The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1973, Page 77

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
75
it and how did it affect her whole life?
The story takes place in the small
town of Hope, founded about 1880, in
the fertile midwest of the United
States. The time is approximately a
decade before and a decade after the
second world war. The people of the
community came from different parts
of Europe, including England, Ger-
many, France, Italy, Poland, Norway,
Sweden and Iceland.
There are several plots. Katherine,
the story-teller, is at the centre of
things and her life story is in a sense
the central plot, with its early crisis
and subsequent development, but in
her circle of family, friends, and
acquaintances there are several per-
sons who encounter challenges and
crises in their lives, whose stories con-
stitute sub-plots, all of which affect
Katherine more or less. “I live my life
sort of entwined in the lives of others.
I grieve with them and I rejoice in
their pleasures”.
The characters in our story, of whom
there is a variety, are people of our
everyday world. There are the young,
middle-aged, and older; good people
(the majority) and people not so good;
people successful in life and people
who in some way have failed in life.
A few of these people are specifically
mentioned here.
Katherine Haggard is a sympathetic
person, lives an active life, likes and
loves people and is liked and loved,
and has a strong sense of duty.
Mr. Haggard, Katherine’s father, a
Hope pioneer, was of British descent
and proud of it. He showed his strong
prejudices against other nationalities
in the community. .
Mrs. Haggard, -had died early. She
was of part German descent but always
stressed that she was American.
Ollr business is helping people
achieve financial success.
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