The Wide, Wide World facts for kids
Frontispiece from an 1853 edition
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| Author | Susan Warner |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
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Publication date
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1850 |
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The Wide, Wide World is a popular novel written by Susan Warner in 1850. She published it using the pen name Elizabeth Wetherell. Many people believe it was America's very first bestseller, meaning it sold a huge number of copies!
Contents
Story Overview
The Wide, Wide World tells the story of a young girl named Ellen Montgomery. Her life starts out happy, but then her mother becomes very sick. Ellen's father has to take her mother to Europe for treatment. This means Ellen must leave her home and go live with an aunt she barely knows. Ellen tries to be brave for her mom, but she feels very sad and can't find comfort anywhere.
The day comes when Ellen has to say goodbye to her mother. She travels with strangers to her aunt's house. These strangers are not kind to Ellen. She even tries to leave the boat they are on! An old man sees Ellen crying. He tells her to trust in God, just like her mother taught her. He asks if she is ready to give her heart to Jesus. After talking with him, Ellen decides to become a true Christian. This gives her strength for the rest of her trip to her aunt's place in a town called Thirwall.
On her first night in Thirwall, Ellen learns her father forgot to tell her aunt she was coming. A man named Mr. Van Brunt takes her to her aunt's house. Her aunt, Fortune Emerson, is very different from Ellen's loving mother. She treats Ellen unkindly and won't let her go to school. Ellen hates living with Aunt Fortune. She finds comfort in Mr. Van Brunt and other neighbors as she gets used to her new home.
One day, Ellen finds out her aunt hid a letter from her mother. Crying, she runs into the woods. There, she meets Alice Humphreys, the daughter of a local minister. Alice is kind to Ellen and invites her for tea. She wants Ellen to share her problems, hoping she can help. The girls quickly become best friends. Alice treats Ellen like a sister. She offers to teach Ellen and guide her in her faith. Alice teaches Ellen to forgive others and trust in God.
Alice and her brother John, who is often away at school, treat Ellen like family. They even invite her to spend Christmas with them and their friends, the Marshmans, in a nearby town called Ventnor. While there, Ellen meets another girl named Ellen Chauncey. She also gets to know John Humphreys better. John often comforts her when other children tease her. Ellen starts to realize that if she hadn't been separated from her mother, she might never have met Alice and John.
About a year later, Ellen visits town. She overhears some ladies talking and learns that her mother has died. Heartbroken, she turns to Alice and her Bible for comfort. She stays with Alice and John until Aunt Fortune gets sick. Ellen then has to go back to look after her aunt. Eventually, Aunt Fortune gets better, and Ellen returns to Alice and her friends.
After Mr. Van Brunt's mother dies, he decides to marry Aunt Fortune. Soon after, Alice tells Ellen that she is very ill. Alice says she will soon be "going home" to Heaven. She tells Ellen not to be sad but to trust in God. Alice also invites Ellen to live with the Humphreys family. Ellen moves in right away and takes care of Alice during her last weeks. After Alice dies, Ellen looks to John for guidance. He becomes her teacher, spiritual guide, and a source of strength. When a relative of the Humphreys family dies in England, John has to travel overseas for family business. Ellen is sad to see him go, but she has become a much stronger person.
One day, Nancy visits Ellen. She brings letters she found while cleaning Aunt Fortune's house. These letters are from Ellen's mother. They say that Ellen should go live with relatives in Scotland. After sharing the letters with Mr. Humphreys, Ellen decides she must follow her parents' wishes. The Humphreys send her to Scotland to live with the Lindsays: her grandmother, her uncle Lindsay, and Lady Keith. They welcome her warmly and find her delightful. However, they become very protective of her. They try to make her forget she is an American and a Montgomery. Mr. Lindsay even makes Ellen call him "father" and calls her his "own little daughter." The Lindsays also don't encourage Ellen's faith. They don't think religion is important for someone her age. Ellen finds it hard to live without her daily time for studying religion. Still, she tries hard to live by her faith and everything John and Alice taught her.
Ellen misses John more than anyone. During a New Year's Eve party at the Lindsays' home, John suddenly appears, asking for her. The Lindsays try to keep them apart, but they can't. During their emotional reunion, John reminds Ellen to keep her faith strong. He tells her that in a few years, when she can choose where she lives, she can return to America and live with him. When Ellen introduces John to the Lindsays, they actually grow fond of him. John soon has to go back to America. But he promises Ellen that they will be together forever soon. In a part of the book that was not published, Ellen returns to America as Mrs. John Humphreys.
Main Characters
- Ellen Montgomery: She is the main character of the story. At the beginning, Ellen is young and innocent. She lives happily with her mother, who is her only friend and teacher. After being taken away from her mother, Ellen tries hard to love God and live a Christian life, even when things are difficult.
- Mrs. Montgomery: Ellen's mother. She has many health problems. She finds comfort only in Ellen and God. Even though she can't do many things, she tries her best to teach Ellen about God and how to be a proper young lady.
- Fortune Emerson: She is Captain Montgomery's half-sister. She is strict and doesn't show much feeling towards Ellen from the start. She won't let Ellen go to school and even hides a letter from Ellen's mother.
- Alice Humphreys: The daughter of a minister. She is kind and gentle. She becomes Ellen's friend and helps her with her faith. Alice helps Ellen find comfort in God while living with Aunt Fortune. Alice eventually gets sick and dies, but not before teaching Ellen to trust in God.
- John Humphreys: Alice's beloved brother. He is a handsome and charming young man. He becomes as close as a brother to Ellen. After Alice dies, John becomes Ellen's guide. He teaches her how to be a good Christian and a good person.
- The Lindsays: Ellen's family from her mother's side. This includes Grandmother Lindsay, Mr. Lindsay (Ellen's uncle), and Lady Keith (Ellen's aunt). They welcome her into their family. But they become very possessive and try to make her forget she is American. They also don't encourage Ellen's religious faith.
Other Characters
- Captain Montgomery: Ellen's father. He is often away from home. He doesn't show much sympathy for his wife or daughter when they are forced to be apart.
- Mr. Van Brunt: Fortune's farmhand. He seems scary at first, but Ellen learns to like him. He is kind to Ellen and often defends her when her aunt treats her badly.
- Nancy Vawse: A girl who lives nearby with her grandmother. Most people think she is "a bad sort." Ellen doesn't like her at first, but Nancy later proves to be a better person.
- Mrs. Vawse: Nancy's grandmother. She is a kind old lady who lives on a mountain. She teaches French to Ellen and Alice. Later, she takes care of Ellen after Alice dies and John goes back to school.
- Mr. Humphreys: Alice and John's father. He is a local minister. He is a quiet man who keeps to himself. Ellen becomes like a daughter to him and comforts him after Alice dies.
- The Marshmans: Friends of the Humphreys family who live in a nearby town. They are kind to Ellen and treat her well when she stays with them.
- Ellen Chauncey: A young girl Ellen meets while staying with the Marshmans.
- Margery: Alice's loyal servant who came from England with the Humphreys. She helps Ellen learn to take Alice's place in the household.
Challenges Ellen Faces
The main challenge in this story is Ellen being separated from her mother. This separation affects Ellen deeply. She misses her mother, struggles to be a good Christian, and deals with people who don't care about her.
Ellen's Inner Struggles
The story shows how Ellen deals with her feelings. When she faces problems, the book focuses on how she handles them inside herself. Ellen tries to be strong and keep going, no matter how sad or difficult things get.
Challenges from Life
Ellen's mother leaving for France because she is sick starts the whole story. The first few chapters show Ellen getting ready to cope with being separated. She also tries not to cause her mother any extra stress. After her mother leaves, Ellen has to learn how to live without the one person who truly cared for her.
Ellen's Faith Journey
When her mother leaves, Ellen starts to doubt God. She struggles with the idea that she must love God, even though He has given her hardships. She tries to understand that God separated her from her mother and sent her to her aunt to teach her that strong faith in God is the most important thing in her life.
Dealing with Others
Many of Ellen's problems with other people are also dealt with internally. For example, she struggles with her cold and uncaring Aunt Fortune. Aunt Fortune shows no sympathy for Ellen's sadness. Her aunt's lack of care causes most of Ellen's outward problems in the first half of the book. This includes her aunt not letting Ellen go to school.
Writing Style
The way Susan Warner wrote The Wide, Wide World has a few key features.
Old-Fashioned Language
The book was written in 1850. At that time, America was still developing its own way of writing. You can tell from the very first page that the language is old-fashioned. For example, a line like "Driven thus to her own resources, Ellen betook herself to the window and sought amusement there" sounds different from how we talk today.
Teaching Lessons
Warner's writing style aimed to show what life was like for women in the 1800s. It also wanted to promote Christian values. One of the main ideas in the novel is about finding strength through religious devotion. The book was republished in 1987 by the Feminist Press, which shows it also has ideas about helping women gain equality.
Focus on Feelings
The Wide, Wide World is a great example of "sentimentalist literature." This means the story's problems and actions are mostly about Ellen's inner feelings. For instance, in one part of the book, Ellen cries five times in just four pages! This shows how much Warner focused on emotions in her writing.
A "Domestic Novel"
This book is also considered a "domestic novel." These types of stories often follow a young girl who loses the support she relied on. She then has to find her own way in the world. This is exactly what happens to Ellen Montgomery.
