Jessie

Jessie by Walter Aimwell (1858)

Jessie* by Walter Aimwell follows Jessie Hapley, a girl of fourteen or fifteen who arrives at the Vermont farmhouse of Mrs. Page after a series of family calamities. Her older brother Samuel has been imprisoned for burglary, her younger brother Benjamin has died, and her father, long a victim of intemperance, has met a dreadful end in a snowstorm. The family farm has been lost to debt, her mother has gone to live with relatives, and her brother Henry has been placed with a neighboring family named Allen. Jessie takes up residence with the Pages, performing household work in exchange for board and the privilege of continuing her studies at the local academy, with the hope of qualifying herself as a teacher. The Pages form a warm and active household. Mrs. Page is a widow; her sister Miss Fanny Lee, called Aunt Fanny, lives with them; Marcus Page, Mrs. Page's son, recently served as assistant teacher at the academy and aspires to enter college; Ronald, an orphaned French Canadian boy adopted by Mrs. Page, is lively and mischievous; and Oscar Preston, a nephew of Mrs. Page, harbors a quietly guarded past of youthful crime. Jessie settles into this household with composure, though she struggles privately with homesickness and grief. The story proceeds through a series of connected episodes. Ronald and Henry quarrel over a snow house they built together; Henry destroys it in a fit of spite, then avoids the family out of guilt. Jessie mediates, eventually arranging a formal arbitration involving Marcus, Oscar, and herself as referees. The boys hear the decision, shake hands, and agree to build a new snow house called the Temple of Peace. The episode illustrates Jessie's patience, fairness, and skill in managing conflict. Henry's placement with the Allens proves difficult. He feels Mrs. Allen is cold and unfair, and he is oppressed by homesickness. Jessie counsels him to make a deliberate effort to please his mistress rather than resist her. Henry accepts a one-week trial of this approach. Through small acts of diligence and cheerfulness, he gradually wins Mrs. Allen's goodwill, and his own unhappiness begins to lift. Jessie monitors his progress with quiet anxiety and is relieved to find him transformed. At the academy, Jessie earns a monitorial desk and is allowed to offset her tuition by helping instruct younger pupils. The preceptor, Mr. Upton, stresses the value of knowledge and the importance of keeping a thoughtful journal. Jessie already keeps one, modeled on what Upton calls a diary in solid measure, recording not just events but observations and ideas. Her motto, Try to be somebody, arose from a contemptuous remark made by a wealthy classmate named Abby Leonard, and Jessie resolved in response to pursue genuine goodness and usefulness rather than social distinction. Abby later seeks Jessie's friendship, finding herself alienated from other girls by her own bad temper and vanity. The household is enlivened by various diversions. The family publishes a handwritten weekly newspaper called the Home Wreath, to which all contribute. They hold spelling matches and poetry games, conduct mock trials for household disputes, celebrate Washington's birthday with a small evening program of music and readings, and make maple sugar in the spring. Ronald is tried before a family court for an elaborate April Fool prank that kept Otis Sedgwick confined to a darkened room until midmorning, causing him to miss school; Ronald is found guilty and sentenced to spend an afternoon in bed. Moral and religious themes run throughout. A Sunday sermon on casting one's burdens upon the Lord speaks directly to Jessie's state of mind. A Sunday school lesson on the reasons for prayer produces a careful list of arguments that Jessie copies into her journal. The family newspaper publishes a discussion of scandal, affirming that spreading injurious truths about others without adequate purpose is morally wrong. Oscar Preston's troubled past is kept in careful confidence by Mrs. Page, Miss Lee, and Marcus, illustrating the very restraint the household endorses. Jessie is offered a significant temptation when her uncle Morrison arrives and proposes to adopt her, offering comfort and stability. She declines because his tavern-keeping life, with its atmosphere of alcohol and coarse company, poses a risk to her character. She chooses poverty and honest effort over ease purchased at a moral cost. The novel traces Jessie's efforts to live by her motto, showing her consistent kindness, self-discipline, care for those around her, and quiet faith as the foundations of a worthy life.

By Walter Aimwell · First published 1858 · Genre: Domestic Fiction, Coming-of-Age/Bildungsroman, Moral/Didactic Fiction · 18 chapters · 80,646 words

First lines

It was on a dull and cold morning in February, that Jessie Hapley, a / girl between fourteen and fifteen years old, stood before a window in / the farm-house of Mrs. Page, watching a couple of boys who were drawing / a sled on which was lashed a trunk. The sled dragged heavily through the / new-fallen snow, and when yet some distance off, the cord by which it / was drawn suddenly snapped asunder. After a few moments' delay, the boys / took a position behind their load, and pushed it along to its / destination, without meeting with any further obstacles.

"Where will you have it, Jessie-up in your chamber? " inquired the oldest / boy, as he and his companion landed the trunk in the entry.

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Jessie is listed on Textopian as a novel by Walter Aimwell, dated 1858 CE.

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Tags

19th-century fiction · American literature · domestic fiction · coming-of-age · moral education · New England · rural life · female protagonist · social mobility · American Dream · working-class · poverty

Contents

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