Skylark

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

The narrative picks up after Jacob Witting, a widowed farmer, and Sarah Wheaton, the woman who answered his newspaper ad looking for a wife, are married. Anna, Jacob’s oldest daughter and the novel’s protagonist, and her family pose for a picture so Sarah can send it to her relatives in Maine. The photographer Joshua comments that Maine must be much greener than the prairie, especially since they’ve been in a prolonged drought. Joshua relates the story of his grandfather, who left the prairie long ago due to drought and never returned.

Jacob, or “Papa,” as Anna refers to him, is sure it will rain soon. He asserts they will never leave the prairie because “[Their] names are written in this land” (5). Remembering that Sarah’s family lives far away, Caleb signs her name in the dirt. Anna scolds Caleb for misspelling the name and immediately regrets her cruelty. The chapter ends with Anna’s journal entry as she unpacks the phrase “Happily ever after” as it relates to their life after Sarah came to them. She notes that the first year of Sarah and Papa’s marriage has brought many challenges related to the weather.