The Fig Tree and The Grave by Katherine Anne Porter

 The Fig Tree and The Grave by Katherine Anne Porter

Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E   and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

These are two excellent short stories, described in an article that I have seen as short pieces.

Indeed, they may be shorter than stories and they also form the fabric of The Old Order.

And they are connected to each other.

The protagonists are:

Miranda- that I have met in a different story, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, but when she was already a grown woman- And Grandmother.

Miranda's brother is also present, but it appears that his importance will fade with time.

The Fig Tree

In this first part, the family is getting ready to leave for another property.

They both have fig trees and that may explain in part the title.

But the fruits are different from one place to another and as they get ready to leave figs are taken along and offered to Miranda.

The little girl is very intrigued by what is happening in the animal world.

Albeit at one stage she evaluates those beings and she concludes that their existence is boring, uneventful and primitive...not in these words though.

But when an animal dies, she is aware that it needs to be buried.

And they expire often when they are small.

Hardly ever a cow or a horse is dead.

But it happens frequently with chicken, piglets and small turkeys.

As she is watching the hen with her small offspring, one of them is not moving.

Miranda knows that when you poke an animal and he is not budging it means he is gone.

And because this small bird is not alive anymore, she prepares a wrapping and a box as a coffin.

After the burial alas, there are sounds like cries:

-          Wee, wee, wee...

And just as she hears this cry for help, her father calls for her to come because they are starting on their long journey.

Miranda is panicking because she wants to help and obey her father

But she cannot do both.

She tries to escape and go back y saying she has to go...

-          Are you sick?

-          Did you eat something wrong?

Finally, she is told by a relative what the sound was.

And she can even see it.

But I will not reveal the secret.

The Grave

In this second part, Miranda is playing with her brother.

But they are doing this near and within The Grave.

-          Sounds horrific?

-          Well, it is not a Gothic vampire story though.

The reason for this bleak place for action is that land was sold.

And on this piece of land the family had their graves and now thy had to move them on the remaining property.

And the children feel at one moment as if they were trespassing.

They get into the grave and find a ring and another item.

And they trade and exchange what they found.

The gruesome part for me is not here.

It has to do with their hunting.

And I always hate it when the story moves to killing deer or other game.

As I am a vegetarian-again- I can now have some moral justification to be squeamish.

An eleven year old with his eight year old sister are shooting pigeons and rabbits.

This does not sound right to me.

And I think it is not just the epoque because even now, children are encouraged to do just that.

Especially in the south and on account of the Americans love for their second amendment and their guns.

Not all of them of course, but a huge number nevertheless.

A pregnant rabbit is killed, with just about to be born little ones inside.

A terrible picture.

That notwithstanding, the two accounts are very good.