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Chapter 5: Striking Out
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Unsheltered, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth vs. Comfort
Evolution, Adaptation, and Survival
False Promises and Hope
Consumerism and Greed
Human Connection
Summary
Analysis
Back in the 19th century, over dinner, Polly expresses her disappointment in President Grant’s appearance at the school dedication ceremony. Thatcher’s own interaction with Grant was brief and awkward. Rose blames the horrors of war for Grant’s one droopy eye. Thatcher hates talking about his service as medical assistant during the war, despite the benefits to his education. Polly comments on Professor Cutler’s missing hand (he usually wears a prosthetic hook), reminding Thatcher and Rose of the detective novels they and Polly read in secret. Thatcher feels this shared rule-breaking unites him with Rose, who is still somewhat a stranger. He admires her poise. This morning, Rose miscarried their first baby and only shed a few tears before attending the school dedication.
President Grant’s presence at Vineland’s school dedication speaks to the community’s prestigious reputation. Rose’s attempt to use the war to loop Thatcher into conversation shows that she doesn’t really know her husband, who hates thinking of that time in his life. Detective novels smuggled under his mother-in-law’s nose might bridge the gap between husband and wife, but Thatcher still feels disconnected from her, though he attributes this to the relationship’s newness. While Rose’s composure impresses Thatcher, it also points to her tendency to ignore any reality that upsets her.
Themes
Thatcher hopes to leave behind his “birthright of sadness.” His own mother died in childbirth, but now he has a family. Polly asks how Professor Cutler lost his hand, provoking speculation. Talk turns to the subject of the dogs, Scylla and Charybdis. Aurelia approves of their Biblical names. No one corrects her, and Rose even lies and attributes the names to some psalm. Polly mentions several pants-wearing ladies who participated in the Dress Reform Convention, which she read about in Landis’s Weekly newspaper. Aurelia admires Captain Landis, Vineland’s landowner and de facto ruler. Aurelia allows Polly to read the Weekly but not the other local publication, the Independent, which is critical of Landis.
Thatcher’s origins reveal that he has little experience with genuine human connection, though he deeply desires it. Aurelia’s mistake with the dog names demonstrates how easy it is for people to make flawed assumptions which confirm their own beliefs. Furthermore, that no one corrects Aurelia speaks to the inherent difficulty of challenging preconceived notions and the comparative ease of allowing a person to remain ignorant. Polly’s excitement over dress reform shows that she is more progressive than her mother and sister. Although it seems likely that Landis only prints positive things about himself and Vineland in the press he controls, Aurelia’s refusal to entertain any criticism of the beloved landowner implies that many in Vineland are susceptible to such propaganda.
Themes
Thatcher suggests that some peace “deserves to be broken.” He has met the Independent’s editor, Carruth, a man who argues the Italian community faces discrimination in Vineland, which has made them indentured servants. Carruth’s newspaper exposes Landis’s dictatorial rule of the neighborhood. Rose changes the subject to Polly’s coming of age. Thatcher argues against the women’s perception of his salary, which is not even guaranteed since his contract only lasts a year. Most recently, Cutler rejected Thatcher’s proposal to take his class on nature expeditions. Thatcher brings up the house repairs, irritating Aurelia, who refuses to acknowledge her husband’s poor planning. Despite Thatcher’s efforts to discuss repairs, Aurelia and Rose completely ignore him. Thatcher senses his home is disintegrating.
At school later, Thatcher teaches his high school students about gas. Most students are from working-class families rather than Vineland’s wealthy intellectual elite, and girls greatly outnumber boys, as the latter are sent to work at an early age. Thatcher demonstrates how the scent of ammonia gradually spreads through the room when he uncorks a bottle. He compares molecules to a swarm of bees, which frightens some girls. The class’s attention shifts, indicating Professor Cutler is observing from Thatcher’s door. Thatcher ignores him and continues his lesson, but Cutler interrupts. He argues that the term molecule doesn’t appear in Johnson’s dictionary and condescends to the teenage students, calling them “children.”
Themes
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Since they are old enough to work, Thatcher considers the students grown adults. His own mother was young when she began having sons, six in total. Thatcher is the youngest, and his drunken father often blamed him for Thatcher’s mother’s death. Now, Cutler lectures the class on the relationship between science and God. Thatcher asserts that people gain knowledge through observation, prompting Cutler to demand he show them a molecule. He tries to contradict Thatcher’s explanation of the scientific evidence for molecules with faulty reasoning, insisting that God is the only path to truth. Cutler eventually smells the ammonia and asks if Thatcher performed a forbidden experiment. Thatcher denies this to Cutler’s face, but he winks at his class.
Themes
Thatcher wishes he could discuss his disagreements with Cutler with someone else—keeping Rose happy requires Thatcher to conceal unpleasantness. Thatcher resolves to consult Mrs. Treat, viewing her as a scientific ally. Later, he visits Mrs. Treat on the pretense of loaning her some books. There, he finds Mrs. Treat in distress—stray cats have killed some nestlings living in her rafters. Mrs. Treat feels personally responsible for the birds and threatens to poison the pampered cats, perceiving their attack as an unfair fight. Thinking of his own lost child, Thatcher understands the parent birds’ sorrow. He tries to comfort Mrs. Treat, who is devastated. She leads him to the parlor and calls for tea.
Themes
Thatcher observes Mrs. Treat’s plants and books, noting a man’s framed portrait on her desk. He feels at home and discusses his class. Mrs. Treat finds the larger number of female students studying the natural sciences encouraging, but Thatcher reminds her that the imbalance is due to the need for young men to work. Mrs. Treat sardonically reflects that, even in progressive Vineland, educating the working class is superfluous. She speaks of her decision to move here with her husband, who studies “the ethereal realm,” far removed from her own interests. Like Thatcher, Dr. Treat spent some time as a medical assistant during the war. Selma, the maid, brings the tea. Mrs. Treat takes Selma on her nature expeditions, as she is unlikely to get a formal education because she is working class.
Themes
Mrs. Treat is not only upset about the birds: she confesses that she also received a letter from Charles Riley, the editor of American Entomologist. She explains that Mr. Riley is the man whose picture is on the desk and that she contributes articles and specimens to the journal. She confides in Thatcher that Mr. Riley was upset by her accidental failure to give credit to his illustration in a recent article. Though gentle, the reprimand shames Mrs. Treat. As a woman, she is barred from attending university, where she feels she would have learned academic decorum. Sensing her pain and frustration, Thatcher confesses his envy of her correspondence with Charles Darwin and other top scientists, insisting her success far surpasses his own.
Themes
Both Thatcher and Mrs. Treat feel stranded in Vineland. He tells her of Cutler’s hostility toward modern science and his refusal to allow students to study nature outdoors. Cutler emphasizes discipline and moral education over reason. Irritated, Mrs. Treat insists that truth can only be found by observing the known world. She condemns the transcendentalist notion that intuition is the superior method of knowing. Thatcher is intensely grateful for Mrs. Treat’s friendship. They discuss President Grant’s appearance at the dedication—like them, he seems to prefer nature to crowds. Cheered up, Mrs. Treat offers Thatcher cake while she peruses the books he brought. He asks if he can call her Mary, and she obliges.
Themes
