A Land Remembered

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While reading the book "A Land Remembered" by Patrick D. Smith one of the characters that really caught my attention was Emma. She is Tobias's wife and Zech's mother. Her role is the role of a typical woman in the 1800's. She cooks, cleans and usually stays home. I found her to be an amazing person though. She traveled with her husband and stayed by his side, no matter what. She was often the voice of reason and stood her ground when she knew something was right. She made the most of everything that happened and was always supportive of her family, no matter how difficult things got. She always found something good out of a bad situation and made the best of what she had.

Emma spent most of the time in the beginning of the book in the house or in a wagon. When things would happen, Zech usually had to go fill her in on what was going on because she couldn't leave the sheltered area. Although, she prepared meals from things in nature, those things were usually brought to her. She also experienced nature when traveling to different areas in the wagon. She did some work outside but was usually inside the house, unlike her husband that was almost always outside.

Emma's sense of place would be he kitchen. That is where she would feel the most "at home". She enjoyed cooking for her family and others along the way, although it got more difficult when they didn't have much to prepare. She also was great at sewing and fixing things. I believe she was a lot less scared then most women in that time would be if they were put into some of the situations that she was forced into, such as, almost being attacked by bears or watching her house get burned to the ground. Her sense of place would be anywhere with her family. She was content with let herself go in order to help her family. She was a very family oriented woman.

There are many ways that I relate to Emma. Yes, I cook and clean but that's not all. I feel in relationships I have with people, I am often the voice of reason. I try to be respectful and quiet when I don't have something nice to say but when someone needs to hear it, I will talk some sense into them. I wish I was able to be as humble and accepting as she was though. She went through so much more than someone should but she stood with her family and never complained. She put off having more children, she left all of her friends, and she lived and traveled in terrible conditions without ever complaining. I hope someday I can be even close to as amazing as Emma was in this book.