Mercy Philbrick's Choice

by Helen Hunt Jackson

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Genres: Fiction

226 pages, Hardcover

Published May 25, 2017

About the author

People know American writer Helen Maria Fiske Hunt Jackson for Ramona (1884), a romantic novel concerning the injustices that Native Americans suffered.

This author, an activist for rights, wrote best about the ill treatment in southern California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_H...

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars & 4/10 hearts. Of all the odd old books I have ever read, this is surely the oddest! I kept reading simply because I was so intrigued and puzzled, and at the end I could only look at it and say, “What in the world??”

New England. A man passionately fond of beauty and his querulous invalid mother have a mortgage on a house and are living in one half, hoping to rent the other. An 18-year-old widow with inflexible honesty and her childlike old mother come from the seaside to rent it. Should they fall in love?

The writing style was interesting. The author is constantly distracted from the story and goes off on a burst of opinion on random subjects—homelessness, travelling at night, consciences, small town prejudices, fixed habits… Somehow I didn’t find it irritating as much as curious. The rest of the style is generically 1800s-American, like Alcott, Coolidge, or Finley. It was hard to tell if she was religious or not, and she almost seemed to despise people at times. I didn’t agree with all she had to say, and in some places it was even kind of … 🤨

The characters were definitely fascinating. Stephen, so sweet, gentle, passionate, loving, lonely—and so morally blind. Mercy, so fiercely alive to right and wrong, but apparently blind to forgiveness and understanding. The simple, ingenuous Mr. Clark and the holy, perfect Pastor. Kindly Mrs. Carr, cruel Mrs. White, and eccentric Mr. Wheeler. What an unusual bunch! It was interesting how much the author capitalized on the flaws and virtues of her characters. I loved how kind and obedient Stephen was to his mother. The point made about life lived in deceit was strong and a good warning. He was my favourite, though, because he was so meek and enduring.
While I loved Mercy’s politeness and desire to do right, I was bothered by her intolerance and lack of understanding. While God does require us to do right and shun wrong, He is merciful. Mercy really had difficulty understanding other people’s struggles and extending mercy to them. I felt that Mercy could have done Stephen a deal of good if she’d tried, but she only threw him off as not good enough. Mrs. White was a horrible old lady but I found her a good warning about using ill humour to control people. I felt Mrs. Carr was unfairly treated… almost despised… for being so easily pleased and unsuspicious.

The plot was unusual, very slow, and with an unexpected ending. I frankly found it rather sad. The real point of the book seemed to be the author’s messages, and not the characters’ storylines. The overall theme seemed to be character, but I was bothered that Mercy’s was upheld as so good when it struck me she had rather more glaring faults as opposed to Stephen. Still, that could be me. The whole part of the pastor falling in love with her was strange, with him so much older than her, and I felt it unfair to Stephen that she quit loving him and started loving the dead man… even considering herself sort of married to him?? Like I said, the author had some … interesting … opinions.

I don’t think this is a very good review. Overall, this was an intriguing, confusing, queer book, but I enjoyed it; it really made me think about various issues, and I want to read it again and try to understand it better.

Content: language; some theological issues I disagree with; a derogatory attitude towards black people.

A Favourite Quote: “But really, Mercy, you must look out for yourself better than this.”
“I don’t know,” replied Mercy, looking out of the window, with an earnest gaze, as if she were reading a writing a great way off,—“I don’t know about that. I doubt very much if looking out for one’s self, as you call it, is the best way to provide for one’s self.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: To the dweller by the sea, the first sight of mountains is like the sight of a new heavens and a new earth. It is a revelation of a new life. Mercy felt strangely stirred and overawed. She looked around in astonishment at her fellow-passengers, not one of whom apparently observed that on either hand were stretching away to the east and the west fields that were, even in this late autumn, like carpets of gold and green. Through these fertile meadows ran a majestic river, curving and doubling as if loath to leave such fair shores. The wooded mountains changed fast from green to purple, from purple to dark gray; and almost before Mercy had comprehended the beauty of the region, it was lost from her sight, veiled in the twilight's pale, indistinguishable tints.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Did you not know how late it was?”
“No, mother. If I had, I should have come in.”
“I suppose you had your watch on, hadn't you?”
“Yes, mother.”
“Well, I'd like to know what excuse there is for a man's not knowing what time it is, when he has a watch in his pocket?”

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most people don't know that Helen Hunt Jackson based the protagonist in this book, Mercy Philbrick, on her reclusive high school friend... a woman who would later exceed her in fame as a writer -- Emily Dickinson. Though not a great read, Mercy Philbrick's Choice is exciting because it lights up American literary history from a very unique angle.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published a few years before Hunt Jackson’s more famous novel Ramona which I read and reviewed a few months ago. MPC has many of the same elements which I liked about Ramona. Its very lush descriptions of the story’s locale and its people allowed me to gain a wonderful sense of what small town life in New England circa post the Civil War might have been like. Likewise the author’s meticulous and insightful development of the main characters was impressive. Besides noting their thinking and values attention to their mannerisms, gestures, and modes of speech was so thorough as to produce finely nuanced portrayals. Mercy, her love object Stephen, and Stephen’s mother were especially well constructed.

Per Wikipedia, Hunt Jackson was also a published poet. Thus it was not surprising that her main character Mercy is an aspiring poet. And that she inserted verse into this novel. As poetry is not a form of literature which I particularly enjoy I found this more of an obstacle than a vehicle through which the plot advanced. So much so that I began to skip the poetry towards the end of the book. Also, the lush, if not on occasion, flowery prose typical in 19th century books made it slow going at times.

Finally, as was the case with Ramona those reading this book should be warned that typos appear with increasing frequency as one moves further along into the text. While these did not prevent me from grasping what the author intended to communicate, they were annoying nevertheless.

It is admittedly personal but the use of so much poetry led me to give the book a 3 star rather than a 4 star rating. After having read two on this author’s novels I now feel as though I have a sense of her style: a bit slow moving 19th century romanticism with strong character development and a careful depiction of time and place in which the novel occurs. I may read another in the future if/when I have a gap in my other reading. But I do not feel as compelled to do so as I did before having read MPC.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd little book I just finished. Known better for her novel Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson also penned this largely forgotten novel, an account of failed romance featuring a protagonist based upon HH’s childhood friend, Emily Dickinson. I think it’s a good example of why some teachers tell you not to base characters on people you know: it tends to make their motivations hard to fathom outside the context of actually knowing the person. Mercy Philbrick hastily falls for an absolute ass of a man, goes through some disappointments, but then experiences growth that largely happens offscreen in the last five pages. Still, the writing is gorgeous, and it gives a slice of life of these parts in the 19th century. Alas, including the racist caricatures of rural Blacks. Unfortunate, considering Jackson devoted her later years towards campaigning for the better treatment of indigenous people.