I know Rosa Bonheur’s painting at the Met of “The Horse Fair” well; it’s 8 feet tall and about 17 feet long; larger than life size. It’s one of the finest French academic paintings from the mid 1800s found anywhere in the world, and it will make any art history geek’s jaw drop. I was impressed that young Ken was such a connoisseur!

I wasn’t meaning to pick on this story or author exclusively, it is just sad that so many stories have such predictable endings/moralizing. I had a friend edit the parable I wrote, and in his notes back he commented that he wasn’t sure if an LDS audience would relate to a parable about a woman/tree that had a bald spot. I just chuckle at the time, but last night I got an email from a reader asking why I didn’t use the lack of makeup, instead of a bald spot. Sigh.

Julia, I suppose it is patronizing, from our perspective. When I try to imagine how it might have been received by a 1932 audience, I wonder if it wasn’t written/read as sweet, that the husband cared enough about his wife to give her this opportunity, as well as a compliment to mothers underlining how much work they did and how competent they were. (I realize that not recognizing that you’re being patronized is part of the problem, but I also think intentions are important.) Anyway, these old stories are always an exercise for me of trying to step into the mindset of a different era.