In Which We
Discuss Hitty: Her First Hundred
Years
Written by Rachel Field, illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop
Hitty
Week of
Chapter One: In
Which I Begin My Memoirs:
The story of Hitty begins in an antique shop. A set of circumstances within the shop results in Hitty being placed on the owner’s desk at night, sitting next to an inkwell, a feather quill and a stack of fresh white writing paper. Hitty feels it was the quill pen that gave her the idea of writing the story of her life. We learn in this chapter of Hitty’s beginning in the Preble household, about how she was fortunate enough to be carved by the Old Peddler for little Phoebe Preble. Hitty hints at events in her life which we will hear more of in later chapters. She also tells of her first big adventure, being left in the church for several days. Most of all, she gives us a glimpse of life one hundred years ago.
DISCUSSION:
Re-reading Chapter 1 was very interesting. Since I know what is going to happen in the rest of the book, I can see that Rachel Field put many clues in the first few pages that foreshadow events in Hitty's life. I probably skipped over that information the first time I read the book. It's much more meaningful now!
When Hitty mentions the conch shell and the
When she mentions Isabella Van Rensselaer and
Clarissa, I
know that those are two of her future owners. I know how the Old
Gentleman and Miss Hunter caused Hitty to be in the antique shop in
Hitty explains why the doll we see in the Stockbridge Library has "HITTY" stitched in red on her chemise, and how lonely and frightening her first 'adventure' under the church pew was for her.
Yes, it's good to be re-reading this wonderful classic book!
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One of the things I thought was really weird when
we moved
to NY was that we have both a
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I want to say that the Van Tassels in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow were fashioned after some Van Rensselaers, but I could be really wrong there. Either way, it does seem to be a popular name in NY.
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It's always fun re-reading a book and discovering clues!
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It was refreshing to go back to the beginning of the Hitty journey. I'm seeing more details than I did before and appreciate what a good story teller Rachel Fields was.
After waiting and waiting no one could blame Phoebe, to just have a peek, to just smooth the dress folds, to just hold her a bit..... maybe some of that was at Hitty's urging? She must have been just as anxious to be played with and see things.
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I was not a Hittygirl for the first reading, and have not checked back to the files except to see a few photos of projects, but I am enjoying my reading, and enjoying the discussion. I think I skimmed the book the first couple times I read it as an adult, (I'm pretty sure I read it as a child, as I read everything I could lay my hands on) as I was in a hurry to find various incidents or descriptions that had been referred to on the list, possibly for challenges or swaps.
This time I am finding it particularly appealing that Rachel chose to let Hitty be the story-teller. It seems much more endearing to be seeing, hearing, and experiencing things through her eyes and voice for the first time, than it might have been if told in the third person.
I enjoy the way references to the past are interwoven with events of the present, and find that they inspire me to want to read on and learn more about the little hints and clues she has given us that won't be explained to us until the future.
The descriptions of having to learn to stitch before playing, not being able to play on Sunday, dressing in clothing saved for "good", riding to church in a horse drawn sleigh, what would the neighbors think, etc, are very much part of my mother's past and to a certain extent my own past. In my case, we weren't allowed to do work on Sunday. To me sewing and handwork was never work, but it was frowned upon anyway.
And the neighbors' opinions were always held up to us as a mirror for our behavior.
I received a lovely feather for Christmas that could be Hitty's quill pen, and we have several antique inkwells, but no pewter ones... I guess we will have to settle for a glass or pottery one.
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We can tell through the story's perspective that Hitty has a definite personality, which might not have been as evident has Rachel told the story for her. I think that Rachel's decision to let Hitty narrate her own story makes both the story and the doll so very appealing to us, or at least to me. She became more than a doll; she's an entity I wanted to know better.
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Oh this is so right! It's one of the things that make the story just as good today as when it was written. Also that Hitty has so many good qualities: humble, yet confident; grateful, not greedy; tolerant and adaptable....oh, you know.... those things we all strive to be.
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How hard it must have been to wait to play with her doll. First having to sew a garment, then finishing on a Saturday evening and having to wait till Sunday evening. I can well understand Phoebe's temptation.
How scared Hitty must have been in the dark church. But she still took action kicking her pegs when she heard the caretaker. I can imagine the relief that Hitty and Phoebe felt when they were reunited.
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I know! I have to think Mother was a bit harsh--but then, it builds character, I suppose. Still, poor Phoebe--to finish on the day she must not play.
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But doesn't the secret of taking Hitty to church make it so much sweeter? Not to mention the anticipated reunion.
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If you remember that this was 1830ish, children didn't have a lot of freedom. They did what they were told.
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True--and I am always aware that I'm judging another time against my modern sensibilities--and we are sooo different!
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In those days...
mothers were strict...especially on daughters to raise them proper so
they
could marry well... They had certain expectations of what a daughter
would be,
prim and proper... and Phoebe would have been considered a bit of a
handful...
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She was her mother, not her grandmother! Big difference.
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This is what really hit home this time. When Andy and Phoebe walked the Old Peddler down the road, then watched as he walked to the curve in the road. He turned and waved, and they kept waving until he could no longer be seen. I sooo related to this, as when my daughter and family leave to go back overseas, I will stand on the front stoop and wave until I can no longer see them...wanting so much to freeze time. Phoebe and Andy must have loved that old guy as if he were their grandfather. It's rather heart breaking and bittersweet...in my mind’s eye anyway. I have no doubt the Old Peddler made Phoebe a doll out of his beloved mountain ash (a magical piece of wood from Ireland that would ward off evil and bad spirits on his over the road travels)...out of love for the little girl. It was a great sacrifice for him. Dorothy MUST have reached back into her childhood memories to add that little scenery in her book. It's just too personal to be made up....
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It's amazing that the Old Peddler decided to give up a piece of wood he had obviously been carrying around with him, or how would he have had it? Or.....did he make up that story to delight a child? Well, guess we'll never know, but its fun to speculate.
Why was he carrying that piece of wood around, just luck? And if he gave it up, does he feel unprotected now?
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Bet he ended up on the Titanic!
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Well, as he kept A LITTLE SCRAP of the WOOD, I believe he might have indeed been on the Titanic but was one of the few survivors!
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Or maybe Luck, like Love is something that if you give it away, you end up having more?
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Very good point! Kindness is the better than luck anyway.
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Oh I hope so. I've grown attached to the character....after all, without him...there's no story. What if he had made Hitty from a piece of pine or oak.....dare we think it???
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From what bit of research I did, the Irish of olden days used to carry a piece of mountain ash in their pocket to protect them from faeries. I guess faeries (back then) were rather tricky and not very nice! So if the Old Peddler had a back pack, and he was traveling about on quiet deserted roads, walking past forests and such....yep...bet he had that piece of mountain ash at all times. Hence...he must have loved little Phoebe to give up something that meant so much to him!
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Maybe he switched to carrying a piece of bread, then. That's traditional for Irish, as protection from fairies!
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Oh goodness. I am going to allow myself to think that he kept a little of the scrap from the doll to protect himself from those kinds of fairies.
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On the Shidhe (Irish faeries) they break up into good and bad, but one can never be too sure. Consider the kelpie, the bahnsidhe, and the leprechaun. The bad are always bad, but even the "good" can be tricky! Protection wherever the fair folk may be is quite understandable!
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I can just see the Old Peddler as a young man, leaving Ireland....His mother giving him a block of mountain ask wood to keep him safe from the faeries, like in the stories she used to tell him as a child. Perhaps the block of wood would remind him of home and of her, in his travels. When he meets this sweet little girl, he is reminded of his childhood, of his mother, of home. These things make him happy and he, in turn, sets out to make the little girl happy with what he has left of home: this block of wood and the faerie stories.
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There is an art to giving gifts. I think, in these
times of
relative plenty, many people have lost sight of that art form. We see
it in the
Potlatch culture of the Northwest and in many of the
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I agree. I know that for me, it is much more special to give someone a gift that I have made for them, especially with them in mind. Years ago, people used to ask me if I SELL some of my things. My reply was always...no, I can do more for love than I can money. There is just too much of me in it. Right now, I am busy knitting socks...My daughters and grand daughters love hand knit wool socks. Now that they have all become "grown up", I am happy to have some way to really please them. Oops...I got off track...I think the Old Peddler never even missed the wood. And many smiles when he thought about Phoebe...
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Today's society is very self-serving, valuing ourselves and our possessions far more than we do other people. In past generations, things were different, and the Old Peddler who lived with the Preble family through that winter must have been grateful to them for his lodgings and food as well as developing a fondness for little Phoebe. He knew that the doll would please her, but because the wood had to be dried, he could not simply go out and cut a fresh branch. He gave up his own piece of lucky mountain ash for her. It was a gift that was generous beyond mere monetary value, yet the very sort of gift that surely little Phoebe (and likely her mother as well) appreciated nearly as much for who gave it as for the item. The fact that the children waved him goodbye for so long is evidence of how much they cared for him. Maybe that's why we value the inspiration for the book so much: we value the spirit of the Peddler's gift.
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The Peddler was giving of himself and I believe he was very grateful to have a warm place to live for the cold winter and wanted especially to do something for Phoebe. And I believe his kindness and gratitude extended through Phoebe to her mother.
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I am pretty thankful that my family has always and still does value the handmade gift!!
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I think Phoebe was so eager to get her back and I would say she rushed as much as she could to get the undies all ready for her precious doll.
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I've read this book so many times, but I swear--each time is a new time!
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I was talking with my sister one day about my dresses for Hitty and that they are simple and hand sewn, and sometimes I feel I am down on myself because they are not perfect. I also tend to like large patterns (as well as small) for the dresses I make. I think it makes them interesting. My sister pointed out that Phoebe's clothes for Hitty were most likely far from perfect. She was a little girl, making clothes for her doll, and used scraps of cloth from her mother's sewing basket. I am sure that it probably didn't matter one whit to Phoebe what was on the fabric for a design as long as she had a scrap to make something from. Fabric was a precious commodity to families even though they were probably better off than many of the neighbors, so her mother was most likely not doling out good cloth for her to use. So when I'm not completely happy with a dress I have made, I think of Phoebe and say "well done" to myself. Phoebe would really love this!
This also brings back memories from my childhood when making "items" for my dolls. It seemed I was much more creative then, and could make something from nothing. I loved to dive into the sewing materials to see what I could find, and Mom also made the most wonderful clothes for my favorite doll – which, unfortunately, I no longer have.
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YES! That's one of the things I love about Hitty ...she's "real" not "perfect."
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Looking at the Real Hitty, one can come to that conclusion pretty fast! I've seen some modern Hittys who are technically beautiful, and the Real Hitty is a bit plain.
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I was always making something for my dolls! I got a lot of ideas out of books too! I would make button rattles for my dolls from my grandmothers button box (an idea I got from the Little House books) and many, many quilts! The best ideas were always the simplest! My mother sent one of my favorite dolls away to a doll museum to be "dressed properly," and when she got back, I was horrified! They hadn't dressed her right for her "personality" (the one I knew she had anyway), and I ended up ripping it off and putting her old calico dress back on her. Then, all was right with the world! I was heartbroken because that doll was lost in a move when I was in my 20's. The box was misplaced or something. Anyway, she was lost forever. I was heartbroken. She was a 7" Ruth Gibbs china doll and I recently got one on Ebay for under $25!!! I was thrilled! It won't be my "Mary" but perhaps it will be her sister or something!
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Your sister is right. I like large prints, too, and never hesitate to try it on Hitty. There are some patterns, like Susie Graber's muumuu pattern, that work great with large prints.
What I like about Hitty is that she can be all things to all people: from those who stick strictly to the book in dressing and housing her to those willing to send her on modern adventures. That is any doll's true gift to her keeper.
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I have to start saying that to myself. I am used to making clothes for other people and I make them as close to perfect as possible. I know there are a lot of flaws but, the person doesn't see them.
So, from now on I will make Hitty's clothes with Phoebe in mind. If it looks as good as a child's sewing then, I should be happy. If I make it for someone else then, I will up the bar, of course. But, 'perfect' is keeping me from playing and trying new things.
I have a renewed spirit and ready to get busy.
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Yes, just think Phoebe and you will happily be making up those dresses and enjoying it. And don't let the "perfect" issue stop you. Whatever Hitty that receives your swap or gift will love it because you made it and that is what counts!!
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I often think of how I search for the tiny prints, and try to use them.....but most likely, Phoebe would have been thrilled with any sort of fabric!
I remember making Barbie dresses, and I was not in the least concerned with scale, lolol!
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I have been enlightened so much by the discussion on the dresses little Phoebe made. I too, have hesitated joining swaps due to my lack of sewing skills. But now, I think I will join in more...and add a little note to my creations stating they are made "in Phoebe tradition "...with love, but not perfection!
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Also, regarding sewing abilities of children in the 1820's - it would have been an essential life skill for a person of Phoebe Preble's situation, and at the age of seven she would likely have been a better needlewoman than most of us today who do this as a hobby. Just look at the samplers made by girls her age and younger!
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I'm finding it interesting that we have not touched on a lot of items discussed in our first reading of the book, for instance: the timing of Hitty - was the real Hitty as old as Dorothy made her; was the real Hitty a German doll; the location of the Preble home; reasons why the peddler was at the home with Capt. Preble gone; propriety of Mrs. Preble; could the peddler have really been a woman; the paint used on the original Hitty; did Dorothy research the fabrics for Hitty's dresses or were the fabrics of the book out of sync with the time; why Hitty was left in the church for so long and no one sounded the alarm; the probability that future characters in the book were named for relatives of Dorothy. In this re-read, we are discussing the Peddler and his feelings for Phoebe; giving up his magic wood; with some hints as to what is coming. I think this second read is going to be quite interesting.
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I know! I deliberately refrained from reading our first discussion, but then broke down and went back and read it. New folks, new things to notice?
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I agree. Those that have read Hitty before....I think we are going beyond the story, and delving into Dorothy's thinking and emotions...I love it!
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This re-reading got me wondering about what informed Dorothy's [meant to say Rachel’s] faith life – does anyone know if she was a woman of any sort of faith?
Just thoughts, aside from the obvious references in the story to Mrs. Preble's upholding of practices regarding the Sabbath (Though I do believe she was practicing charity and hospitality by inviting the Old Peddler to over-winter with the family): the comparison of church bells and sleigh bells; Hitty's deep feeling of solemnity at hearing the singing of the Doxology; Hitty's claim that she was glad that dolls did not have consciences compared with her admission that we all have our little infirmities; Hitty's abandonment of hope of "ever being saved." (In a church! Wonder if that was a play on words by the author!)
The mountain ash wood seems like a reference to
the
pre-Christian faith traditions of the
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Excellent points...this re-read is very much an eye opener and a deeper view of who Dorothy [meant to say Rachel] was.
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I've noticed that several people's book posts mentioned Dorothy and her religious convictions and thinking, and that change of focus from author to illustrator somewhat confused me. I know that the two women not only shared Hitty but also spent time together creating her book, bouncing ideas off of one another; yet we seem to be ignoring Rachel Field in our discussion, focusing more on Dorothy Lathrop, the illustrator, than on the author. I love the drawings in the book, and it's an interesting switch-off to assume that Lathrop's illustrations were motivation for Field's story. I'm really curious about why folks mention Dorothy more than Rachel Field in their discussion posts.
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I assumed we were talking about the author, too, and I may have said Dorothy somewhere along the line instead of Rachel, but have we ever really mentioned Dorothy? How much influence did she have with the Hitty book? She was the illustrator, but . . . .
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I recall reading somewhere that they wrote letters back and forth about Hitty, so I'd guess they both were involved.
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I found this really interesting article about DPL. Here is the link, and I hope it works: http://www.bpib.com/lathrop.htm
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I wished I had found
the Hitty book when I was young and invading the library. I know it
would have
become one of my most favorites…mainly because it had drawn
pictures in it. I loved to look at the
illustrations.
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For wonderfully comprehensive information on this subject, please refer to our own Vickie Applegate's site, specifically:
http://picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/20097600
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http://www.examiner.com/x-37688-Bangor-Everyday-People-Examiner~y2010m3d17-Womens-History-month-the-first-woman-Newbery-winner—Rachel-Field
This
is a short article written by
Robin Wood--the woman who now owns Rachel Field's cabin on
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How interesting that Robin Wood bought the house and that the house still had many of Rachel Field’s things in it. I loved seeing the photo of the house. And to learn that Rachel Field wrote three novels and they were all made into movies. I wonder if Robin Wood knows how well the fascination with Hitty has endured.