Mary’s Circumstances

Foster

Mary’s pregnancy, labor, and household pressures frame the girl’s departure and complicate the contrast between the two homes.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Pregnancy at Home Pregnancy at Home from "Foster". Pregnancy at Home A mother under strain Mary is pregnant and nearing her time while caring for several children and running the household.

Pregnancy at Home from "Foster". Pregnancy at Home A mother under strain Mary is pregnant and nearing her time while caring for several children and running the household.

Pregnancy at Home A mother under strain Mary is pregnant and nearing her time while caring for several children and running the household. The girl remembers her mother’s hands and the tight plaits made before the journey. Care under pressure Mary’s affection exists alongside exhaustion and practical hardship. The girl’s placement is not proof that she is unwanted; it emerges from a family with limited time and resources.

The Hay Money The Hay Money from "Foster". The Hay Money A financial worry The girl explains that Mary has not yet paid the man who cuts the hay and has little money.

The Hay Money from "Foster". The Hay Money A financial worry The girl explains that Mary has not yet paid the man who cuts the hay and has little money.

The Hay Money A financial worry The girl explains that Mary has not yet paid the man who cuts the hay and has little money. Edna considers sending her a few pounds. Household tension The girl predicts Mary would accept help but Dan would object. Money becomes one of the pressures separating what the family needs from what it can comfortably receive.

The New Baby The New Baby from "Foster". The New Baby A birth announced The letter tells the Kinsellas that Mary has had a nine-pound, two-ounce boy.

The New Baby A birth announced The letter tells the Kinsellas that Mary has had a nine-pound, two-ounce boy. The news gives the girl a new brother and helps explain why Mary wants her home. Mixed response The girl answers that the news is great, though John Kinsella tells her not to be so flat. Her restrained reaction reflects the impending loss of the home she has found.

The Crowded Reunion The Crowded Reunion from "Foster". The Crowded Reunion A changed household Mary holds the new baby in a kitchen marked by dirty footprints and crowded furniture.

The Crowded Reunion from "Foster". The Crowded Reunion A changed household Mary holds the new baby in a kitchen marked by dirty footprints and crowded furniture.

The Crowded Reunion A changed household Mary holds the new baby in a kitchen marked by dirty footprints and crowded furniture. The Kinsellas see the child and share tea with the family. Different forms of care Mary feeds the baby while continuing to host her visitors. Her work makes visible the pressures that limited the attention she could give the girl before the placement.

A Mother’s Question A Mother’s Question from "Foster". A Mother’s Question Asking what happened Mary asks the girl what happened during her stay.

A Mother’s Question Asking what happened Mary asks the girl what happened during her stay. The girl answers that nothing happened, though she has recently been pulled from the well. A guarded bond The answer preserves an experience she cannot yet share. Her silence is not a rejection of Mary but an attempt to keep the summer’s complicated feelings intact.

before the girl leaves for the farm

during the girl’s first night at the farm

the Thursday the letter arrives

the evening the girl returns home

after the Kinsellas leave the family home