Caroline: Little House, Revisited in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 30, 2017 Lisa of Hopewell rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017

Sarah Miller has gone inside the mind of Caroline Ingalls, mother of Laura and wife of Charles, to tell her side of the Little House story. Set at the time the Ingalls leave the Big Woods in Wisconsin and head out of for “free” land in Kansas, the book takes us thru the harrowing journey we think we know. There is the powerful current that horses must “swim” the wagon across. There is Jack seemingly lost. But I’m getting ahead of the story.

One of my few complaints of the Little House books is th Sarah Miller has gone inside the mind of Caroline Ingalls, mother of Laura and wife of Charles, to tell her side of the Little House story. Set at the time the Ingalls leave the Big Woods in Wisconsin and head out of for “free” land in Kansas, the book takes us thru the harrowing journey we think we know. There is the powerful current that horses must “swim” the wagon across. There is Jack seemingly lost. But I’m getting ahead of the story.

One of my few complaints of the Little House books is that Caroline, “Ma,” is too good to be true. She never, ever, forgets something she is taught by Scripture to do or be. This always seems at odds to me with the walk of normal Christian. She works so hard to keep pride out of her children’s character that she is nearly a killjoy. Nearly. Not completely.

When a neighbor, Mrs. Scott, is there helping after a “medical matter” [no spoilers] Caroline notes that Mary, the beautiful first born daughter, is seeking attention in a normal manner from the visiting lady. This is traumatic for Caroline:

“A flush of mingled shame and pity crept up Caroline’s neck as she grasped her own mistake: in trying to keep Mary unconscious of her beauty, Caroline had instead marred it with another kind of conceit.”

Wow! That’s quite a heavy hair shirt to wear! Her own husband was often boastful, rarely though of what his need for freedom would mean for his family, but Caroline must take on keeping a 5 year old from conceit! All while living in a crude cabin the size of a modern suburban bathroom.

She had to tamp down her very real fears of running out of food, her hatred of Native Americans and deal with what had to be nearly cripplingly loneliness. By today’s standards her life was as hard or harder than that of people in refugee camps. She hauled water, made every bit of clothing and scrubbed it all by hand, had to watch her family sometimes exist on as little as stale cornbread and molasses, dealt with terrifying weather and yet found faith enough to obey the Scriptures and give thanks in all circumstances.

Her marriage to Charles, a classic “good” bad boy, good girl romance, was a severe trial. His need for freedom, his inability to allow anyone to control him, makes me think his childhood was abusive and that the abuse made him unable to live with normal levels of “control.” This is my personal theory–I haven’t read anything about his childhood. But he willingly puts his family in harm’s way over and over again to satisfy his thirst for freedom.

One funny note: I’ve never heard “stays” called “steels” before. Corsets of that day had a variety of stiffening materials it is true. But “steels” was a new one.

Caroline is an officially sanctioned novel authorized by the Trust that oversees most things Little House. It is one Little House fans will not want to miss. Sarah Miller’s writing is superb. Each word is carefully chosen, each phrase is the work of fine craftswoman. I look forward to anything further books she produces ...more

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