The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming

The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming

"She's pinned all her hopes on it. Mrs. D. hated working in the
Lowell mills. She hated leaving her kitchen and hearth and standing
for fourteen hours a day before a loom, sneezing from all the dust and
lint and not being able to sleep at night because of the ringing in
her ears. She wants to be a wife again, to have someone else go out
to work while she keeps house. If she has to go all the way to
Washington Territory to do it, by golly, that's what she'll do."
Jane, narrator of J. Anderson Coats' The Many Reflections of
Miss Jane Deming, is alluding to her step mother, a Civil War widow.
In mid nineteenth century America widows and even orphans were
supposed to get jobs, often low paying exploitative ones. Eventually
Welfare was initiated as a way of rescuing "respectable" war widows
from destitution. But it didn't come in time to save Mrs. D. from the
mills. Jane hasn't had it easy either. Without any training she had
to become responsible for a household and a baby brother at an early
age while losing the friendships of her former schoolgirl peers as
well as a beloved family member.
The voyage Jane and her kin embark on is far more arduous and
dangerous than most of us would imagine. They're going the long way
by boat from the East Coast. Hint: Rio is on the itinerary. The
shenanigans of the voyage organizer perpetually threaten to strand the
passengers far short of their destination. And what if Seattle holds
far humbler bachelors than the natty banker or businessman Mrs. D.
expects to be swept off her feet by?
The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming combines an adventurous
coming of age narrative with interesting historical information.
On a personal note, somewhere in his burrow that old woodchuck
Puxatawny Phil must be chuckling. As far back as Sunday people were
comparing notes on a predicted big storm. By Tuesday people were snow
day dreaming and speculating. The snow had started gently last night
when I went to bed. As I write this I'm in the middle of a NorEaster.
A great big shout out goes out to my husband and the others who are
out plowing and sanding and administrators of schools including UMaine
who declared snow days, keeping students, faculty, and staff safe and
helping to keep the roads clear for the professional snow battlers.
jules hathaway


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