I know it’s Tuesday, but once again yesterday was devoted to a book tour.
Aunt Kipp
by Louisa May Alcott
I’m still in a Louisa May Alcott mood after finishing The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees. (See my review yesterday.) So I thought I would read one of her short stories. I had 74 to choose from on this website. Here is the story of Aunt Kipp.
Aunt Kipp is the rich aunt to the impoverished Mrs. Snow and her children. Her children include Polly, older daughter, and ten-year-old Toady.
One day the family was discussing Aunt Kipp in terms that were not complimentary. All of this was absorbed by Toady who is missing a mental and verbal filter. In other words, Toady doesn’t know when to be quiet about things he has heard.
As expected, on Aunt Kipp’s next visit, Toady told her what the family had said about her. On a subsequent visit Aunt Kipp also overhears a conversation about herself. She hears the family, plus Polly’s fiance, decide they are better off without the expectation of an inheritance from Aunt Kipp. They decide poverty is not so bad if one is happy. They agree that it would have been better if Aunt Kipp had been pleasant and helpful to them instead of being hateful. But, they know Aunt Kipp’s ways have caused her to be without loving people around her. She is the one who has lost something valuable, not them.
When Aunt Kipp overhears all they are saying about her, she takes it and ponders on it.
Will the overheard conversation cause Aunt Kipp to turn against the family for good? Or, will Aunt Kipp undergo a change of heart?
Read the story here. It’s written in that unique way of writers in the mid-seventeenth century. I hope you like it.
Short Story Monday is sponsored by John at Book Mind Set.
Another tempting story, and the website you mentioned looks like a great resource! No short story for me this week
I’m trying to finish my book for The Classics Circuit and Wuthering Heights for the read-along post tomorrow…
I love when you give links to read the story online!
What a great little story. Thanks for posting the link to it.
Good teaser. Without having read it, I’ll guess that she has a change of heart. The fact that she ponders tells me that she doesn’t reject what they’ve said outright.
You certainly had a lot of stories to choose from!
I’m hoping she has a change of heart. I’m glad my name’s not Toady, by the way.
Thank you for the link, Margot! I like your description, “missing a mental and verbal filter” … some people need a ‘rewind’ button for the things they say.