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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
In "Old Friends and New," Sarah Orne Jewett masterfully weaves a tapestry of human relationships set against the backdrop of rural New England. The collection features a series of interconnected stories that illuminate the intricacies of friendship, loss, and the passage of time, all hallmarks of Jewett's distinctive style that blends regional realism with a deep sense of character. The prose is imbued with a lyricism that captures the authenticity of the setting, showcasing the dialect and nuances of life in small towns while illustrating her keen observations of human emotions and interactions. Sarah Orne Jewett, a prominent figure in American literature during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drew inspiration from her own life experiences in Maine. Growing up in a close-knit, rural community, she became acutely aware of the rich tapestry of relationships that define one's identity. Jewett's commitment to representing the lives of women and the subtle complexities of domestic life enrich her narratives, offering readers insights into the societal roles of her time and the evolving nature of friendships. Readers who appreciate character-driven narratives steeped in lyrical prose will find "Old Friends and New" a compelling exploration of the human experience. Jewett's ability to capture the essence of her characters' inner lives provides a timeless connection, making this collection a must-read for anyone interested in the intricacies of personal relationships amid the changing landscapes of life. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Old Friends and New
Table of Contents
Introduction
In Old Friends and New, Sarah Orne Jewett illuminates how the bonds of companionship and the pull of remembered places steady ordinary lives as communities negotiate the quiet yet inexorable turn from what has been to what is becoming, revealing that renewal arrives not through spectacle but through attentiveness, kindness, and the shared rituals that stitch neighbors, kin, and travelers into a living fabric shaped by sea, weather, and work, so that the past is neither discarded nor embalmed, but carried forward through patience, gratitude, and the small courtesies that make change bearable and fellowship newly possible.
Published in the late 1870s, this collection belongs to the American tradition often called local color or regionalism, in which writers presented the particular speech, customs, and landscapes of distinct communities. Jewett, an American author associated with New England settings, gathers stories that largely unfold in small towns and coastal villages, where everyday rhythms guide the seasons of work and leisure. Rather than chasing dramatic incident, she locates meaning in the familiar rooms of houses, in the paths between farms and wharves, and in the ties that bind residents to one another and to place.
Readers encounter a mosaic of portraits rather than a single plot, each tale offering a discrete window onto characters facing turning points small enough to be overlooked and large enough to shape a life. The prose is lucid, restrained, and gently musical, with careful observation that grants dignity to humble details. Scenes unfold at an unhurried pace, inviting attentiveness to gesture and tone. The mood is contemplative and humane, occasionally wry, and suffused with a quiet confidence that ordinary experience contains its own revelations when given time, patience, and sympathetic regard.
Across the volume, friendship in its many forms stands at the center: companionship between neighbors, intergenerational bonds, and the sustaining networks that arise from shared labor and habit. Jewett is attuned to women’s perspectives and to the constraints and strengths of small communities, tracing how care, responsibility, and discretion shape choices. The stories often turn on questions of belonging and distance—travel and return, letters and visits, the difference between hospitality and intrusion. Memory, aging, and the stewardship of tradition recur, not as nostalgia, but as a living archive through which characters understand duty, gratitude, and change.
Jewett’s craft rests on precision and tact. Landscape is not decorative background but an active presence: shorelines, fields, and village streets register time’s passage and social patterns. Dialogue is modest and revealing, inflected by regional cadence without caricature. Instead of climactic reversals, the stories prefer quiet recognitions, where a gesture, a pause, or a shared task becomes decisive. Moral complexity arises from sympathy rather than judgment, and conflicts resolve into understanding more often than victory. The cumulative effect is clarity without harshness, a portrayal of character and community that trusts suggestion, implication, and the eloquence of everyday scenes.
For contemporary readers, the collection offers an antidote to haste and a study in attention: it invites reflection on how communities sustain themselves, how care is enacted in daily practice, and how place shapes ethical imagination. Its questions feel timely—what we owe to neighbors, how to welcome change without erasing memory, how to recognize dignity outside spectacle. In an era of mobility and distraction, Jewett’s steadiness models a patient way of seeing that values interdependence, local knowledge, and the slow accumulation of trust, suggesting resources for reimagining connection in both private and civic life.
As an early milestone in Jewett’s career, Old Friends and New consolidates the methods that would define her later work, refining a regional focus into a broader inquiry about human fellowship. Without demanding prior knowledge, it serves as a generous entry point to her fiction, demonstrating how careful style and ethical attention can turn modest situations into enduring art. To read it is to consent to a slower cadence and to discover the depth available in ordinary relations. The reward is a quietly resonant experience that lingers in memory, offering companionship long after the final page is turned.
Synopsis (Selection)
Old Friends and New is a collection of short stories by Sarah Orne Jewett that portrays life in late nineteenth-century New England. The pieces follow neighbors, relatives, and travelers whose paths cross in coastal towns and inland villages. Jewett’s focus is on ordinary moments that reveal character and community ties. The tone remains observant and restrained, emphasizing place, season, and custom. Without relying on dramatic twists, the collection builds meaning through conversations, small decisions, and recollections. Throughout, the emphasis falls on continuity—how old friendships persist and new ones form—while acknowledging the subtle changes brought by time, shifting fortunes, and evolving expectations.
The opening stories dwell on reunions and return visits, where childhood companions meet again as adults. Old houses, familiar lanes, and remembered landscapes frame these encounters, allowing characters to measure present circumstances against the past. Jewett traces the etiquette of calling, the quiet importance of letters, and the careful negotiation of social boundaries. Tensions arise not from scandal but from difference—country and city habits, youthful plans and mature obligations. These early narratives establish the collection’s pace and method: a steady, scene-by-scene attention to daily life, in which the most telling events are a shared walk, a long postponed conversation, or a thoughtful gift.
Subsequent tales introduce younger women on the threshold of independence, guided by older friends who model patience and self-reliance. Questions of marriage, work, and duty surface, yet choices unfold gradually through observation rather than argument. Village teachers, shopkeepers, and distant cousins appear, each bringing practical wisdom or opportunity. Jewett presents domestic interiors and modest enterprises as spaces where character is tested. Turning points often involve a chance meeting, a household task taken seriously, or a story told at the right moment. While outcomes remain understated, these pieces highlight the formative power of companionship and the value of measured, thoughtful judgment.
The collection then moves toward the seacoast, where fishermen, sailors, and widows of the maritime trade mark the rhythms of the shore. Town economies depend on weather, tides, and seasonal work, and conversations carry the knowledge of boats, cargoes, and safe harbors. A storm may loom, a voyage be delayed, or a signal from a lighthouse prompt concern, but the narratives emphasize preparedness and mutual aid. These scenes expand the social field, linking households to broader networks of trade and travel. Without leaning on peril for suspense, Jewett shows how maritime life sharpens attentiveness, strengthens neighborhood bonds, and invites resilient, quiet courage.
Several mid-collection stories follow journeys by stagecoach and coastal steamer, using inns, ferries, and crossroads stores as settings for brief alliances. Strangers become acquaintances through shared errands or a seat by a window, and local guides turn unfamiliar byways into welcoming routes. Travel here does not deliver escape so much as perspective; characters return with clearer understanding of obligations at home. Hours on the road encourage frank talk, comparisons between towns, and a respect for regional differences. Small courtesies—offering a parcel, giving directions, sharing provisions—reveal the manners that sustain public life, and the way new friendships can form in passing.
As the seasons turn, gatherings and holidays bring neighbors together around firesides and long tables. These episodes spotlight ritual—recipes, hymns, and remembered toasts—through which communities affirm belonging. Long-settled grievances recede amid preparations, while new concerns arise from seating plans, invitations, or a promise to include someone who has been overlooked. Jewett’s interest lies in how hospitality works: who arrives first, what stories are told, and how a host’s care extends beyond the meal. A modest quarrel might be softened by a considerate word, and a shy guest may find a place. The emphasis remains on courtesy as a steadying force.
Later stories consider aging, inheritance, and the stewardship of homes. Elderly friends weigh whether to remain in family houses or move closer to kin, while younger neighbors step into roles of visit-maker, helper, and confidant. Objects—letters, quilts, books—carry memory and prompt decisions about what to keep and what to pass on. Illness and recovery appear, not to shock, but to focus attention on practical kindness and continuity of care. Jewett traces how responsibility is shared, how news travels, and how promises are honored. These pieces explore the quiet transitions that shape a town’s future without altering its familiar outlines.
In the penultimate stretch, the collection foregrounds friendship across differences of class, age, and temperament. A reserved newcomer learns a village’s ways; a talkative traveler discovers the limits of gossip; a diligent apprentice finds a mentor’s praise. Humor surfaces in small misunderstandings, while gentle irony prevents sentiment from becoming heavy. The stories show how trust is earned through reliability—keeping an appointment, returning a borrowed tool, remembering a name. Moral lessons, when present, arise from consequences visible to all rather than explicit lecture. Each narrative offers a modest change of heart or circumstance, suggesting how new bonds complement long-standing ties.
The closing pieces return to themes of continuity and renewal, affirming the sustaining power of companionship in ordinary life. Without grand finales, the final impressions are of open doors, ongoing correspondence, and shared errands that will continue after the last page. Jewett’s arrangement, moving from reunions to travels to winter hearths and onward to legacies, reflects a cycle of community life rather than a single plot. The overarching message is clear: friendship—old and new—anchors individuals in times of change. Through precise observation and measured storytelling, the collection preserves local character while suggesting a broader, durable human fellowship.
Historical Context
Old Friends and New (1879) is set primarily in small coastal and river towns of southern Maine and neighboring New England, a world of shipyards, fishing coves, village greens, and farmsteads linked by stage roads and, increasingly, by rail. The temporal horizon is the post–Civil War decades, roughly the late 1860s through the 1870s, when older maritime economies met industrial expansion. Jewett writes from intimate knowledge of South Berwick, Maine, and nearby ports such as Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine. Seasonal rhythms—winter isolation, spring coastal trade, summer fishing—structure community life. The book’s social tapestry reflects Protestant Yankee households, aging seafarers, widows, shopkeepers, and physicians, framed by the moral debates and economic adjustments of the Reconstruction and early Gilded Age era.
The American Civil War (1861–1865) profoundly shaped New England. Maine alone sent over 70,000 soldiers to Union service and lost nearly 10,000 men. Veterans returned with injuries, trauma, and new networks, while federal pension policies evolved, culminating in the Arrears of Pensions Act (1879), which expanded claims for widows and dependents. Coastal villages bore visible absences in their church pews and work crews, and many households relied on remittances or pensions to steady modest budgets. Jewett’s depictions of female-headed homes, intergenerational households, and communal remembrance echo these demographic and financial realities, showing how bereavement and civic duty continued to structure everyday sociability after Appomattox.
The decline of wooden sail and the restructuring of maritime commerce after 1865 transformed Maine. In the 1840s–1850s, Maine yards led the nation in wooden ship tonnage; Bath, Thomaston, and Kennebunkport launched brigs and clippers for Atlantic and coastal trades. After the war, iron and then steel steamships, together with new routes, eroded that dominance. The Suez Canal’s opening in 1869 favored steam over sail on global passages; coastal railroads captured freight once carried by coasting schooners. The Grand Trunk Railway had reached Portland in 1853, and the Maine Central Railroad expanded in the 1870s, linking interior mills and timberlands directly to markets. As a result, orders for large wooden ships fell sharply in the 1870s, and many yards pivoted to schooners, repairs, or closed entirely. Harbor economies adjusted: fishermen diversified into mackerel, herring, and inshore lobstering; small merchants consolidated or failed; younger men left for Boston, the West, or mill towns upriver. Older houses—built in prosperous shipping decades—stood weathered yet dignified along main streets and headlands, embodiments of a receding prosperity. Jewett’s characters often include retired captains, mariners’ widows, and craftspeople whose skills are esteemed but less remunerative, and she attends to household economies—gardens, small trades, careful saving—that sustained dignity amid contraction. Her attention to shore talk, tides, and practical seamanship preserves the knowledge of a world pivoting from blue-water ambition to local resilience, rendering the social costs and continuities of New England’s maritime transition with historical exactitude.
The Panic of 1873 and the ensuing Long Depression (1873–1879) brought bank failures, railroad bankruptcies (notably the collapse of Jay Cooke & Co.), price deflation of roughly 30% across the decade, and unemployment that reached double digits nationally by the mid-1870s. New England textile orders slackened; small-town credit tightened; fraternal aid, churches, and charitable societies filled gaps in relief. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 highlighted class tensions from Baltimore to Chicago, with echoes in New England’s industrial corridors. Jewett’s emphasis on thrift, neighborly assistance, and the moral weight of debt and obligation mirrors the era’s precarious household finances and the social salience of reputation in credit-scarce villages.
Maine pioneered prohibition with the Maine Law of 1851 under Portland’s Neal Dow, a statute repealed in 1856 amid unrest but reinstated in 1858 and effectively shaping social norms thereafter. The Portland Rum Riot of 1855 dramatized the conflict between personal liberty and moral reform, and by the 1870s temperance committees and, after 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union pressured towns to police alcohol. In small coastal communities, enforcement fell to selectmen, constables, and vigilant neighbors. Jewett’s portrayals of public judgment, reputation, and discreet charity resonate with this regulatory culture, where domestic respectability and civic order intertwined with reformist zeal and sometimes intrusive surveillance.
Industrialization reoriented southern Maine and nearby New England cities. Textile complexes grew in Saco and Biddeford (Pepperell Manufacturing, incorporated 1841; Laconia mills) and in Lewiston (Bates Manufacturing, founded 1850), drawing labor from rural Yankee farms and, increasingly, French Canadian migrants. From the 1860s through the 1880s, tens of thousands of French Canadians settled in mill towns, forming “Little Canadas” with Catholic parishes and mutual-aid societies. Rail spurs and river canals moved cotton, coal, and cloth. Jewett’s contrast between steady, traditional coastal households and the pull of wage labor and anonymity in factory centers reflects this regional realignment, highlighting anxieties about community cohesion, religion, language, and changing gendered work.
Coastal hazards and civic infrastructure shaped life and imagination. The Great Fire of Portland (July 4, 1866) destroyed about 1,800 buildings and left roughly 10,000 people homeless, prompting reconstruction in brick and heightened urban vigilance. Lighthouses such as Portland Head Light (1791) and Pemaquid Point Light (1835), and the U.S. Life-Saving Service established in 1878, symbolized state capacity to mitigate maritime risk along the New England coast. Winter gales, shipwrecks, and fog defined seasonal peril and communal duty. Jewett’s attention to prudence, seamanship, and neighborly rescue echoes these institutions and disasters, using local narratives of danger and aid to register broader patterns of public safety and civic modernization.
As social and political critique, the book quietly interrogates the costs of economic transition and moral governance in postbellum New England. It exposes how market volatility and the decline of maritime trades strained widows, the elderly, and the poor, while temperance regimes and town gossip disciplined the vulnerable. By centering women’s economies of care, informal credit, and mutual aid, Jewett questions legal and customary constraints on female autonomy despite reforms to property and pension regimes. The work also measures class divisions between merchants, professionals, and laborers in an era of consolidation, suggesting that dignity requires not only thrift and duty but community institutions that temper the hard edges of the Gilded Age.
