Posted in Helen's Temper by Mrs. George Gladstone
Once again this week, Mrs. Brown has so wonderfully offered her services as a guest discussioner...This week we read chapters 7-9 of Helen's Temper.
Even the chapter 7 title “Helen Forgets Herself” indicates the manipulative, deceptive nature of Helen’s doings. Helen had been quarreling with the very friends with which she had sought alliance. She probably would have silenced them better by NOT being hostile. They may have tired of tormenting her if she would have just stopped worrying about what they thought. Helen resented the given corrections in the few instances where her mother and grandfather had discerned Helen’s true nature. I wonder if they ought to have kept her closer! At least the mother decided to send Helen to another school away from these friends, if need be. (Too bad homeschooling was not an option!) Helen’s spiteful treatment of Louisa was despicable. Have you ever had a friend (or group of friends) who prevented you from thinking clearly? Peer pressure is not just a problem facing children. We need to be willing to stand up to and back off from ungodly relationships! Parents need to boldly remove all such obstacles from their children’s’ paths, as well!
I nearly felt a bit sorry for Helen when she realized that she had hurt Louisa physically. I can relate to the feeling of instant regret upon slamming a hairbrush down only to see it shatter into bits. It is hard to face the fact that your anger has gotten out of control. This incident could have produced immediate change in Helen, but instead, she endeavored to cover it up and even allowed it to further her bitterness and contempt for Louisa. This only allows us to realize that Helen’s attitude has blackened her spirit far more than was previously apparent. Helen acted in a way that was both hateful and ultimately cowardly! Her concern was still more for her reputation than for the well-being of the younger girl. At least Helen is still enough unaccustomed to lying that there is some sign of her discomfort externally. It is a wonder that her mother did not tune into this better. I would like to think that I would at least discern that something was amiss! Helen moves from rage, to shock, to cowardice and inaction, to deception and more bitterness. The quote at the end of Chapter 7 embodies the danger therein:
“There was a battle being waged, and if lost, Helen would face the terrible consequences of the one thing she dreaded most, something that would lead to a lifetime of lies- a seared conscience!”
Even in the heart of this trying time, chapter 8 paints a growing hope with a description of how things had been steadily improving for Louisa’s dear, little family. It is strange to me that Louisa does not tell her mother what has really happened. Perhaps we can view this as mercy and forgiveness, but it bothers me that the child would not confide in her mother. She is too young to bear such a burden alone. It choked me with emotion that she would send messages of forgiveness and love to Helen, because it is painfully obvious that she is truly concerned for her welfare and puzzled by Helen’s cruelty. How bittersweet it is to read of Louisa’s quiet confidence of a pain-free existence in Heaven with Christ and her lack of fear of dying. Even in her distress, Louisa thinks of being a blessing to Betty and even to Helen. She has truly learned to be more like Christ and to think of glorifying God even in her suffering. In stark contrast, Helen’s smug self-congratulations at being undiscovered turned my stomach!
When I read chapter 9 to my children they were incredulous that Louisa would beg Betty to keep information from their mothers. In our family, we have taught them that all secrets “belong” to mommy and daddy. How can we protect them if we do not know what is going on with them? Even Betty’s Grandpa encourages her to keep her promise of secrecy rather than reminding her to consider how the TRUTH can set you free! Sweet Betty suggests the gift of the rosebush to her grandfather. In giving a blessing to someone else, we can often find encouragement. We were made first to Glorify God and secondly to bless and serve one another in faith to bring them to a place of glorifying God! Betty certainly fulfills both requirements! How opposite are Helen’s thoughts that Louisa is feigning illness to entrap others into pitying her! What a bratty girl! Still, she fears being “caught”!
The Perils of Parenting and Other Ponderings
Ok… I think I messed up last and didn’t read all the way through chapter 6. I just read to it! Doi! So here is my chapter 6 discussion:
Chapter 6
What a sweet picture of two bosom friends that can't imagine their lives without each other. I am blessed enough to have a bosom friend, Jocelyn. Betty and Louisa are a lot like Jocelyn and I only we are sisters. But we share the same love and friendship that they do! It is such a great thing!
It is sad to hear, though, that little Louisa is not growing better despite all the new things that are changing in her life. I have a feeling that we will be losing little Louisa soon, although I pray we don't!
I love that Betty has such a heart for helping those in need. It is very sad to see that Mr. Hall may die and that Louisa and Mrs. Hall will be devastated by it! I can't imagine losing my dad! Oh the horror!
Betty is just so AWESOME! The way she can simply share the Gospel with Mr. Hall is so inspiring! Actually the way she shares it with everyone gives me the push to want to go talk to everyone I see about the love of Christ! What an amazing little girl she is! She is a true missionary!
Chapter 7
OK… Now to this week’s reading brings to my mind that it seems this book should have been named something more like, Betty's Love or The Little Samaritan Girl. Something like that since it seems this book is more about Betty and the love she shares than about Helen's Temper! Although I think that we are going to start to hear more about Helen very soon!
You would thin that Helen would have enough sense to just stay away from Mary and Alice. I don't understand why she would still want to be friends with them.
OH MY WORD! Poor Louisa! I can't believe that Helen did that and just ran off and did not tell anyone! OH MY! How horrific! Then how she tells herself that she should not tell anyone is really disturbing! That is totally and completely wrong of her. I am really awestruck and the malice and contempt she has for this little girl who really never even asked for anything from anyone!
I really am astonished that Helen just comes home, composes herself, and goes downstairs and acts like everything is normal. What a hateful girl! I think that maybe if her mother hadn’t been so busy with getting that dress done, she would have realized that Helen was not herself.
As mean as this may sound, I am quite relieved that Helen’s conscience still works and it kept her up all night!
You would think that with that dream she had that she would tell her mother since she still doesn’t know if she is dead or alive!
Like Mrs. Brown said, I too really think that the end of this chapter is something that we really should understand. It truly does show the real Helen.
Chapter 8
I feel so very bad for little Louisa who is going through this. How sad it is to read that she almost doesn’t want to get better because she is afraid of the consequences of what that could do. I am sure she is afraid that she will get pushed again. Maybe she just can’t handle thinking and believing everything Helen told her about how she pretends and such. It is so obvious that Louisa is no way pretends anything. She is one of the sincerest girls I have ever read about or known.
I cannot say enough how selfish Helen is. Really she only thinks of herself and what will benefit her or be a detriment to her. She cares nothing for others!
I absolutely love where the author says, “Was not this heaping coals of fire on an enemy’s head?” That verse has really been a motto for us these last couple months. That is actually based off of
Romans 12:20That verse is so powerful. It really lets us know that even when we are completely wronged and hurt that we should not do what has been done to us, but instead do the opposite and when we do it will just heap those hot coals on the wronger's head as a constant reminder that they were wrong! Not that we are to do it for malice, but we are to do it because the verse right before that one says,
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Romans 12:19That is what it means. I think that Louisa understands true forgiveness and I think that Helen would realize that if she was not so selfish!
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
As we end this chapter we see that Helen is too stubborn to even talk to God about her sin. That right there will get you into HUGE trouble. And also that the one person who knows about the secret Helen comes back into her life.
Chapter 9
Poor little Betty! To have to see her little friend so hurt and sick must have been so very hard on her! I don't know that I wouldn't have cried when I saw her! Among all of Betty's wonderful traits we see that she has yet another one: Self-control! She is such a great friend that she knows she must control herself from not crying in front of her dear friend.
I wonder if Betty is thinking that when Louisa is asking her all the questions if maybe she had made her wonder those things. I wonder if Betty feels bad about not making sure that those questions were not in Louisa's head.
I do think that Betty should have told her mother and grandfather what she talked to Louisa about. That would have been very wise of her, even though she was asked not to.
Mr. Holt is very wise and very watchful. For him to glance at Helen and see her reaction was really wonderful. He seems like he would definitely notice if something was going on with Helen and he did. I just wish he was around more so that Helen would feel like she does around him and maybe change!
As we end this week's reading, I can smell that Mr. Holt has something up his sleeve for Helen. I know that as next week is the last reading of this book that it will be the turning point for Helen and I can't wait to see what she learns and if she changes!
The Daily Planet
