The Excerpt From 'The Signature Of All Things'

The excerpt from The Signature of All Things introduces Alma, a character who experienced a bad day on January 10, 1821. She found out that her sister, Prudence, and her only friend, Retta, were planning to get married within a month's time to Arthur Dixon and George Hawkes, respectively, meaning that they would both leave Alma to settle across the river in the center of Philadelphia. Alma was distraught by these revelations, as Retta was marrying George Hawkes who she had loved in the past. In search of comfort and advice, Alma reached out to the family housekeeper, Hanneke de Groot. The excerpt starts with an outdoor gathering of Emma Woodhouse, Miss Bates, and Mr. Knightley. Emma proclaims that they should play a game where someone says

Knightley from Emma plays a significant role in the main character’s life is that they are both well-respected and trustworthy elder accomplices. Prior to her brief meeting with Hanneke, Alma is perturbed by the revelation that her sister, Prudence, and only friends were planning to move away and settle across a river in the center of Philadelphia once both were married in a month’s time as well as the marriage between her sister and George Hawkes, the man whom she once loved. Provoked from the realization that George Hawkes had never really cared for her and her assumption that she would never find a suitable husband, she is compelled to seek Hanneke in hopes that she may purge her emotions. With the “simple candor” of Hanneke’s words and a rush of nostalgia encapsulating Alma, Gilbert describes in the following, “Alma loved the sound of the word child in Dutch. Kindje. This was the nickname that Hanneke had always called Alma when she was young and afraid and would climb into the housekeeper’s bed in the middle of the night. Kindje. It sounded like warmth itself”(The Signature of All Things, paragraph 14). This statement effectively illustrates the relationship between children and adults, from generations young and old. Hanneke is able to aspire an atmosphere of comfort around Alma only with her the words that are formulated with her voice. This establishes the maternal position that Hanneke partakes in, supported by how Alma would seek her presence and consolation during the night when stricken with fear, like how she was afraid of the current events of her life, which is something many kids have done with their own parents. Therefore, the comfort of Hanneke to Alma reinforces the idea that she trusts her, like a child trusts their parents, and how she desires and respects the opinion of an elder whenever she is distressed. In addition, in Emma, Emma perceives Mr. Knightley in a similar light as Alma