Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant

Nostalgia is a sense of feeling evoked by old memories or definitive characteristics associated with a certain era known to the beholder. With the short story Mount Pleasant Marie-Louise Buxton's, achieves what many modern writers struggles to get right, that being: to create a universe with such a realism and immersive sense of nostalgia and idyll, that the reader can dwell securely in the story without any complications.

Mount Pleasant is a short story written by Mary-Louise Buxton. Set in the idyllic surroundings of a peaceful small town, the story evolves around the young girl Elizabeth, describing the peaceful life of her and her family. The story has no obvious indications of time or place, and is told by what seems to be a child, judging by her verbal skill and general behavior.

Though there are no real indications of a proper national setting, the language and scenery shows a great resemblance to early 20'Th century America, embarking the old family values and behavioral standards. Hints appear throughout the story supporting the theory of time and setting, words and nicknames such as "Mammy, Daddy, Sudsy, Babby" and the excessive use of apostrophes (ex an', 'Lisabeth, freezin',etc.) strongly suggests a "country-hardened", even southern accent. To add up with the use of this (in great parts of the country) relatively outdated American accent, the clothes and environments described really adds to the whole "early American atmosphere". Examples of why the story could take place in an earlier era are: Elizabeth's pinafore, which obviously is an older piece of clothing and the stores and buildings located in vicinity of the family's house, these include a nunnery, a haberdashery and a "tub shop" which dispenses ice-cream and candy in a very old fashioned way.

The narrative style of the short story is the definitive aspect when looking at environment and characters. The story is told in first person, singular and the narrator being Elizabeth. Because of her young age, the reader gets a very limited and "controlled" insight to the family. This is of course because of Elizabeth's young, innocent and unevolved mind. The viewfinder that is Elizabeth's eyes really defines the style of writing, it also creates immense depth and vast space for interpretation. Things that in other tales may appear quite obvious are hidden away because of Elizabeth's lacking ability to understand her elders and of course because of her inexperience with people. One of the relatively well hidden motives in the story is the relationship between daughter and mother. There seems to be some sort of passive hostility coming from Elizabeth's mother, though subtle, actions like not wanting Elizabeth's photo on the mantelpiece and her general attitude towards Elizabeth, and less hostile attitude towards Lena and Alec, suggests some kind of built up tension between the two of them. Elizabeth, being a child, does not seem to realize this.

It is clear though that this attitude is not shared by the rest of the family,