The Fields (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Fields is a 1946 novel by Conrad Richter
and the second work in his The Awakening Land
trilogy. It continues the story of the characters Portius and Sayward Luckett Wheeler begun in the novel The Trees.
The Fields is set on the frontier in a fictional county near what is now Ross County, Ohio
and its action begins almost immediately after the conclusion of The Trees
a few weeks after the marriage of protagonist Sayward Luckett and her husband, lawyer Portius Wheeler. The action of the novel spans a much longer period of time than its predecessor, covering approximately twenty years of their marriage as the couple become parents to a very large family. An influx of new settlers, particularly after Ohio becomes a state, transforms the frontier of the first novel into a small town surrounded by many miles of farms whose population is still growing and whose free and cheap land is becoming ever more expensive. Sayward becomes wealthy by frontier standards as the value of the land she received from her father rises and as Portius's law practice becomes successful.
The Wheeler marriage begins to undergo several strains. Portius, an agnostic and an intellectual, was from the beginning an unusual match for the illiterate and faithful Sayward and many resentments over their differences in world view and their differing priorities and skills as their children grow up emerge.
Following the birth of their ninth child Sayward informs Portius that she will no longer sleep in his bed or have sexual relations with him, explaining that the pregnancy was more difficult than her others and that the midwife assured her a tenth pregnancy could well result in her death. Portius urges her to see a physician, even offering to take her to an eastern city, but she refuses, feeling abstinence is the only means by which she can be assured of no more pregnancies.
By the end of the novel (approximately 1815, though the date is not given), Sayward has discovered Portius is having an extramarital affair with the town schoolmistress (his only intellectual equal in the community); Portius not only acknowledges his infidelity but alerts Sayward that the schoolmistress is expecting his child.
The schoolmistress, Miss Bartram, had knowingly become pregnant hoping that it would convince Portius to leave Sayward and marry her. He refuses to do this even though Sayward gives him her permission and even encourages him to do so, for she wants a separation. When he tries to convince her to either have an abortion or at least move to another town where he will support her out of sight of his legitimate family she refuses and instead marries Jake Tench, an alcoholic laborer long loathed by Sayward, in part to deliberately humiliate Portius.
As the novel ends the Wheelers have separated and Portius has lost the company of his wife and of his mistress. Sayward is hurt and resentful at Portius's infidelity, but also feels some guilt and responsibility, for, it is learned, she had misrepresented the truth of her last childbirth. The pregnancy had indeed been difficult, but the midwife had told her that she should not have any trouble with a tenth pregnancy; however, after bearing and caring for nine children (one of whom died in a fire) and seeing how much it had changed her body and aged her, and constantly tired from taking care of her brood, Sayward lied to Portius for she did not want any more children. She refers to this misrepresentation as her "secret sin".
The story of the Wheeler family is continued in the final work of the trilogy, The Town.
Conrad Richter
Conrad Michael Richter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist whose lyrical work focuses on life along the American frontier.-Biography:...
and the second work in his The Awakening Land
The Awakening Land
The Awakening Land is 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: The Trees; The Fields; and The Town...
trilogy. It continues the story of the characters Portius and Sayward Luckett Wheeler begun in the novel The Trees.
The Fields is set on the frontier in a fictional county near what is now Ross County, Ohio
Ross County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
and its action begins almost immediately after the conclusion of The Trees
The Trees (novel)
The first novel of Conrad Richter's trilogy The Awakening Land, The Trees is set in the wilderness of central Ohio . The simple plot — composed of what are essentially episodes in the life of a pioneer family before the virgin hardwood forest was cut down — is told in a third person narration rich...
a few weeks after the marriage of protagonist Sayward Luckett and her husband, lawyer Portius Wheeler. The action of the novel spans a much longer period of time than its predecessor, covering approximately twenty years of their marriage as the couple become parents to a very large family. An influx of new settlers, particularly after Ohio becomes a state, transforms the frontier of the first novel into a small town surrounded by many miles of farms whose population is still growing and whose free and cheap land is becoming ever more expensive. Sayward becomes wealthy by frontier standards as the value of the land she received from her father rises and as Portius's law practice becomes successful.
The Wheeler marriage begins to undergo several strains. Portius, an agnostic and an intellectual, was from the beginning an unusual match for the illiterate and faithful Sayward and many resentments over their differences in world view and their differing priorities and skills as their children grow up emerge.
Following the birth of their ninth child Sayward informs Portius that she will no longer sleep in his bed or have sexual relations with him, explaining that the pregnancy was more difficult than her others and that the midwife assured her a tenth pregnancy could well result in her death. Portius urges her to see a physician, even offering to take her to an eastern city, but she refuses, feeling abstinence is the only means by which she can be assured of no more pregnancies.
By the end of the novel (approximately 1815, though the date is not given), Sayward has discovered Portius is having an extramarital affair with the town schoolmistress (his only intellectual equal in the community); Portius not only acknowledges his infidelity but alerts Sayward that the schoolmistress is expecting his child.
The schoolmistress, Miss Bartram, had knowingly become pregnant hoping that it would convince Portius to leave Sayward and marry her. He refuses to do this even though Sayward gives him her permission and even encourages him to do so, for she wants a separation. When he tries to convince her to either have an abortion or at least move to another town where he will support her out of sight of his legitimate family she refuses and instead marries Jake Tench, an alcoholic laborer long loathed by Sayward, in part to deliberately humiliate Portius.
As the novel ends the Wheelers have separated and Portius has lost the company of his wife and of his mistress. Sayward is hurt and resentful at Portius's infidelity, but also feels some guilt and responsibility, for, it is learned, she had misrepresented the truth of her last childbirth. The pregnancy had indeed been difficult, but the midwife had told her that she should not have any trouble with a tenth pregnancy; however, after bearing and caring for nine children (one of whom died in a fire) and seeing how much it had changed her body and aged her, and constantly tired from taking care of her brood, Sayward lied to Portius for she did not want any more children. She refers to this misrepresentation as her "secret sin".
The story of the Wheeler family is continued in the final work of the trilogy, The Town.