The Rosemary Tree: Week 4

April 2024 Goudge Readalong

A beautiful old dust cover on an early edition of The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge

“He swung away from the window and walked on beside that yew hedge that bordered the garden on the west, and was so overgrown and impenetrable that he could see nothing either through it or over it, but he imagined there would be a gate soon. He found it under an arch of yew, a low gate half overgrown with honeysuckle, as though it were never opened. Not wanting to disturb the honeysuckle, he did not unlatch it but climbed over. He surveyed the garden with amazement and delight...”

🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, The Rosemary Tree

Note: We will be having our live Goudge book chat on Zoom on Monday, April 29th at 3pm EST!

Lots to chat about today as we work on wrapping up The Rosemary Tree for April. Be sure to check all the past posts for literary references and character arcs if you haven’t read those yet.

Today: ladies, gardening, Devon and comparisons with the Eliot series!

Leading ladies

In 1917, as a young lady of 17 years, Elizabeth Goudge wrote in a letter that she had come to understand “the way in which the spirit of the one man or woman at the helm can subtly alter the whole atmosphere of some institutions.”¹

The Rosemary Tree is a novels that vividly shows a contrast between the females leaders in a community, and the fruit of their different types of leadership. There are surprisingly few male characters in the story, and the two who are in the story (John and Michael) are greatly affected by the spiritual leadership and wisdom of the women around them.

Within a few minutes spent with Harriet, it’s easy to feel that despite her doubts and weakness, she has a tremendously nurturing affect on the main family.

“There was nothing so swift and free as a bird. Yet crippled though she was she felt nothing but joy in watching them. She had always known how to wait.”

Mrs. Belling, however, is Harriet’s opposite.