Suzanna Stirs the Fire

Eight-year-old Suzanna puts on her best white dress and pictures herself as a princess in a crystal palace. Her younger sister Maizie watches with a more practical eye. At home, Mrs. Procter has breakfast, children, and a baby to attend to, while their father weighs nails and sells mops at a store. He also has an invention in the attic that he hopes will change the world. Suzanna's answer to his lack of time is a "tucked-in day," an extra space she imagines between weeks.

Small household objects carry large meanings in these scenes. A dried Christmas wreath becomes a crown when Suzanna makes old Drusilla a queen in the attic. A gift of shoes from her father causes worry because they differ from the shoes she wants for a dance. Drusilla urges her to preserve his pleasure in the gift and dance well enough for people to forget the shoes. These scenes offer a child's view of family care, pride in possessions, and the comfort of make-believe.