The Evolution Of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution Of Calpurnia Tate

Juvenile historical fiction
"...So I didn't like to talk patterns and recipes and pour tea
in the parlor. Did that make me selfish? Did it make me odd? Worst
of all, did it make me a disappointment?..."
Calpurnia, narrator of Jacqueline Kelly's The Evolution Of
Capurnia Tate, is the exact middle child of seven. She's also the
only daughter of a very proper, very traditional woman whose life
revolves around house, church, and family. She's often painfully
aware that she's probably not what her mom anticipated on the day she
gave birth to her one and only girl child.
Calpurnia has very strong passions. They just don't revolve
around cooking and cleaning. Her tatting and embroidery leave much to
be desired. Baking lessons are an ordeal.
As the story begins Calpurnia and her retired grandfather, the
family patriarch who lives with them, become unlikely allies. He's a
naturalist, a formidale seeming fellow, a free thinker who debates the
then new Origin Of The Species with the family's minister. One day he
is horrified to discover the deficiencies in her education. She is
only studying reading, spelling, arithmetic, penmanship, and
deportment. ("I got an 'acceptable' for Posture but 'unsatisfactory'
for Use of Hankie and Thimble.") She's never heard of Sir Isaac Newton
or Sir Francis Bacon!
From then on he introduces her to a new and wondrous world, one
much more fascinating than tatting lace collars. He shows her to find
the most cleverly camoflauged of critters. He describes the
scientific method. They observe a deer and calf. He gives her a
fragile hummingbird's nest.
In my favorite passage from the book her grandfather shows
Calpurnia a drop of river water under a microscope. "Something with
many tiny hairs rowed past at high speed; something else with a
lashing tail whipped by; a tumbling barbed sphere like a medieval mace
rolled past; delicate, filmy ghostlike shadows flitted in and out of
the field. It was chaotic, it was wild, it was...the most amazing
thing I'd ever seen."
Even as they grow closer, there are forces at work to end or at
least weaken their partnership. Calpurnia's mom has decided she's old
enough to learn how to manage a household. There are socks to knit,
recipes to learn from the cook...and that all important debutante
season where her family can formally notify eligible bachelors of her
availability. Calpurnia likens that ritual to a slave auction.
Looking ahead to the only future society seems to allow her,
Calournia feels like a trapped beast. But the world is on the verge
of not only a new year, but a new century. Surely there must be just
a glimmer of hope.
The Evolution Of Calpurnia Tate is a must read for every girl or
woman who has ever fought to define herself in a still too stereotyped
society. Calpurnia is a spunky articulate heroine you can't help
rooting for. Each chapter starts with a quote from Darwin's Origin Of
The Species that cleverly ties natural history in with the workings of
her family and community.
On a personal note, Calpurnia and I would have been chums. The
natural world has always fascinated me. I could sit for hours
watching, drawing, and writing descriptions of environs like tidal
pools. As soon as I was allowed to handle sharp instruments I began
to dissect animal specimens, including a 5' great white shark, in the
bathroom. (Mom would just say, "Clean up after yourself." I suspect
Calpurnia's would have required a strong dose of Lydia Pinkham's for
her poor shattered nerves.). In fact, in a delightful sort of irony, I
became so engrossed in writing this review the shortcake biscuits I
had in the oven nearly burned before I thought to pull them out.
Calpurnia would have appreciated that!
A great big shout out goes out to my sisters in spirit past, present,
and future.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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