A Girl of the Limberlost (novel)
Even at the time, this impressive wetland region was being reduced by heavy logging, natural oil extraction and drainage for agriculture.
Elnora faces cold neglect by her mother, a woman who feels ruined by the death of her husband, Robert Comstock, who drowned in quicksand in the swamp.
She is determined to earn an education, which her mother derides as useless; Mrs. Comstock wants Elnora to remain at home and work as a drudge on their farm.
Her few comforts are the fact that she knows she can excel in school, especially in math and her study of nature; the kindness of her neighbors, Wesley and Margaret Sinton; that Freckles left her a valuable specimens box in the swamp; and that she succeeds in her enterprising scheme to gather and sell artifacts and moths from the Limberlost, which she can store in Freckles's box without her mother's knowledge.
Thirdly, a few days later, Elnora believes her mother understands the necessity for her to graduate so that she can enter college or, at least, teach, either of which she would love to do.
As she works through her final year of high school and hopes to go to college, she finds that there is a single moth she must collect, which will pay the way for her future.
Mrs. Comstock, finally realizing how essential Elnora is to her stable home life, sets out that night to replace the moth.
The two gradually fall in love; however, he is already engaged to another young woman, Edith Carr, who is wealthy, spoiled, and self-centered.
Elnora, to pretend that she is not beginning to fall for Philip, helps him to write letters to Edith Carr and in every way encourages his marriage to his childhood friend.
On the very afternoon that he gives Elnora an engagement ring, Edith drives up (accompanied by Hart, Polly, and Tom) to the Comstocks' home, in an uninvited visit.
The story ends happily with the joyful reunion, and Edith, determined to change her previously less than noble disposition, does something absolutely wonderful, uncharacteristic, and humble: She finds the moth that Elnora needs, carefully captures it, and brings it to her.
The central character of Stratton-Porter's previous novel, Freckles, is a man whose job it is to patrol and guard valuable timber trees in the Limberlost Swamp.
"[4] Patricia Raub, in a survey of women in novels during that decade, said, "Stratton-Porter established the pattern for her heroines with her depiction of Elnora Comstock in A Girl of the Limberlost, published in 1909, and the characterization of her protagonists remained virtually unchanged thereafter.
Wholesome, sensible, and beautiful, Elnora is also compassionable, self-reliant, and intelligent: 'There was no form of suffering with which the girl could not sympathize, no work she was afraid to attempt, no subject she had investigated she did not understand.'
When the handsome young hero arrives on the scene, he is immediately captivated by Elnora, even though he is already claimed by a physically attractive but selfish society girl.
"[1]Another reviewer wrote that "this book's heroine is a refreshing example of a young woman whose real attractiveness lies with her courage and intelligence, especially in the face of suffering, while she still has a healthy concern about how she is 'carpentered.'
... Elnora is remarkably patient and loving while undergoing difficult trials, but rather than being an unbelievable, sickeningly-sweet character, she exhibits temper, anguish and sometimes walks a fine line between being obedient to her mother and justifying hiding certain things from her.
