1925 So Big

1925

So Big

by Edna Ferber

230 pages

Summary

Selina Peake De Jong is an artistic young lady raised by a high-living but itinerant father in various hotels of Chicago. When he suddenly dies, she is left penniless. She decides to teach school in the Dutch-settled community of South Holland. She marries an immigrant onion farmer, and soon finds herself widowed with a young son. She decides to run her husband’s onion farm herself in order to support her son. This involves hard work in the fields, regular trips to the produce markets of Chicago, and dealing with produce buyers as a woman in a man’s world. After watching his mother scrape out a living and sacrifice for his well-being, Dirk grows up wanting to be rich. He attends college, becomes an architect, and then a stockbroker. His mother worries that despite his success, Dirk has no joy in his life. When Dirk falls in loves with a sculptor, he must grapple with the lessons his mother tried to teach him, about making space for beauty and joy in life.

Adaptations

This story held its reputation in the popular culture for quite some time. I attribute this to the appeal of the scrappy heroine—an artistic teacher reduced to farming during the Great Depression. The fact that Selina was based upon a real woman, Antje Paarlberg, probably helped endear the book to the public.

Three movies were made:

1925—This silent film starred Colleen Moore. The film is considered lost, as only fragments remain. (As an aside, Moore was the artist behind building the exquisite Fairy Castle, a much-beloved display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.)

1932—This version stars Barbara Stanwyck and includes a performance Bette Davis. It has mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but any movie with these two women must be worth seeing.

1953—This remake stars Jane Wyman. It reputedly plays up the melodrama of the story, as the mother sacrifices all along for her son. It holds a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Related Activities

Visit South Holland to see the Widow Paarlberg House. Antje Paarlberg was the real-life inspiration behind the book. South Holland continues to reflect its unique heritage as a Dutch community. For example, despite being enmeshed in the greater Chicago-Gary metro area, the city upholds dry liquor laws. The city also has agreements with cable companies not to show adult programming in the city.

If Antje’s preserved home is not reason enough to visit South Holland, include a visit to nearby Sandridge Nature Center, which hosts a display on the natural and cultural history of the Calumet region. You’ll gain insight into the geographical reason why the area is so well suited for farming.

The fruit and vegetable markets where Selina sold her wares are long gone, but Randolph Street between x and y was the hub of the business in Chicago. Stroll Randolph and see the now-repurposed warehouses. In an ironic evolution, the one-time hub of produce has now become the hub of hip eateries.