live up to her name "Thankful" - she wasn't. Her mother really did know what was best and that the environment that she was raising her child in was not good for the child and hoped that sending her to America was going to change the child. It seemed that even Thankful's mother did not bond to her very well so maybe that was why Thankful behaved the way she did. Thankful probably did finally attach herself to a doll but it would have been one of those lovely porcelain dolls.

I never had the impression Thankful was very attached to Hitty. Once she got to America and saw what was available, I think she abandoned Hitty with scarcely a qualm.

Her mother stated that she didn't even have a doll to play with when she was growing up (until they found Hitty). The missionary family may have lived in very poor communities in remote areas of India, and Thankful's mother "was better at hymns and Bible lessons than dressing dolls". The nurse was very devoted to Thankful and no doubt spoiled her terribly. Going home to Philadelphia was a shock for several reasons--she had just recovered from being very ill, she was separated from her parents and her nurse, she was living with her previously unknown grandparents, and she had no experience playing the way American girls played. She was younger than the girls at the party and probably just wanted to fit in and be like them. When she realized that her Hitty doll was not the kind of doll that the neighbors had, she was embarrassed and her only thought was to secrete Hitty so none of the girls would be able to tease her again.

I agree: poor little Thankful had undergone so many highly stressful experiences in a short time. I agree she was trying to be like the other girls as she had no idea from her upbringing to that point about acceptable behavior. She must have been so lonely for the only life she had known. She reminds me a little of Mary Lennox, who was also regarded as a difficult child.

I feel sympathetic towards Little Thankful now. It must have been hard for her to have to leave her family and way of life to come to America.

From how her mother talked, I got the impression that Thankful had not been exposed to toys very much. She may not have formed any real attachment to Hitty. Her mother looked at Hitty and saw her as a symbol of the life they left behind and still missed, but Hitty would have been an anomaly to Thankful. She probably attached a little importance to her because she saw how her mother felt about her, but didn't bond with her for her own sake. She probably never gave her another thought and it sounds like her grandmother would just as soon not have that dirty, banged up doll around.

I think you may be right about toys. Being missionaries, I doubt that there was much time for toys and nonsense. I think you are also right about her mother forming the attachment and wishing for her life back in America. She took to Hitty right away. She said she wanted the doll for Thankful, but I have a feeling she liked having Hitty around. Thankful just never seemed to bond much with Hitty. Even on the ship, she left Hitty alone in the cabin all the time while she ran around the ship. And it certainly didn't take her long to dump Hitty when the rich girls started making fun of her.

I also, while sorry for Hitty, sympathize with Thankful. She is just a little girl who has been thrown into new surroundings and she is just trying to survive, plus she is NOT getting the proper signals from the adults around her. I don't think she knows any better.

Chapter IX ends with Hitty still stuffed in the sofa and feeling all alone in the world, devastated, miserable and discarded by Little Thankful.

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