Jacob Have I Loved
Front cover with illustration by Chris Sheban (Fitzgerald Books, 2007[?])
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| Author | Katherine Paterson |
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| Country | United States |
| Genre | Realist young-adult novel |
| Publisher | Crowell |
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Publication date
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1980 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) |
| Pages | 216 pp. |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 7868696 |
| LC Class | PZ7.P273 Jac 1980 |
Jacob Have I Loved is a children's novel by Katherine Paterson. It was published by Crowell in 1980 and it won the annual Newbery Medal next year. The title refers to the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau in the Jewish and Christian Bible, and comes directly from : "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
The novel follows the story of the Bradshaws, a family who depends on the father, Truitt Bradshaw, and his crabbing/fishing business on his boat, the Portia Sue. Truitt's two daughters, Sara Louise and Caroline, are twins, and Caroline has always been the favorite. She is prettier and more talented, and better at receiving more attention not only from their parents but also from others in the community.
The book traces Louise's attempts to free herself from Caroline's shadow, even as she grows into adulthood.
This story takes place during the early 1940s on the small, fictional island of Rass in the Chesapeake Bay.
This story starts in 1941, as a young girl named Sara Louise "Wheeze" Bradshaw who lives on semi-isolated Rass Island in Maryland. She struggles to get away from her sister Caroline's shadow. Caroline is prettier and more talented and gets all the attention not only from her family, but from the community as well. Sara Louise tries not to be around her sister, preferring to spend time with her friend, McCall "Call" Purnell, with whom she crabs. The onset of American involvement in World War II occurs as the residents of Rass Island go about their daily lives.
After finishing college, Sara Louise goes to work in a small town as a nurse and midwife. She eventually marries a widowed father. On a snowy, winter night, she assists in delivering twins. The mother has the first one, a boy, safely. When the second one comes out, it is a small and cold girl. Since she doesn't have an incubator, she rushes it to the fireside. She then realizes she forgot about the boy and asks about his whereabouts. He is in the basket, sleeping, where his grandmother put him. The twins remind her of her and Caroline. She tells the family to keep him warm and love him. In her mind, she does not want him to end up like her, sleeping in a basket, alone and forgotten. She finally finds her joy, happiness, and herself in this small town.
Sara Louise helps her father through the crabbing season. She is a few minutes older than her twin sister, Caroline. As she grows older, she becomes frustrated with the unceasing attention Caroline receives and attempts to become more feminine — to no avail. After growing up in the oppressive situation of playing second-fiddle to Caroline, she eventually leaves the island to move to a small town in the mountains that she has always wanted to see.
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