Sarah Orne Jewett was born Sept. 3, 1849 as the second daughter of Theodore and Frances Jewett. Named after two grandmothers, her full name was Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett, but the Theodora soon dropped from use (Silverthorne 24). Growing up in South Berwick, Sarah was exposed to all the scenic images Maine had to offer. The high hills, pine forests, mountain views and fields of flowers that fill her stories once filled her childhood.

Publication of Jewett's most notable work, The Country of the Pointed Firs, first occurred in the Jan. through Sept. issues of the Atlantic in 1896. In 1919 the first illustrated edition of the entire text was issued (Silverthorne 164).

Critics consistently praised Jewett's work during her lifetime. Posthumously some readers and scholars continued to place value on her work. However, "a certain language of diminution – her work is characterized as 'small,' 'exquisite,' 'minor' – appears from the first in the commentary on Jewett and becomes the keynote of professional literary critics' assessments of her work" (Howard 1).

The view that Jewett's work was undeniably beautiful, but also small in scope and vision is most often attributed to her regional subject matter. Jewett's position as a woman writing primarily about women lead to similar conclusions about the value of her work.

In recent years Jewett's work has been reevaluated in terms of value from a broader perspective of race, class, gender and sexuality (Howard 3). Specifically feminist literary criticism worked to broaden the value and appreciation for Jewett's body of work.

Allusion: to refer indirectly

Invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1742 the Franklin stove was an improvement of earlier cast iron stoves. Also referred to as a Pennsylvania or American stove, the Franklin stove enjoyed widespread popularity. Cast and extensively used in maritime regions these stoves originally burned wood, providing a consistent and efficient heat source. Eventually the open hearth Franklin stove incorporated a grate for burning coal and double doors. When these doors were left open some stove designs resembled a fireplace.

Sources:

http://inventors.about.com

www.stfx.ca/people/Istanley/material/Household/lighting.htm

Sherman notes that the narrator comes to this place entirely alone. She is dependent therefore upon Dunnet Landing to provide her with companionship (203). At the same time the narrator comes to her summer home with a purpose. She is a writer working with a concrete goal in mind. This creates a situation of what Nancy Chodorow calls "mature dependence" in which the narrator is able to stand on her own as well as able to recognize her need for support (qtd. in Sherman 204). In the opening of chapter eight we see the narrator ask for that support, inviting Mrs. Todd and her old friend Mrs. Fosdick into her room to keep her company.

Mrs. Todd is seen, from the narrator's first introduction, in communion with nature as a fragmentary part of an ancient, lost tradition. It is a tradition composed of strange plants with mystical, healing powers organized in "queer" little patches of garden.

According to an article written in 1872 by Wilson Flagg in Atlantic Monthly, the idea that certain New England herbalists might be the remnants of some ancient cult was not so far fetched. He claimed that as the medical profession became increasing centered on scientific chemistry, the older art of medieval doctors and alchemists "fell into the hands of certain individuals of the female sex" (qtd. in Sherman 206). These women used the curative powers of certain herbs and plants to aid in the general health and well being of their communities. Often, Flagg explained in his article, the power of the plants stemmed not so much from its chemical makeup than from its spiritual associations (Sherman 206).

Further evidence of Mrs. Todd's intimate connection with the world of plants and herbs is conveyed in her innate understanding of the underlying dialogue of nature itself. In the "Poor Joanna" section the narrator comments that, "The weather had convinced Mrs. Todd that it was time to make a supply of cough-drops" (41). Erich Neumann's description of a matriarchal seer portrays a woman with powers similar to Mrs. Todd. Neumann states, "the woman is the original seeress…the woman also understands the rustling of the trees and all the signs of nature, with whose life she is so closely bound up" (qtd. in Sherman 207).

The final image in this portion concerning Mrs. Todd is of the woman "bringing forth herbs from dark and dry hiding-placing" (41). The picture of a powerful woman summoning specific items from within a large and mysterious stash can not be ignored. The section culminates with Mrs. Todd calling her work "done, and well done" (41) in much the same way that God called his creation of earth "good." The spiritual ties and undertones here are undeniable.

Spearmint or Mentha viridis is one of three chief mint species (peppermint and pennyroyal taking the other two spots). It has been highly esteemed for many centuries and is found wild in nearly all countries.
Source: http://www.botanical.com

Mrs. Todd is consistently portrayed in reference to several specific herbs, spearmint being one of them in chapter eight. In ancient pharmacopoeia spearmint was "believed to corroborate the brain and increase and preserve the memory" (qtd. in Sherman 206). The association of Mrs. Todd with the herb in this particular section makes sense, as she is about to embark, along with Mrs. Fosdick, on telling a tale of community history. In doing so the two ladies effectively preserve the memory of Joanna Todd, allowing her experience to continue as a lesson for others long after her demise.

Ostentatiously: pretentious or excessive display

The position of Joanna Todd's story in the narrative structure of The Country of the Pointed Firs is extremely important. Thus far, the narrator has heard the tale of Captain Littlepage as well as paid a visit to Mrs. Todd's family on Green Island. As such she has experienced a duality of isolation paired with community. Littlepage is isolated in his world of elevated book talk while in Dunnet Landing though he was part of a community of sailors in his past. The Green Island family, Mrs. Blackett and brother William, provide an immediate sense of community and warmth, but at the same time they live out on a small island, separate from the rest of their family and community.

The narrator at this point has managed to gain acceptance from Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Todd's family and she now faces the challenge of acceptance by Mrs. Todd's friends. If she can manage this step the narrator will have entered in upon the larger feminine community of Dunnet Landing (Sherman 226).

Prodding hesitantly the narrator seeks to both solidify her growing bond with Mrs. Fosdick as well as discover more about the topic of Shell-heap Island. The narrative surrounding this island will work to further establish the themes of isolation versus community.

Chipped stone adze from Windsor, Connecticut site

Round scraper tool from east Connecticut

Source: http://archnet.asu.edu
Additional Site of Interest:
http://archaeology.umf.maine.edu/Maine/meddybemps.html

The idea of queer stories here brings in the tone of myth and mystery. Many of Mrs. Todd's plants and remedies are referred to as queer – meaning somehow not quite of this world. The use of "queer" in light of events past on Shell-heap Island serves to enhance the mythic proportions of the story the two women are about to tell. An excellent suspense building device.

Native American inhabitants in the Maine region left more than 500 shell-heaps along the coastline.  Archeologists estimate that these heaps, remains of ancient shellfish dinners are between one and five thousand years old.
Source: www.teachersfirst.com

This cove was once the site of ancient feasts and gatherings.  Though it is difficult to see the white area in front of the large rock is what remains of a large mound of shells.  Now just small fragments this heap is reported to date back several thousand years.
Source: www.isleauhaut.net/old_cove.htm

Elizabeth Ammons notes, "traces of empire – tiny trophies from 'exotic' foreign ports" throughout the work, in her essay, "Material Culture, Empire, and Jewett's Country of the Pointed Firs" (92). Mrs. Beggs lived in a house "decorated with West Indian curiosities" (7) and the narrator is shown the "old flowered-glass tea-caddy" and drinking mugs brought home Mrs. Todd's father brought home from the island of Tobago (33-34). When she leaves Dunnet Landing the narrator receives two exotic gifts, a coral pin and a "quaint West Indian basket" (87).

Mrs. Todd intends her comment that the Indians in the surrounding area are "tame-looking" to be kind. In fact as Ammons details the racism and ethnocentrism of the comment cannot be ignored (93). Indeed the so call "queer" stories that Mrs. Fosdick relates showcase familiar white stereotypes of the time. According to the stories the Indians are lazy ("bangeing"), cruel; shown by the captive left to fend for himself, slippery as compared to the ghostly figures Captain Littlepage witnessed and uncivilized (i.e. cannibals) (Ammons 93).

The two women's description of the island natives only serves to illuminate their differences. They are considered foreign and strange in comparison to the obviously tame Dunnet Landing folk. Additionally the Indians are paired with one of Dunnet Landings strangest former occupants. Joanna is considered one the most "deviant" and "maladjusted" community members so, "it just shows how far outside the circle of ideal white community she has perversely pitched herself" when she packs up and moves to the island (Ammons 93).

Mrs. Fosdick shows an interesting twist in gender in her masculine representation of life at sea. She shows excitement and joy in life when reminiscing about her days of freedom as a child. In the previous chapter we were told that during Mrs. Fosdick's time at sea she was allowed to go about in boys clothing. When forced to return to regular women's clothing Mrs. Fosdick sorely regrets and misses that masculine freedom of dress that is denied to women (Bell 76).

In his article "Gender and American Realism" Michael Bell that Mrs. Fosdick's regret over her lost freedom helps to explain her fascination with Joanna's story (76). Joanna exhibits a great amount of personal freedom; cutting herself off from societal conventions to live in isolation.

Mrs. Fosdick complains that "everybody's just like everybody else, now" and thinks fondly about the days when there was some variety amongst folks. Where Mrs. Todd had previously been in slight disagreement with her good friend, commenting that "whalin' must have been dull for a lady" (42), she understands immediately the attraction of variety. Mrs. Todd tells the narrator on their trip to Green Island, "I must say I like variety myself" (22). It is a moment of agreement for the two friends that shows a certain degree of tolerance in both of their temperaments.

Hermit: one who lives in solitude, especially for religious reasons

"Poor Joanna" as she is referred to by Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Fosdick represents another example of isolation.  Joanna chooses her isolated existence on Shell-heap Island after being left by the man she thought she would marry.  Mrs. Fosdick aptly describes Joanna actions in terms of a little bird whose nest has been destroyed (43).  Joanna succumbs fully to the societal convention that without marriage one essentially has nothing (Roman 220).  She builds her entire life dream out of her forthcoming marriage, the destruction of that dream leaves her in "dreadful woe" (43).  It does not seem to matter that her fiancé ran off with another woman or as Mrs. Todd says that, "he was a shifty-eyed coaxin' sort of man, that got what he wanted out o' folks, an' only gave when he wanted to buy, made friends easy and lost 'em without knowin' the difference" (52).  For Joanna, a woman caught in the romantic ideals of conventional society her life is no longer of value to her community as a result she chooses isolation over judgment or even pity.
In her book Reconstructing Gender, Margaret Roman comments that Joanna response to her dilemma with the either/or mentality of a male (220).  Life for Joanna is viewed in terms of black and white dichotomies; things are good or bad, legal or illegal and moral or immoral.  When left by her lover Joanna commits what she calls "the unpardonable sin" (50).  She is undeniable guilty of thinking wicked thoughts towards God and as such she resigns herself to the fact "that I can't expect ever to be forgiven" (50).  Roman states that, "In keeping with the tenets of her male God with his lack of compassion toward people and their deficiencies, Joanna deduces that she has 'no right to live with folks no more'" (220).  As a result Joanna enforces upon herself a strict isolation on Shell-heap Island.  When her brother shows up she will not even allow herself to peek out the window at him.  When Mrs. Todd visits she refuses the offer to take up residence at the Landing or on Green Island.  Though one who Mrs. Todd notes, "loved her friends," Joanna embraces her sacrifice to the fullest extent; holding herself to a standard that nobody else really sees as warranted.

Mudflat: a level tract alternately covered and left bare from the tide

Sloop: a single-masted sailboat with a jib and a fore-and-aft mainsail

Penance: 1). An act performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin 2). A sacrament (as in the Roman Catholic Church) consisting of confession, absolution and a penance directed by the confessor

The Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus, is extremely abundant in its natural habitat of coastal waters and open ocean.  This variety of fish typically travels in large schools and is important to commercial fishing.  Typically about 20" in length, this fish is identifiable by its slender, spindle shape and two well separated dorsal fins.  It also has wavy dark lines crossing its blue back.

Source: www.yahooligans.com/content/animals/species/3556.html

In an interesting parallel Joanna separates herself physically from her community, the community itself never seems to forget about or disown her.  Women such as Edward Todd's wife try every possible way to change Joanna's mind about leaving.  Edward Todd himself as well as many other seafaring men provide Joanna with the staples she needs to survive, alone on her island.  One man is noted specifically as one that would have married Joanna had her other lover not come along.  He is particularly attentive to Joanna's needs providing her a "pretty choice he made o' useful things that a woman would feel lost without" in addition to a hen and chickens and a coop (45).  Mrs. Fosdick notes that "There was a good many old friend had Joanna on their minds," which Mrs. Todd confirms saying, "How everybody used to notice whether there was smoke out of the chimney!" (45).  Even the local Parson feels obligated to make a call on poor Joanna. In death Joanna is honored as a community member with "Shell-heap cram-full o' folks an' all real respectful, same's if she'd always stayed ashore and held her friends" (52).  Finally, Joanna's memory, her story and her lesson for all, lives on in the retelling of her tale by women such as Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Fosdick.
 

As part of the local color movement The Country of Pointed Firs contains a certain amount of nostalgia for the past.  As Mrs. Fosdick and Mrs. Todd embark on their story telling they cannot seem to help throwing at least a small mention of days past into the mix.  Mrs. Todd makes the offhanded remark that "folks lived very simple in those days" (45) alluding to the fact that people no longer prescribe to the simple way of life.  Joanna it seems was able to make due on her isolated island with very little as a result of not expecting or needing too much.  The comment is later made that people like Joanna would probably be set up in a convent today.  Society's industrialization and institutionalization has produced a system that could deal with a person such as Joanna, yet in doing so it would have ripped her from the very community and simple way of life that sustained her during her time of need.  There is present here a very clear reflection on the merits of a simpler life though Dunnet Landing itself seems relatively untouched by any sort of modern progress.

Verbscum thapsus, common name: mullein made into tea is a remedy of great antiquity for coughs and colds. It is also said to have the power to drive away evil spirits and is considered a safeguard against both evil spirits and various types of magic. Ancient classics tell that it was mullein that Ulysses took to protect himself against the wily Circe. The whole plant possesses slightly sedative and narcotic properties and is a valuable destroyer of germs. In ancient times it was thought to help with falling sickness and those who were vain or superstitious.

Source: http://www.botanical.com

Wormwood is part of the great family of compositae belonging to the genus Artemisia, a group of 180 species.  The entire family is noted for their extreme bitterness.  Named for Artemis, the Greek name for Diana, the herb is said to be a comfort for the heart and brain.  At one time the herb was even used in love charms.
An Old Love Charm
        'On St. Luke's Day, take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and a little Wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder;
        then sift it through a fine piece of lawn, and simmer it over a slow fire, adding a small quantity of virgin honey, and vinegar. Anoint yourself with
        this when you go to bed, saying the following lines three times, and you will dream of your partner "that is to be":
             "St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me,
             In dreams let me my true-love see." '
Brewed as a tea wormwood provides relief for melancholia.  A light infusion of the plant is good for all stomach disorders: creating appetite, promoting digestion and preventing sickness after meals.  Wormwood is also used in making liquors (though it bears the name wermuth), primarily absinthe.  As a liquor it is said to be a "preserver of the mind" used medically as a mental restorative.

Source: http://www.botanical.com

Catnip is also referred to as catnep or cat mint and has a fragrant odor similar to other mints and pennyroyal.  The herb holds a particular fascination for cats when bruised or damaged in any way.  As a stimulant it is said that when the root is chewed it can make the most gentle person fierce and quarrelsome.  This might prove of significance as it is found in abundance in the location of Joanna who is in a position of self-enforced conflict with society.  She was generally held to be friendly and gentle, but when provoked by her fiancé's abandonment her temperament changed to what could be called fierce and quarrelsome.

Source: http://www.botanical.com

Probably referring to yeast used to make bread dough rise.

A pieced quilt was the careful result of faithful fabric saving.  During a time when women's and children's clothing was primary fashioned at home it was common to have a wide assortment of cloth scraps left over as a result.  These left-over pieces of fabric were sorted, tied into bundles and carefully stored away in a piece bag.  Large pieces of nicer fabrics such as calico, India print, gingham or other colorful cottons were put aside for handsome patchwork quilts.  Smaller pieces, fabric odds and ends were left for the blocks of everyday quilts.
Source: http://www.oldandsold.com

An excerpt taken from "The Making of a Housewife" (1906) by Isabel Gordon Curtis:

After luncheon I take my sewing-basket and piece-bag and look over soiled clothes for tears and thin spots.
Frequently in a tablecloth or sheet I find a place which can be quickly strengthened by a darn or
patch. If I had left it to go in the wash untouched there would have been a hole that meant a half-hour’s work.

Source: www.socialknowlege.com

Male characters in The Country of the Pointed Firs receive rather harsh  treatment.  In an effort to create a depiction of a truly matriarchal society, Jewett reduces all the men presented in the work to those that have died or are old.  Over all, men are treated in diminutive terms, effeminate in some way or are inept to an extreme degree.
In this particular passage Parson Dimmick stands as the best example of masculine ineptitude in the matriarchal society of Dunnet Landing.  The Parson is shown as a failure in all attempted activities.  To start with, he heads out to Shell-heap Island to visit Joanna not, because he wants to or feels some connection with this member of his flock, but because he "ought to" (46). Dimmick does not appear moved by the regular motions of the spirit that a true reverend ought to have.  He seems to view his position as his duty and his job, but that is where the connection ends.  Mrs. Todd describes him as "a vague person, well meanin', but very numb in his feelin's" (46).
On the boat crossing over to the island, Parson Dimmick is seen in his full ineptitude.  He has no skill on the water and yet as the man takes charge of the sailing.  He displays feminine weakness, tying the boat's rope, complaining that holding on to the rope hurts his hands.  Further displaying his lack of skill, Dimmick stands up and screeches in horror of the gusting wind.  Mrs. Todd must literally knock him down and take over the sailing to prevent the boat from capsizing.
Dimmick also lacks Mrs. Todd's knack for healing and remedies.  Unlike the natural healer, Dimmick see the problems of his flock and of Joanna in particular, but he is ineffective in easing her suffering.  The fact that Dimmick has no message for Joanna, no true feeling of Christian selflessness creates a situation in which the Parson can be of no help.  Compared to Mrs. Todd, Dimmick is seen as relatively useless in all practical matters.

The community of Dunnet Landing is portrayed as matrifocal.  In her article, "Community and Difference," Sandra Zagarell pinpoints the relationship between Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Blackett as the "emotional center of the community as well as its ideal relationship" (45).  This matrifocality, as Zagarell refers to it, is repeated throughout the narrative.
Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Fosdick participate in a sister-like relationship.  They shared their childhood and they come together every so often to share talk about their mothers, siblings and other relations.  In chapter eight we see the two women sharing in the telling of Joanna's story.  In doing so Zagarell posits they "demonstrate vividly the way storytelling preserves and perpetuates community self-definition" (48).  They have alternated filling in the narrative, each picking up seamlessly where the other leaves off.  The two complement each other, waiting expectantly for the proper time to speak and knowing when the other is too occupied to pick up the story line.  Where once the two women disagreed they now agree in "happy harmony" and their concurrence consequentially reaffirms societal norms.  This particular case "reinscribes numerous community boundaries: it provides a way to embrace recalcitrant or resistant members; it reweaves community bonds; it preserves and transmits the community's culture" (Zagarell 48).

According to Melissa Officina, soaking the leaves of the lemon balm plant in wine will influence love.  Lemon balm is also said to ensure success.  A London dispensary in 1696 claimed that, "Balm, given every morning will renew youth, strengthen the brain and relieve languishing nature."  The herb is still used today in the form of essential oil to relieve depression.
Source: http://www.muscanet.com
Mrs. Todd chooses to bring Joanna lemon balm on the one occasion she has the opportunity to visit.  It is mentioned twice that this particular herb was selected to go to the isolated island.  This shows Mrs. Todd's role as a healer and the fact that she relates to the outside world through her healing medicines from nature.  She hopes perhaps to offer Joanna some sort of remedy for her ailments; perhaps to ensure her success in her new home or relieve her underlying depression.

Throughout The Country of the Pointed Firs Mrs. Todd displays a certain capability and knowing that can only be attributed to her incredible human faculty.  No better example can be seen of this faculty in use than in the boat scene with Mrs. Todd and Parson Dimmick.  Right from the start of this scene Mrs. Todd is seen as being the one in the know.  She advises against fastening the sheet (47).  Dimmick fastens it anyway and the two suffer as a result of it.  The boat nearly capsizes and Mrs. Todd must physically force Dimmick out of her way so that she can take over the sailing.  From then on Mrs. Todd continues to display her tremendous faculty successfully sail the little boat and landing it in a spot that Dimmick wasn't acquainted with.  Once on the shore, it is Mrs. Todd who is able to make the truest contact with Joanna.  The minister is ineffective in ministering to the poor woman, but Mrs. Todd is able to offer not only her herbal remedies, but also her understanding and sympathy. 

Elizabeth Ammons examined The Country of the Pointed Firs in terms of a material history.  From this point of view she says, "Jewett's story seeks to recover and understand the past through serious contemplation and representation of the texts of daily life: the objects, structures, rituals, and landscapes that people shape and are shaped by" (Ammons 81).  The majority of the houses in the novel are "white, frame, woman-centered structures that perfectly accommodate themselves to their Maine habitat" (Ammons 83).
Ammons quotes a study by Thomas Hubka as paraphrased by Laura Fecych Sprague:

The most prevalent type of dwelling house in Maine from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century was of one or one-and-one-half stories. One or two   rooms deep, the living spaces were built around a central chimney; this arrangement restricted the size of the rooms. To move from one room to another, passage through other rooms was required, thus limiting privacy. This style was frequently found in the countryside (86).

The narrator has taken this basic house prototype and applied it to all the residences starting with Mrs. Todd's and moving through everyone else she meets or hears about.  From the description of Joanna's house, Ammons believes we are meant to read into the spotless tidiness and small decorative touches a meaning that Joanna is not entirely removed from society; she has managed to maintain at the very least certain aesthetic attachments (89). 

"Allude." "Hermit." "Mudflat." "Ostentatiously." "Penance." "Sloop." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 1997.

Ammons, Elizabeth.  "Material Culture, Empire, and Jewett's Country of the Pointed Firs." New Essays on The Country of the Pointed Firs.  Ed. June Howard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 81-97.

Bell, Michael Davitt. "Gender and American Realism in The Country of the Pointed Firs." New Essays on The Country of the Pointed Firs.  Ed. June Howard.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 61-77.

Howard, June. "Introduction: Sarah Orne Jewett and the Traffic in Words." New Essays on The Country of the Pointed Firs.  Ed. June Howard.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 1-30.

Jewett, Sarah Orne.  The Country of the Pointed Firs. Ed. Candace Ward. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994.

Roman, Margaret. Sarah Orne Jewett Reconstructing Gender. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 1992.

Sherman, Sarah Way.  Sarah Orne Jewett an American Persephone.  Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1989.

Silverthorne, Elizabeth.  Sarah Orne Jewett A Writer's Life.  Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1993.

Zagarell, Sandra A. "Country's Portrayal of Community and the Exclusion of Difference."  New Essays on The Country of the Pointed Firs.  Ed. June Howard.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 39-56.

Websites Consulted
http://archaeology.umf.maine.edu/Maine/meddybemps.html
http://archnet.asu.edu
http://inventors.about.com
http://www.botanical.com
http://www.isleauhaut.net/old_cove.htm
http://www.muscanet.com
http://www.old and sold.com
http://www.socialknowledge.com
http://www.stfx.ca/people/Istanley/Material/Household/lighting.htm
http://www.teachersfirst.com
http://www.yahooligans.com/content/animals/species/3556.html