Reading Slumps & Femininity in Support of Fatherhood

When the Year of the Father was announced, my thoughts immediately turned to my role as a daughter, both of my Heavenly Father and of my earthly one, but I didn’t think at all about the theme relating to my role as wife or mother until we read aloud from the Reading Companion at our kick-off meeting.

On page 15, Well-Read Mom writes “As mothers, our role complements the role of the father; the more we know about the task and call of fatherhood, the more fully we will be able to dedicate ourselves to the task and call of motherhood.”

With this in mind, I saw Roxanna differently than I had before. In past readings I had admired her hospitality and her willingness to take in Swede and Reuben, who were so very much in need of mothering. But as I read the story this time, considering how I as a woman can complement my husband in his role of fatherhood, it was her relationship with Jeremiah that stood out to me.

There is a moment when Jeremiah returns home from his outing with Andreeson, and Swede persuades Reuben to hold back and let Roxanna be the one to welcome their father. The children watch as Roxanna reaches for Jeremiah’s hand and then he responds by laughing and briefly encircling her waist.  Reuben says of his father, “When he turned to us, he’d never appeared stronger or more like himself or more capable of stepping up to what might be required” (244).

Because I had read the book before, I knew exactly what would be required of Jeremiah: the “transaction” (310) that would take place on Rueben’s behalf in which Jeremiah would take Reuben’s place, just as he said he would after Reuben’s encounter with Dr. Nickles and his botched needle (261).

In the Reading Companion, we are asked to consider “the role of the feminine (or lack thereof) in the lives of the Land family” and ponder how we can “protect and preserve the uniqueness of femininity.” The role that Roxanna plays in the story illustrates this beautifully. Reuben speaks of “her sacrifice” and how she “poured more courage” and gave “selflessly” (308). In this way, she is a model of how we, as wives and mothers, can support our husbands and children so that they may accomplish whatever God requires of them.

The ultimate model of femininity is, of course, Mary. I draw this loose parallel because at Sunday Mass, after having just finished Peace Like a River earlier that morning, our pastor drew our attention to the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that hangs in our church. He pointed out how the angels in each corner carry the instruments of the crucifixion and how the story behind the image is of the Christ child experiencing such anguish at his future Passion that he leapt out of his sandal and into the arms of His mother.

As wives and mothers, we are called to be a place of warmth, consolation, and love for our husbands and children. To borrow the phrases Reuben uses to describe Roxanna, being a wife and mother is a “gallant endeavor” that requires “the deepest reserves of joy and strength” (289). While our prayer life and participation in the sacraments are the primary ways we can help build these reserves in ourselves, encountering literary characters who embody them also gives us something to which we can aspire.

I felt encouraged by both Roxanna and Jeremiah. I was especially struck by how, at the end of the book, Jeremiah perfectly exemplifies the quote Well-Read Mom has selected for us for the year. As the penultimate chapter begins, Reuben has entered “the next country” first, and his father rushes to catch up with him. Jeremiah invites Reuben to run and easily shoots in front, led by his desire to meet “the master of that country.” But rather than going ahead of Reuben, Jeremiah holds back so that he can travel together with his son, reaching for his hand “as he’d done a thousand times in the past” (303).

St Francis de Sales paints this same picture of our Heavenly Father:
“…Like a good father who holds his child by the hand, He will accommodate His steps to yours and will be content to go no faster than you…” 

As we ponder this quote throughout the upcoming year, I’ll keep this particular image in mind. In his interview with Marcie, Leif Enger said that Peace Like a River is a story “that even though hard things happen in it, affirms the ideas of family, love, loyalty, and sacrifice.”

It was the perfect way to begin the Year of the Father.