I just finished reading Now in November, the winner of the 1935 Pulitzer Prize written by Josephine W. Johnson. It seems to be in the vein of Thomas Hardy’s heavier novels, Jude the Obscure, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the Mayor of Casterbridge. But Hardy was much more heavy-handed than Johnson seems to be. She was a young girl writing about young girls to a large extent.
Also Johnson seems to have inherited some of the motivation that drove the Muckrakers. The most egregious offenses they addressed have been corrected. The farms of Josephine Johnson’s day are not utterly immune to the hazards the farmers of Now In November endured, or rather succumbed to – most of them, but it is possible to have a successful farm nowadays; I had a friend, Bill Cave who went in with someone else on the development of a vineyard. But like most of these successful small farms, there is an outside income available. Most of these small farmers are not relying solely upon the income from their farms. Nevertheless, in their day, Marget, Merle and Kettrin grew up on their farm and had no wish to leave it. Even though their mother and father and Kettrin are dead by the end of the novel, Marget and Merle intend to continue working their family farm.
In the days prior to Johnson’s novel, the understanding of life outside the family farm increased. Some of this enlarged understanding was due to World War One. There was a popular song in those days: “How you going to keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” Exposure to life outside the family farm opened up other possibilities.
Also, in order to keep a family farm viable, the eldest son, assuming he was reasonably competent usually inherited the family farm. The other possible heirs did something else. My grandfather Troy Matthews (my mother’s father) was not the eldest son. His brother inherited the farm. I met Troy in the 1940's shortly before he died of tuberculosis. He was known for being clever and earned money in different ways, included the development of photographs. I inherited his lightroom equipment.
Victor Davis Hanson is very concerned about protecting farming interests in the California Central Valley. Since Hanson is a successful professor and has published several popular books, maybe he doesn’t need any of his family-farm income, but I read some biographical information about him several years ago and he was at the time enmeshed in that milieu.
Thus, in one sense Now in November is dealing with dated issues. The small farmer makes up 87% of the farming industry but produces only 17% of the value. Apparently most small farmers have an additional source of income and are doing it for the life style rather than a desire to become wealthy. And that seems to be the intention of the girls’ father.
The more popular Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D’Urbervilles are also dealing with dated issues. I didn’t read these as part of any class but simply to find out how good they really were. I wouldn’t put Now in November in their class, but they share a history. Social offenses described in these three novels have been largely dealt with. When they still exist, they don’t exist at the level dealt with in these novels. . . IMHO.
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