A review by readingoverbreathing
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

4.0

"How exciting it was, he thought, how absorbing, to see those first impressions of power and courage touch a new human soul."

This is, again, one of Persephone's most popular and beloved books, and after hearing so much about it, and about Fisher herself, my expectations were high. And I have to admit, right after the delight that was [b:Miss Buncle's Book|1200465|Miss Buncle's Book (Barbara Buncle #1)|D.E. Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476702810l/1200465._SY75_.jpg|2827104], it did take me a minute to really get into this. It begins not so cheerfully, unlike Miss Buncle and the other Persephone I had read just before it, [b:Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day|916856|Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day|Winifred Watson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1324206344l/916856._SX50_.jpg|2283295], and so I was not really prepared for that shift in tone. By the time I got to the point where I really thought Lester had died, I was almost ready to give it all up, thinking we were on a depressing track to womanly despair.

But I'm thankful I forged on, because that's really where the novels shifts in a new, more hopeful direction. Seeing Evangeline Knapp truly come into her own as saleswoman extraordinaire was an absolute inspiration, and experiencing the tender moments between Lester and the children at home, the success and happiness of their new life, was not what I was expecting, and as I grew to understand the characters better, I also grew to enjoy the story more.

And then we come to the end where Fisher really lays it all out on the table — the impossibility of the permanence of Eva and Lester's new roles in the light of Lester's potential recovery. You wanted so badly for them to carry on the way they had been, but, even nearly a century later, as a part of the same society which resigned them to those roles, you still understand the impossibility of their situation so thoroughly. It's utterly profound.

Fisher's case study of human domesticity, drawn over such a short novel, really is a psychological masterpiece, and I can see why it's a Persephone favorite. It is a reminder to the modern reader that we are not so far removed from the traditions of gender roles as we may think., one with an intuitive touch that leaves a lasting impression even now.