Every classroom has its own strengths and challenges. A White Heron and Other Stories deals with issues of wealth and poverty that, while set firmly in the past, can still be sensitive to explore in a classroom setting. You may want to make time and space for guided discussions about these themes. Furthermore, Sarah Orne Jewett never married, but her close companionship and “Boston marriage” to Annie Fields is considered to quite likely have been a lesbian relationship. You might want to take the time to read her themes of female companionship through this lens, with the care resulting from knowledge that this might be a sensitive or personal issue for some students.
The thought...
