The Brimming Cup

Neale and Marise #2

by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

One day in 1920 Marise watches her youngest child depart for his first day of school and feels redundant. Absorbed in her new role as wife and mother she has not been aware of the slow ebbing of her spirit, nor the way in which her marriage, though comfortable and happy, has lost its passion. As the year progresses Marise continues as the pivot of the household, drawing new neighbours into the family circle and the Vermont community. Doing so, she reassesses her marriage and the values on which it is based, each day underlined by the questions she now asks herself - and sharpened by her increasing attraction to another man. First published in 1919 this intuitive novel explores the emotional turmoil one woman faces as she struggles to resurrect her own identity.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, American

319 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Also wrote under the name Dorothy Canfield.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early decades of the twentieth century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong education. Eleanor Roosevelt named her one of the ten most influential women in the United States. In addition to bringing the Montessori method of child-rearing to the U.S., she presided over the country's first adult education program and shaped literary tastes by serving as a member of the Book of the Month Club selection committee from 1925 to 1951.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another chance find at my favourite book store in the Virago Modern Classics series. It is rather good and the author, who I knew little about, is a remarkable woman.
Born Dorothea Frances Canfield (after the Dorothea in Middlemarch). The list of her achievements is impressive. She was a strong supporter of women’s rights and racial equality and managed the first Adult Education programme in the US. Her husband fought in the first war and she followed him to France where she organised war relief work. Her primary energy was directed to education in her domicile, Vermont. She pioneered education in women’s prisons and fought for the pardoning of conscientious objectors. Her interests were wide ranging as were her friendships, including a decades long friendship with Willa Cather. She also spoke five languages and did a PhD thesis on Racine and Corneille.
Canfield wrote many novels, short stories and much non-fiction. Her novels tend to have some autobiographical elements and this one is no different. It is set in rural Vermont and centres on the character of Marise Crittenden, a woman probably in her mid-30s. Her youngest child starts school and this precipitates a crisis of sorts in her emotional life. The main players are her husband Neale, Mr Welles (a newly retired city man who has just arrived next door), Marise’s childhood friend Eugenia who has come to stay, Vincent Marsh (a charismatic friend of Mr Welles who is independently wealthy), Nelly and Gene Powers and their children and a number of minor characters. The three children are also strong characters in their own right; Paul, Elly and Mark.
Marise feels she has lost her way in her life and in her marriage and is very attracted to the charm and charisma of Vincent Marsh. It sounds like limited material for a 300 page novel, however it holds the attention from the first page to the last. It is a perceptive analysis of relationships, attraction, parenthood and most of all it is emotionally intelligent. Canfield had read Freud and applies his theories (not uncritically). The book revolves around Marise’s decision and the reasons for taking it; the thought processes (mental and moral) and the juxtaposition of two very different men. Throughout the novel the children are learning life lessons and Canfield’s interest in education and especially the Montessori approach are evident. The passage where one of Elly’s chickens dies and her sudden realisation of the nature and reality of death is a remarkable piece of writing. Neale is also a well-rounded character, real and believable. Vincent Marsh however is a little unlikeable and self-absorbed and could have been a little more subtle.
The novel as a whole is full of imagery relating to nature and the Vermont countryside and there is a good deal of gardening going on! However the central theme is an analysis of the Freudian idea that the sexual drive is primary in life and relationships. It is a good novel and well worth putting on the list.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been reading Dorothy Canfield Fisher this month, and have had mixed reactions to her work. I started with The Squirrel Cage and marked it a DNF. Next was A Montessori Mother, which was mostly interesting, but only to the point where my mild curiosity about the education system was satisfied.

I think it was at that point that I re-examined the list of planned titles, then slashed and burned a bit, deleting a volume of poetry and a couple of Society Lady novels. Next up was Understood Betsy, which turned out to be delightful. After that, Home Fires In France was intensely moving.

Finishing that book left two titles on the list, one a novel and one a series of short character sketches. In this kind of project i read by publication date so the novel came up first. The Brimming Cup is marked in GR as number two about the main characters but by publication date it is the first time we meet Neale and Marise. The other book about them came later and according to one review was a prequel to explain what happened in the days before the opening pages of The Brimming Cup.

Okay, I'm set up and ready to talk about the book. I thought the beginning section was interesting: Fisher writes a Prologue where our young couple are in Rome, madly in love, planning to marry, discussing dreams but also wondering if they will really be able to be true to themselves and each other. Marise seemed to be the more unsure of the two. She showed herself to be more flighty than she needed to be, and hurt Neale's feelings more than once by questioning him about the same topic after he had assured her all would be well. So we see from the beginning that Marise is perhaps not quite as sure of her love as we might think.

The next chapter is an interlude occurring eleven years later (all chapters throughout the book have dates to let the reader know exactly when they take place) and on the first day of school. Not just any first day of school, though. Today is the day the youngest child will be going too. It will be the first time in years that Marise has not had a child in the house with her. And she is upset about that. What will she do with all that energy that was devoted to the children 24 hours a day 7 days a week?

Then comes the real beginning to the story, when two men pay a social call on that very same first day of school. The older man is Marise's new neighbor, the younger man is along to help him meet the neighbors and see his new home. They sit chatting with Marise, who seems to babble a great deal. All three adults notice the undercurrents in the room. Something is definitely in the air today.

From this point I began to lose interest, and I am not really sure why. I can't say I know for sure what will happen, and it all might turn out differently than telegraphed, but Marise annoyed me here even more than she did in the prologue, and I began to not care about the rest of the story. This might be a very moving tale further along, but for me it has fizzled so I am marking it a DNF as well. Maybe someday I will come back and try again.

But for now I will move on to the final book on my list: Raw Material, a 1923 book of character sketches of people Fisher knew, if I am peeking properly. Wish me luck. It sounds like it will be more appealing, but you never know for sure until you dive in!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started this, and encountered the characters Neale and Marise, I was surprised and pleased. Here, I thought, is of all the unexpected things, a sequel to a book I rather liked, Rough-Hewn, which tells the story of the two characters' respective youths in alternating sections. Then I checked the publication dates, and found that Rough-Hewn was actually published a year later than The Brimming Cup, and so is actually a prequel, and not the original story. Interesting that Dorothy Canfield Fisher was so taken with these characters that she felt the need to revisit them.

I found the book at hand more of a slog than any other of Dorothy Canfield Fisher's that I've read as yet. The bad characters were too unsubtle in their badness. Towards the end there were pages and pages of interminable late-night soul searching. There was a semi-mystical Native American character who seemed to exist only to be enigmatic. Although one can't help but admire the things Dorothy Canfield Fisher had to say about marriage, things that still sound advanced nearly 100 years later, this is not a book I'll be rereading.

2.5 rounded up to 3 out of loyalty.

[Jeni Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve just read two wonderful books by Dorothy Canfield Fisher – The Home-Maker and The Brimming Cup. Fisher was an extraordinary person who brought Montessori-type child rearing to the USA through translating Montessori books, oversaw the first adult education program in the USA, and also influenced what America read through her role in the Book of the Month Club for 26 years. That alone sounds like enough of a to-do list for one person, but she also wrote 22 novels and 11 works of nonfiction. And she spoke five languages.

The two novels that I’ve read so far are excellent. They drive headlong into the conventions of marriage (or a partnership) and all that the community and roots bring to bear on it. Her novels are unsentimental, fearless, and provoking. She has a beautiful way of telling stories through multiple perspectives and interior monologue. Both of the novels start out sleepy enough, setting the scene, but I could feel the crises in each brewing, and I was glued to the pages while wondering how everything would turn out.

You can find The Brimming Cup at Project Gutenberg as a free download for your e-reader. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14957

You can find The Home-Maker used at abebooks.com in the USA and from the marvelous people at Persephone Books in the UK. http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/the-...

[Larry Tysome · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book annoyed me. Dorothy Canfield Fisher is a bright, experienced and spunky woman, but this novel was pretty dire. The subject is an interesting one for all of us, that of dealing with our neccessarily evolving relationship with our children and in particular how we let go before the unconditional and obsessive love we tend to demand from our children, (as we do everything for them in their very early years), risks turning into something much more self-serving as they get older and have less need of us. Ths is articulated through Marise the mother. However, there are many aspects of Marise's character which were difficult to empathise with, which distracted from the main point of discussion in the book. However, the worst thing was the emasculation of Neale, her husband. He was portrayed in one dimension and his role in the childrens' lives was portrayed as being exclusively as bread winner. Even in the mid-20thC I can't believe that such a man would be the norm (which was the way it was portrayed). Even the putative lover, Vincent, is not developed. She gets inside the mind of Marise quite well but that is only part of what is going on here. Dorothy ducks that one.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last time I read “Main Street” by Sinclair Lewis, I discovered that it was not the #1 novel of 1921, but #2. Canfield’s “The Brimming Cup” got the #1 spot. So I thought I should check it out. I am amazed how similar the two are in content: the story revolves around a married woman living in rural America; both women begin to question their purpose in life; both are mothers; both have potential to “be” with a man other than their husband. I can see why Canfield’s was more popular as our heroine actually admits that she’s “exited” by her new man in a way that her husband could never be. Spicy for 1921! Still, I do like “Main Street” better – and it all comes down to writing style. There’s a lot of inner-dialogue from Canfield, which does work, but in the final chapters where our heroine is deciding her fate, it just goes on way too long. I was also surprised by the high body count in this – there are four deaths! Interestingly enough, the family dog survives the story – which in most novels the mutt is killed off. Not sure if I’ll read this one again (have read “Main Street” 3 or 4 times) but I do recommend it.

[Jessica Rosner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book at least thirty years ago, and remembered that I loved it. My copy is falling apart, really. Binding is loose, it's covered in white butcher paper, pages are crumbling. The author was a favorite of my mothers. Now that she is losing her memory, is not herself, I wanted to re read this novel, and see if it still had anything for me; to connect with the person my mother used to be.
I found it as compelling as I had when I was a young woman. The way DCF writes about the struggles inside the minds of her characters floors me.
There was one part towards the end, which felt like it may have gone on too long. But I am glad I revisited it.
There was a scene I didn't remember at all, a shocking and sad scene and I gasped out loud when I read it.
I wish this writer were better known today. I think she is as good a writer as James, Hardy, Bronte.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brimming Cup è la storia di una donna, moglie e madre, che, a un certo punto della sua esistenza, mette in discussione la sua vita e le sue scelte, e attraverso questo confuso e doloroso processo di ripensamento e riflessione raggiunge la sua maturità come essere umano.

Marise e Neale si sono promessi, durante il loro fidanzamento nell'esotica (!) Roma, di essere sempre fedeli a loro stessi e onesti l'un con l'altro. Dopo il matrimonio si sono trasferiti in un paesino montano del Vermont, Ashley, dove Neale ha ereditato una proprietà, e qui hanno avuto tre figli e rimesso in funzione la segheria di famiglia secondo un modello di gestione industriale non predatorio, ma a misura d'uomo. Il primo giorno di scuola del piccolo Mark è anche il primo giorno, dopo molti anni, che Marise trascorre senza avere almeno un bambino alle costole, sensazione che la lascia stranita:

"I have felt very queer indeed, all day. It's as though... you know, when you have been walking up and up a long flight of stairs, and you go automatically putting one foot up and then the other, and then suddenly... your upraised foot falls back with a jar. You've come to the top, and, for an instant, you have a gone feeling without your stairs to climb."

Lo stesso giorno, Marise riceve la visita dell'anziano Mr. Welles, il nuovo vicino di casa, e del suo amico il giovane, vitale e affascinante Vincent Marsh. Mr. Welles è un manager industriale in pensione, a cui la ditta ha acquistato una casa in campagna per i servigi resi. Vincent Marsh è il rampollo nullafacente di uno dei fondatori della ditta per cui ha lavorato. Mr Welles è disgustato dal mondo spietato del business e sogna da molti anni di diventare un vecchio inutile e di prendersi cura di un giardino. Il semplice e rurale mondo di Ashley è per lui un vero e proprio paradiso. Vincent Marsh, per contro, che lo accompagnato solo per aiutarlo a sistemarsi, è un dandy cittadino fatto e rifinito, cinico e dissacratore, ma anche vitale e vibrante di energia.

L'inserimento di Vincent Marsh nella routine della famiglia Crittenden costituisce per Marise un invito costante a vedersi con gli occhi di una persona molto diversa da quelle che normalmente frequenta: gli abiti dismessi, i lavori meniali, l'ambiente rustico, la dedizione ai bambini, tutto è poco sofisticato e indice di abbrutimento mentale. L'arrivo di Eugenia, amica di gioventù di Marise, una donna tanto chic quanto algida, sottolinea ancora di più la lontananza di Marise da quel mondo dorato di indolenza e puro godimento della bellezza che si è lasciata alle spalle.

La scelta di vita dei coniugi Crittenden forse non è delle più semplici, specialmente considerando il loro background intellettuale e cosmopolita. Anche Neale ha avuto i suoi dubbi, eppure li ha affrontati e così facendo ha operato una scelta cosciente e libera, ed è tornato alla sua vita con la mente serena e felice.

You could call it smug and safe and bourgeois if you liked. But the plain fact remained that it had more of what really counted for for him than any other life he could see possible. And when he looked at it, hard, with his eyes open, why the tramp-steamer to China sailed out of school-boy theatrical clouds and showed herself for the shabby, sordid little substitute for a life she would have been to him. He'd have liked to have that too, of course. You'd like to have everything! But you can't. And it is only immature boys who whimper because you can't have your cake and eat it too. That was all there was to that. What he had dug for was to find his deepest and most permanent desideres, and when he had found them, he'd come home with a happy heart.

Sullo sfondo di quello che potremmo anche chiamare romanzo di formazione, in qualche modo, c'è un mondo rurale, svelato in parte dai bambini di Marise che lo vivono pienamente, in parte dai vicini, in parte dall'incantato Mr. Welles, coinvolgente e descritto magnificamente. La vita di paese è più semplice e onesta ma anche prona alla ricerca e alla contemplazione della bellezza e delle arti. Certo lo stile della Canfield è a tratti esageratamente melodrammatico, e il romanzo contiene diverse lungaggini che ad un orecchio moderno non risultano molto gradite. Eppure questi piccoli difetti non offuscano la bellezza del romanzo (prologo escluso: non fatevi influenzare da quelle pagine, io l'ho trovato orribile). Ho trovato particolarmente affascinanti i capitoli scritti dal punto di vista di altri personaggi (altri rispetto a Marise, che rappresenta il centro focale): alcuni addirittura riprendono l'ultimo evento rileggendolo da un'altra prospettiva (una delle tematiche del romanzo è sicuramente il divario tra ciò che appare e ciò che è, specialmente in riferimento alle persone). Consigliato.

http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...

[Nicholas Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superbly written story of a mother whose world is thrown off-kilter by a strong attraction to a powerful (a Heathcliff like character) would be lover, Vincent Marsh who steps into her domestic Vermont rural life. Can she stay the course with 3 children and a myriad of domestic responsibilities or does she succumb to the strong attraction she feels for an interloper who represents the outside world, freedom from domesticity and an opportunity to live a fully realised life. How Marise responds to this challenge is the core of this still relevant novel written over 100 years ago now!! Dorothy Canfield Fisher lived a full and interesting life and this novel is a very worthy part of the feminist canon. Slow going at times for sure but well worth persevering with.

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

MSN Most popular book of 1921. I’m always disappointed by books and authors that feel day-to-day mundane tasks should be described. I can see why it was so popular during 1921, given the escapism that readers may have felt with the characters. But in 2025 it just fell flat.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bit divided in my feelings for this book. It had me engaged, especially towards the end, but during the start/middle of the book, I was really annoyed with the main character Marise!

Some goods points on how other people perceive marriages/relationships, and what they're actually like!
Also an interesting description of how the turmoil and character of our inner thoughts, compare to the exterior personality others see.

The dilemma between being a mother/house wife, and a sophisticated big city lady, with only your own needs to consider, takes up a lot of this book.
It just doesn't come off 100% credible, the main character Marise, has a hardworking, lovely husband Neale (who's inner monologues btw seem very full of pathos and drama for a man like him?!) , who has built a unique business, and 3 kids. She seems to love her life, but then comes along a dandy from the big city, and makes her question it all.
Eugenia (her "friend") and Vincent Marsh (the dandy) have no other qualities than being rich and idle (oh, and he has nice eyes), and they're not very kind, helpful or talented, they can just spend their rich families' money and be snobbish and aloof. If they were just a little more enviable/compelling/happy/interesting, Marise's dilemma would make more sense.
Especially as they are both hostile, towards the children Marise claims to love so much. It's amazing that she just sits and takes all the Shi* Marsh says about her life, friends and family!, as well as Eugenia's deliberate and obvious lies

Apart from flirting, idleness and having haughty discussions, I don't get what the finer things, to which Marise's sensibilities are "dulled and blunted", are. Except that she needs a break from all the housework, and is infatuated with Marsh.

But bear with the beginning, and this is actually a quite interesting read. 3.5 stars

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this antiquarian book in a box of books to sell on eBay and decided to read it instead of selling it. For a book written in 1921, it was surprisingly relevant during these more modern times. The author portrayed several interesting ideas. The husband of the main character ran his lumber mill and factory in an eco-friendly manner. He logged timber so that there would always be new trees growing--no clear-cutting allowed. He treated his workers with respect and encouraged them to contribute ideas. He paid them a living wage. A minor character decided to move from Vermont to Georgia in order to combat racism and have the opportunity to treat blacks with respect. The main character, Marisse, was struggling to figure out what would be best for her--living a life of luxury and ease with time to develop her considerable musical talents or to devote herself to her husband and children and spend a lot of time doing hard work. The desire to find out how she dealt with this challenge kept me interested until the end. Glad I save this book!

[Consuela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book because I ADORE Dorothy Canfield Fisher. She is a wonderful writer. But I just couldn't finish this book. Interesting characters (as always in her books) The whole premise seemed to be if the main character Marise -- a wonderful, talented, vivacious woman who has chosen to marry and have a large family and live in rural Vermont -- has she wasted her life? A man comes to town who tries to convince her of this. I got tired of it so didn't finish. Perhaps some day...

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a great deal to like about this. There's more than a passing resemblance to Henry James in the interior monologue, but it has much more heart than any of his work. The children, and Marise's love for them, are wonderfully done, and if you don't love Neale then you have a heart of stone. I think the weak point is the whole plot idea that Marise could for a moment be tempted away from them.

[Irma Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of emotions, little action. Descriptions of family life of a hundred years ago usually send me running. I finished this one, though, and even gleaned a thought or two. Refreshing for the genre and time: the author takes us through several people's perspective of the same event, perhaps not persistently enough.

[Leaflet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. Disjointed and meandering.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was hard to finish.

[Laurie Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long while since I first read this book. I didn't really like it the first time I read it. But this time I could really appreciate what it was trying to say.

I actually read Dorothy Canfield Fisher for the Child Rearing part. But she does have a lot of thought provoking insights into the nature of marital relations, as well. Actually she touches on many issues of the day which modern readers may not notice ... socialism, work ethic, etc. etc. I notice and find her insights instructive.

Four stars because the end is a little like a Stephen Spielberg movie... about 20 "Is this it?" moments.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb! This is my favorite novel by Dorothy Canfield Fisher to date. Although the ending could have been cut down to half the length, I adore the symbolism and the philosophical depth present in these pages. What mother hasn't longed for a bit more excitement in her life? Marise's struggle to reckon the value of her commitment to motherhood is powerful and memorable. This is a novel to be read and reread.

[June Fellows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a read for action lovers as there is an awful lot of internal dialogue. Some of this is outstanding but in places, for me, it goes on a little too much as I'm itching to get on with the story and its resolution.

[RicoCCarl7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

the story is absolutely amazing