Early Life and Education
She was born Geneva Grace Stratton in Wabash County, Indiana near Lagro. She was the twelfth and last child born to Mary and Mark Stratton. Stratton-Porter's novel Laddie corresponds in many particulars with her early life, and several details from the novel suggest that it is semi-autobiographical in nature. For example, the narrative takes place in the first person, with the story being related by the twelfth child of the "Stanton" family. The name of the beloved older brother (title character) "Laddie" is identical with Stratton-Porter's own treasured brother who died in an accident when she was young. As in Stratton-Porter's own family, the novelized Laddie is connected with the land and identifies with their father's vocation. Like the author, "Little Sister" (the unnamed narrator) has an affinity for the outdoors and wildlife, as well as her ill-suitedness for the confines of the traditional educational institutions. Despite not finishing high school, Geneva became an avid reader and lifelong scholar of ecology and wildlife.
Read more about this topic: Gene Stratton-Porter
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“At the earliest ending of winter,
In March, a scrawny cry from outside
Seemed like a sound in his mind.
He knew that he heard it,
A bird’s cry, at daylight or before,
In the early March wind.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Through the certain prospect of death, a precious, sweet- smelling drop of levity might be mixed into every life—but now you strange pharmacist-souls have turned it into a foul-tasting drop of poison through which all life is made repulsive.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The education of females has been exclusively directed to fit them for displaying to advantage the charms of youth and beauty. ... though well to decorate the blossom, it is far better to prepare for the harvest.”
—Emma Hart Willard (1787–1870)