65 pages • 2 hours read
Patricia MacLachlanSarah, Plain and Tall
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1985A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaThemes
The Beauty of New Beginnings
Life on a remote homestead is built around the rhythm of seasons and the knowledge that each crop will need to be harvested, replanted, and then harvested again. Animals are born and then die either of natural causes or to furnish food for their owners. Each year the process begins again, a cycle of life and death.
As settlers on the prairie, the Whitings are intimately familiar with this cycle. However, after the sudden loss of their matriarch, the family becomes mired in their grief, longing for the release of a new beginning. Jacob Whiting takes the first step in securing a fresh start by placing the advertisement for a wife—a bold move, given that he is asking a stranger to start a new life with him in an unfamiliar place. Risking further heartache, Jacob acts in faith that finding a wife and a mother for his children will help his grieving family heal and move forward. After Jacob becomes acquainted with Sarah Wheaton and sees how well she fits into their family, he gives her a symbolic gift to signify his desire to start again with her as his wife: “And then Papa came, just before the rain, bringing Sarah the first roses of summer” (43). The new blossoms not only symbolize Jacob’s burgeoning romantic interest but also the blossoming of a new life for him after the pain and grief of his first wife’s death.
Sarah’s spring arrival is likewise symbolic, coinciding with the blossoming of new life all around the homestead. Budding flowers and newborn lambs punctuate her trial visit and highlight not just a new season on the calendar, but the beginning of a new season of life for Sarah with the Whiting family. The beauty of spring’s bounty on the prairie charms Sarah and helps ease her homesickness, while spring activities like flower picking give Sarah and the children a chance to create memories together. When Sarah cuts Jacob and Caleb Whiting’s hair and leaves the clippings for the birds, it is not only an intimate act of care but also an opportunity to teach the children about the circle and seasons of life: “For the birds […] They will use it for their nests. Later we can look for nests of curls” (25). Spring wanes into summer, and once it becomes clear that Sarah is staying, Anna Whiting looks forward to the next season of their life, when summer’s bounty will not only provide plentiful food but also a new mother.
For Sarah, however, beginning again means she must release her hold on the past and embrace an uncertain future. When Maggie visits, she helps Sarah understand this truth by sharing her own experience of starting afresh: “There are always things to miss […] No matter where you are” (40). Maggie understands that beginning a new life involves both joy and sorrow, adventure and grief. When Sarah leaves in the wagon to purchase her pencils, she lets go of her past and fully commits to joining the Whiting family. Through Sarah’s character and her relationship with the Whitings, the author explores both the beauty and heartache that come with the changing seasons of life and asserts that it is never too late to begin again.
A Child’s Desire for Security and Stability
I first characters the novel introduces are Anna and Caleb, two siblings left without a mother. Caleb is an anxious child; he depends on his sister for comforting memories of his mother and requires constant assurance that all will be well. The palpable absence of Caleb’s mother—the grief of Anna and Jacob and the difficulties of running a farm without two adults working it—has left Caleb troubled and easily upset by change. His need for long-term stability generally outweighs his fear of short-term upheaval: When Jacob first introduces the idea of inviting a stranger into their home to potentially become the children’s mother, Caleb wholeheartedly welcomes the idea. However, his letters to Sarah and the questions he asks her demonstrate his concern about how she may or may not fit into their household. He worries that she will not like their home, but he mostly worries that she will not like him. When Sarah arrives, Caleb attaches to her immediately, and her presence becomes a steadying, calming force in his life even as fears that he might prove too much for her linger in the back of his mind.
The loss of their mother unmoors Anna differently than it does Caleb. She is old enough to remember her mother and therefore experiences much more concrete grief over her death. At the same time, she must keep her unease and distress to herself to execute her duties in the household—duties that are themselves a reminder of her mother’s absence. Though she desires stability as Caleb does, Anna is therefore more guarded in expressing her needs. While Sarah visits, Anna keeps herself emotionally detached for fear that Sarah might decide to leave, breaking Anna’s heart. Internally, however, Anna languishes, desperate for Sarah to stay: “I wished everything was as perfect as the stone. I wished that Papa and Caleb and I were perfect for Sarah. I wished we had a sea of our own” (21). When Sarah leaves in the wagon, it rekindles Anna’s grief and trauma over losing her mother, underscoring how much the experience continues to shape Anna’s personality: “I remembered another time when a wagon had taken Mama away. It had been a day just like this day. And Mama had never come back” (54). Sarah’s triumphant return therefore allows Anna to release her apprehension and love Sarah fully. Coupled with Caleb’s outward nervousness, Anna’s fretful interiority speaks to a child’s deep need for security, and the siblings’ joy when Sarah returns suggests they will flourish amid the stability her presence will provide.
Finding Comfort and Connection in Nature
From the windswept craggy coast to the shimmering expanse of the prairie, nature plays a significant role in the story of Sarah and her journey to become part of the Whiting family. Though life during the 19th century was often harsh and difficult, the book’s characters find comfort and serenity in the setting and landscapes. Sarah’s letters paint a picture of her beloved coastal home, and once she arrives on the plains, images and memories of the sea’s smells, colors, and sounds bring her comfort when she is homesick. Keeping shells on her window reminds Sarah of home, and when she places them to her ear, the familiar sound of waves soothes her heart. The shells also allow Sarah to share the sensory experience of the sea with the children, forging new bonds with them over appreciation of the natural world.
Meanwhile, the prairie works its way into Sarah’s heart. Her love affair begins with the animals. Sarah’s cat Seal is her closest companion, but she also grows attached to the Whitings’ two dogs. However, it is the sheep that first endear Sarah to the prairie and reveal her profound connection to the natural world: “The sheep made Sarah smile” (28). She not only enjoys watching the sheep but also loves to touch them, finding immense comfort in sinking her fingers into their wool. Sarah’s passionate response to the death of the lamb conveys how attached to the farm’s animals she has become and serves as another moment of bonding, this time with Jacob. Sarah’s emerging love for the prairie also draws her closer to the children as she learns more about the unique landscape.
Anna also finds solace and connection in nature. Gathering flowers with Sarah brings Anna deep joy and hope for the future, and sliding down the hay “dune” endears the Whitings and Sarah to one another through a shared happy experience. After Sarah teaches the children to swim in the cow pond, Caleb, Anna, and Sarah likewise experience a deep sense of satisfaction and comfort as they lie on the grass, warmed by both the sun and their love for one another. When Sarah asks the family to tell her about winter, Anna finds her voice and shares how the wintry landscape helps her appreciate the coziness of family inside the home. Through such details of characters’ interactions with their surroundings, the author affirms nature’s power to comfort and heal people who have experienced tragedy, as well as to bind them together in hope of a better future.
