| Plot Summary of Housekeeping |
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"Ruth and her younger sister, Lucille, are being brought up by their Aunt Sylvie. When the girls were small their mother left them with their grandmother, then left and ran her car off a bridge; very likely it was suicide. The girls' grandfather had died much earlierin an amazing train wreck, for which their grandmother was still known. When grandmother dies, two great aunts come to take over, but they find it difficult to care for the children, and summon the girls' mother's sister, Sylvie. Sylvie turns out to be even more unconventional than their mother - what they remember of her - and their grandmother. The girls often don't go to school, spend days playing by themselves, and Sylvie kind of does her own thing. Yet she cares for the girls in her own way. Lucille eventually realizes she wants to be more like other children, and leaves, going to live with another family in the town. The sadness over losing her sister brings Ruth closer to Sylvie and they have some strange adventures together. In fact, the town people are becoming worried about them, and Ruth is inevitably going to be taken from Sylvie. Sylvie tries hard to do the things that are expected of her, but even Ruth knows it's too hard, and eventually they find a way to stay together."
Tena Van''t Foort, Resident Scholar
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"Ruth and her younger sister, Lucille, are being brought up by their Aunt Sylvie. When the girls were small their mother left them with their grandmother, then left and ran her car off a bridge; very likely it was suicide. The girls' grandfather had died in an amazing train wreck, for which their grandmother was still known. When grandmother dies, two great aunts come to take over, but they find it difficult to care for the children, and summon the girls' mother's sister, Sylvie. Sylvie turns out to be even more unconventional than their mother - what they remember of her - and their grandmother. The girls often don't go to school, spend days playing by themselves, and Sylvie kind of does her own thing. Yet she cares for the girls in her own way. Lucille eventually realizes she wants to be more like other children, and leaves, going to live with another family in the town. The sadness over losing her sister brings Ruth closer to Sylvie and they have some strange adventures together. In fact, the town people are becoming worried about them, and Ruth is inevitably going to be taken from Sylvie. Sylvie tries hard to do the things that are expected of her, but even Ruth knows it's too hard, and eventually they find a way to stay together.
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Tena Van''''t Foort, Resident Scholar
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