A Northern Light Chapter 2 Summary

In this chapter, a flashback from before she started working at the Glenmore from the previous chapter, we are introduced to Mattie's family and neighors. The first one introduced: Beth, five, energetic and always making noise or strting trouble. Lou, 11, much like her father, Abby, 14, a strong, responsible, a peacemaker, young lady much like their mother. Their neighbors, the Hubbards come over for breakfast, their mother too drunk to care for them, Jenny and Tommy and their siblings. Whereas Mattie's mother had passed. Money was short. We are also told about her brother Lawson, who left to drive boats in New York.

We are also shown the word of the day, a way that Mattie helps educate her sisters and herself with her Mother's dictionary.

She tells the reader that money used to be plentiful come March, because November her father would leave to go logging and come back in March when the road thawed and they were able to bring the load across, coming with him money to help buy meat and potatoes when the cellar was empty and the crops not planted yet. However this year, he did not want to leave them alone without their mother to look after them, so money was scarce.

Mattie did ask to work at one of the camps this year, maybe the Glenmore, however he had said no. She repeatedly tried to convince him that she would be safe and the people that would go and work there with her, however it was the thought of another one of his children leaving, even though Abby was old enough to take care of everyone while she was gone. SHe also hints that she wants to go to New York, and a paragraph before she mentions that her brother has sent a postcard from Albany . . .