Of Moths and a Girl

“We Limberlost people must not be selfish with the wonders God has given to us. We must share with those poor cooped-up city people the best we can” (34).

The Book

There is something special about novels that were written over one hundred years ago. They give us a peak into what life was like, how people interacted, and what interested them. A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter is no different. Readers get lost in the coming-of-age story, set in smalltown Indiana, on the edge of the Limberlost Swamp.

Elnora Comstock is an earnest girl who cares for others and loves sharing what she knows about the Limberlost. She will do anything to attend high school, overcoming her mother’s opposition, fear and embarrassment, and classmate snobs. When Elnora learns that attending high school will cost money, she is uncertain how she can afford it. On the way home one day, she sees a local advertisement to buy moths, butterflies, and dragonflies. Elnora already collects these in the Limberlost and makes a deal to sell them to the Bird Woman (Gene Stratton-Porter modeled this character after herself).

Over the course of four years, Elnora wins over her classmates, continues to patiently endure her mother’s bitterness, studies hard, and is actively involved at school. Even though she doesn’t receive love from her mother, she finds it with neighbors and friends. Just before graduation, Elnora’s mother does something that is the last straw for Elnora. This is a turning point for her mother, leading to a better relationship between the two of them.

Originally planning to attend college, Elnora lacks the money and accepts a natural history teacher position for the local grade school. During the summer, she continues to collect specimens, hopeful that she’ll earn enough for college the following year. A young man from Chicago, Philip, helps her hunt months and wanders the Limberlost with her. Philip shares early on that he is engaged, but an astute reader will wonder if he and Elnora are falling in love. If you want to find out what happens between the two, you’ll have to read the book!

Through dialogue and descriptive language, Statton-Porter develops her characters and propels the narrative forward. At the right moment, she reveals an important piece of information to help the reader better understand a character. Even the minor characters have a bit of a backstory that prevents them from being one-dimensional. The novel is easy to read and the reliance on dialogue makes for a quick read. There are moments when the narrative slows, the dialogue ceases, and Stratton-Porter zeroes in on a particular moment. One of my favorite lines was, “Early June was rioting in fresh grasses, bright flowers, bird songs, and gay-winged creatures of air” (181).

The Place

The Limberlost State Historic Site preserves a small piece of what was the swamps of northern Indiana. It was here that Gene Stratton-Porter lived, wrote novels and articles, and took nature photos.

The site is made up of a visitor center, Stratton-Porter’s home, and multiple swamp and marsh trails. On our visit, we started with the Rainbow Bend Trail which goes around and through the swamp. We saw massive trees, dragonflies, heron, and many frogs that hopped across our path. Next, we toured Stratton-Porter’s home. Here we learned that she was the first to photograph animals in the wild, going deep into the swamp to capture nature in its element. The tour guide did a great job sharing about the life of Stratton-Porter and elements of her life that ended up in her novels. We finished the day with a hike through the Loblolly Marsh, about a 15-minute drive from the home.

I recommend that you start at the visitor center, where you can get a map of the trails and sign up for a tour of the house. It is free to walk the trails, but there is a fee for the house tour. Tours are available three times a day, Wednesday through Sunday. We had an enthusiastic tour guide who went into a lot of detail and answered our many questions, resulting in a two-hour tour. When planning a visit to Limberlost, it is important to know a few things: you need to drive from the home to the trails, you will definitely need bug spray and sunscreen, and the trails are not paved.