A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST BOOK CLUB-WEEK 4-CHAPTERS 5-6
A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST by Gene Stratton-Porter
At the start of this chapter, we have an unexpected moment of tenderness where Kate helps Elnora with the tying of her hair ribbon. Elnora is so shocked by this that she audibly gasps. While we can get excited about what this could possibly mean, I'm going to remind you that we have a long way to go in the book. In life I have found that battles and victories typically boil down to two steps forward, one step back, one step forward, three steps back, and so on. The same will be true here.
Wesley arrives to take Elnora to school. He brings with him Elnora's Christmas present, a beautiful leather lunchbox packed with the most glorious lunch imaginable. While Wesley and Maggie want to bless Elnora, I can't help but still feel that the underlying skirmish from the last chapter between them and Kate is showing up a bit here in the packed lunch. It has a feeling as if a gauntlet has been thrown down.
Elnora runs to the case before leaving for school with Wesley. Opening it up, she finds the note left by Pete and the returned money. Shaking, she returns to Wesley and as they leave for school, Elnora shows him the note and tells him about the money. Wesley knows that whoever left the note had to be looking in Elnora's window to hear the prayer. Creepy!! He helps Elnora get the money put in the bank for safekeeping, but there can be no more going into the Limberlost by herself. Just when things seem to be moving in a good direction for Elnora, she hits a major bump in the road. The Limberlost is Elnora's source of income to secure her future.
I'm going to spend a moment shining a spotlight on Elnora's character and why we love her so much by looking at two happenings; Elnora's run-in with the dirty, starving boy, we later learn is Billy and going to school now. After rescuing Billy, Elnora gives him her special lunch. This act was overwhelmingly beautiful, because for the first time in her life, Elnora has been gifted some precious, well-thought out gifts. It would be so easy to be upset at the thought of sharing her delicious meal that was prepared just for her. Instead, she recognizes that there is a need greater than hers, and she shares without a second thought. As I read this, I found it very convicting. When she goes to school, even though she now has her beautiful clothes and hat, she never loses sight of who she is and where she's come from. She could have chosen to leave her old self behind, to blend into the group, but she doesn't. I love the response she gives about her hat to the horrendously mean girl. Elnora lives up to Proverbs 15;1 " A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." It doesn't mean that Elnora isn't straight-forward with these girls. She absolutely is, but she refuses to return their snootiness with the same behavior.
Meanwhile, Wesley returns to Elnora's case and pokes around. He knows the Corson gang is back together. He stops to talk to Kate. IIf it were me, I would definitely trim the branch if not cut the whole tree down, but Kate won't let him. It's Elnora's tree that she uses to escape out of her room sometimes. She tells him that if they need him, they'll ring the dinner bell. I just kept thinking I hope if something big happens, they can get to the dinner bell in time.
Remember how I said the skirmish was still going on between the Sintons and Kate? When Elnora comes home that night, Kate takes the lunchbox and begins preparing things for the next day's lunch. She's trying to show Maggie "a thing or two." Thankfully, Elnora is the beneficiary of these shenanigans!
My heart melted the next morning when Elnora exclaims that her mother does love her, she just doesn't know it yet. Despite this, we know who's waiting for her as she walks to school. Billy, and this time his younger brother and sister are with him. If we thought yesterday's lunch was meaningful, today's lunch is that times a hundred! But Elnora doesn't disappoint. She opens the lunchbox and shares the meal. Afterall, she believes that "God brought them into her life to show her real trouble." I just find that mindset amazing! Porter gives a bit of comic relief at the end of the scene where Elnora gives a dog some of the old bologna and bread that Billy gave her in return for the meal. The Brownlees, the owners of the dog, think she is trying to kill it with the bad food. Through this, the Brownlees hear about Elnora's morning meet-ups with Billy and his siblings, and Ellen Brownlee becomes a friend.
The next morning when Elnora runs into Billy a rescue ensues thanks to Ellen Brownlee and her friends. They grab the empty containers from the lunchbox (they do sample a thing or two much to Billy's fury), and they refill the compartments with delicious food. I think it's pretty clear that Elnora has won the hearts of her schoolmates.
Thoughts or comments? I'd love to hear them!