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Love for the Land in Wilma Dykeman's THE TALL WOMAN |
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In THE TALL WOMAN, Lydia McQueen, “mountain girl,” has a great love of the land. She lives on a mountain top, just under “Devil’s Brow.” Her family is shocked that she and her husband move so far away, but Lydia likes living there: “‘It’s my home,’ she said, as if that would tell [Robert] all he needed to know. . .[Robert] knew that she meant to tell him that not only the cabin sheltered them but this whole mountain was her dwelling place” (Dykeman 137).
Lydia McQueen relates to her surroundings. She compares her children to a vine: “But there’s something stronger than a rock. You see that ledge over my spring? I’ve seen it cracked by the stem of a little vine that had to come up to sunlight through it. There’s nothing strong enough to stop for long the strength of growing things” (Dykeman 178). The Rose of Sharon roots that her mother gave her serve as a daily reminder of her beloved “Mama.” Lydia’s respect for nature does not stop with flowers and plants; she also respects and relates to animals . When Mark kills the red-tailed hawk, Lydia is very sad to see, “its vitality and hunger extinguished. She was so sorry to think of the wings brought low that had once lifted so proudly on the morning wind.” To Lydia, the hawk was a symbol of strength and freedom. To Mark, it was a threat to his chickens. Even at her death bed, Lydia expresses regret for killing the hawk. Lydia’s cow is also a very important animal. Mark gives it to Lydia as a wedding gift, and Lydia is overwhelmed with pleasure: “you bring us milk and cream for rich yellow butter . . .You’ll be a valuable to us. I’ll call you Pearly.” The cow proves to be even more valuable when Lydia uses Pearly to plow the fields while her husband and father are away. The cow is Lydia’s most prized possession while she is left alone. It serves as her company, her source of food, her tool for labor, and a symbol of strength in adversity. As a mountain woman, Lydia’s love for the land goes much deeper than looking out the window at a beautiful view. She respects and relates to the things of nature, and the land is vital for her and her family. |
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