Peter Mangus Hagen, a large Swedish immigrant carpenter, pushed back his chair, rose from the end of the long dining table in their kitchen, and announced, "And now for my dessert--." He walked the length of the table past his thirteen children to the other end, bent his large frame down, and tenderly kissed his wife Maggie, who was fifteen years his junior and mother of those thirteen. As he pulled himself to his naturally erect stance, he proceeded to thank her for her labor in preparing an excellent meal and in caring for their home and their thirteen children. This conclusion to the meal was as much a ritual as was the blessing asked in Swedish before it began. And if the "thank you" was customary, so was the bill of fare, i.e., a large bowl of navy beans, freshly-baked bread and freshly-churned butter, a bowl of home-canned tomatoes and a bowl of home-canned fruit, a very large bowl of mashed potatoes, two pitchers of milk, and coffee for the adults. In that household a seven-course banquet was not mandatory in order to extract a word of appreciation.
This Scandinavian never pretended that his building of refrigerator boxcars for the Santa Fe Railroad in 1919 was more important or worthwhile than Maggie's homemaking, home management, clothes-making, food preparation and preservation, or care of their family. In fact, it may have been Peter's respect and high regard for Maggie's "woman's work" that helped hold together and make easier a loving marriage that encompassed not only their thirteen children, but also his five children by an earlier marriage.
Of course, if looked at realistically, the couple's division of labor fell into the traditional categories. Maggie's responsibilities were those tasks that are repetitive, frequently tedious, and so transitory that in a few minutes or hours the object of the labor is gone. Unfortunately, this kind of labor is the class into which "woman's work" frequently falls. On the other hand, Peter was the one who did the more permanent tasks. He was a carpenter, a gardener, and a painter--all things that last or make a positive showing. These are the jobs in our society that are recognized as "mans work."
Now if Peter Hagen is the standard for one's perception of the Scandinavian immigrant, O.E. Rolvaag's treatment of Beret, in particular, and females, in general, in Giants in the Earth is bound to be disappointing. In this novel Per Hansa, a Norwegian immigrant to the Dakota Territory, is the larger-than-life super hero who is born to be a pioneer. His wife Beret, the chief character, "is a failure in terms of pioneer life . . . one who could not take root in new soil" (xi). Perhaps because Rolvaag was "primarily interested in psychology" (xi), was a product of a Norwegian background and the late 1800's (xii), and had this narrative of a giant to tell, he relegates Beret's and the other women's "woman's work" to a rather unimportant and inferior position. Accordingly, the idea does present itself that if Beret's work and efforts had been more noted and appreciated, she may not have felt so strongly that "she [is] but a hindrance to [per Hansa], like a chain around his feet . . . . burden[ing] and imped[ing] . . . and . . . only in his way" (221).
The "man's work," done by Per Hansa and the other men in the novel is building, lasting, praiseworthy. They plow straight furrows and take the land from the virgin prairies for their crops and build their houses and barns from sod and later from lumber. Per Hansa makes the long-lasting contribution of planting trees on that vast plain and secures from his fur trading handsome sums of money to be used to promote progress on the homestead. Even when he helps with the interior decoration of their home by whitewashing the walls, his contribution draws either great praise or anger from his neighbors. The occasions when he brings home food or wood for fuel are momentous, and those episodes are told in great detail.
By contrast, Rolvaag describes the work of Beret and the other women very casually. Mention is made of food preparation, laundry, clothing construction, cleaning of the dwelling, care of the children, and, occasionally, milking the cow. No effort was expended to explain how much labor was involved in doing this "woman's work."
At a point early in the novel Rolvaag states that Beret "had joined in [the men's] labour: she had pitched in beside them and taken her full term like any man" (49). However, when the glory and excitement of the first wheat harvest came and Beret joined in by tying bundles, she was advised to go home and get a lunch ready because "the menfolk were never happier than when they had coffee brought to them in the fields" (328).
If little notice is given to Beret's work, even less consideration is given to her feelings concerning her dwelling or anything in it. Per Hansa holds no consultation with her regarding her desires or preferences: he simply makes decisions about how he is going to build or buy, does it, and expects Beret to be wonderfully happy and appreciative of his efforts. On some occasions she is pleased and on others she is not, but she never feels she can protest.
In many ways Beret is treated like a child. In addition, their female child Anna Marie is so insignificant in the story that she is mentioned most often as someone needing to be held or loved and seems to remain roughly the same age throughout the novel. The fact that she carries the pet name Andongen, meaning "The Duckling" (5), is acceptable. Hearing Beret called "Beret-girl" by Per Hansa throughout the novel is less agreeable. By the time he has regarded her as childlike for most of the novel, he ceases to try to renew their sex life because it would seem like incest.
The final insult regarding women is the behavior of Beret's sons. At one point they are ridiculing some of her concerns, and Per Hansa joins them in poking fun at her. The boys finally conclude that "probably all women are alike--they have no sense" (194).
The one important function Beret fulfills is having children. Giving birth to Peder that Christmas on the prairie is her only noteworthy accomplishment. But even then, Per Hansa takes over and names him with a name that poor Beret dislikes and regards as near sacrilege (279).
By looking at Beret in Giants in the Earth and certainly by looking at Peter and Maggie Hagen, it could be concluded that childbearing is the chief item of value in "woman's work." By comparing those lives further, it might also be concluded that it is too bad that Beret was not told more often that she was Per Hansa's "dessert" and that her "woman's work" was appreciated.
Works Cited
Rolvaag,
Ole Edvart. Giants in the
Earth. New York: Harper
and Row, 1955.