The Fields (novel)
First edition
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| Author | Conrad Richter |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
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Publication date
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1946 |
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Published in English
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March 28, 1946 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Trees |
| Followed by | The Town |
The Fields is a 1946 novel by Conrad Richter and the second work in his trilogy The Awakening Land. It continues the story of the characters Portius and Sayward Luckett Wheeler begun in the novel The Trees.
The Fields is set on the frontier in a fictional county near what is now Ross County, Ohio. Its action begins almost immediately after the conclusion of The Trees, a few weeks after the marriage of protagonist Sayward Luckett and her husband, lawyer Portius Wheeler. The action of the novel spans a much longer period of time than its predecessor, covering approximately 20 years of their marriage as the couple become parents to a very large family.
An influx of new settlers, particularly after Ohio becomes a state, transforms the frontier of the first novel into a small town surrounded by many miles of farms, with a population that is still growing and cheap land that is becoming ever more expensive. Sayward becomes wealthy by frontier standards as the value of the land she received from her father rises and as Portius's law practice becomes successful.
The Wheeler marriage begins to undergo several strains. Portius, an agnostic and an intellectual, was from the beginning an unusual match for the illiterate and devout Sayward. Resentment begins to emerge over their differences in world view and their differing priorities as their children grow up.
Following the birth of their eighth child, Sayward informs Portius that she will no longer sleep in his bed or have sexual relations with him. She is worn-out from bearing and caring for so many children (one of whom died in an accident involving fire). Because there was no reliable form of birth control then, abstinence is the only way she can ensure no further pregnancies.
Eventually, Sayward discovers that Portius has been having an extramarital affair with the town schoolmistress, Miss Bartram (his only intellectual equal in the community), who is expecting his out-of-wedlock child. In order for the child to have a legal surname, Miss Bartram is hastily married to Jake Tench, a laborer who feels he owes an obligation to Portius because he has represented Tench in several lawsuits.
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