Eight Cousins

Back in the parlor, Rose walks in on an assembly of her seven boy cousins, who introduce themselves as “The Clan” and are dressed in Scottish attire. The eldest, Archie, introduces them according to their parentage. Aunt Clara and Uncle Steven have one son, the biggest cousin, called “Prince Charlie.” Uncle Mac and Aunt Jane’s two sons are the bookworm, Mac, and fashionable young gentleman, “Steve the Dandy.” Uncle Jem and Aunt Clara are parents to Archie the “Chief,” and his three younger brothers, Will, Geordie, and the youngest cousin, Jamie.

Despite her timidity, Rose shakes hands with each of the boys, shares her book collection with her cousin Mac, and gives young Jamie candy, which wins him over to her. She learns that the “circus” she saw earlier was her cousins’ new Shetland pony and dog cart. They take her outside to show her and take her to the barn, where they perform a Scottish Highlander dance—their shared cultural heritage. Despite her worries about female propriety, Rose enjoys her cousins’ attentions and liveliness, which is a “new and astonishing spectacle” for her (22). Later, Rose has dinner with them, after which, exhausted from the eventful day, she falls asleep on the couch and dreams of her father’s embrace. As she awakens, she realizes that it is her Uncle Alec holding her in a warm welcome.

Rose wakes early the next morning feeling excited to get to know her uncle better. From her balcony, she watches him walk toward the house from a morning ocean swim, noting with relief that he seems to be a friendly and vivacious man. When he sees her, he nimbly climbs up the pillars to her balcony. They discuss her decline in health and mood since her father’s passing, her poor sleep quality, her sedentary lifestyle, and her aunts’ belief that she is a weak girl with “no constitution.” Uncle Alec disagrees with her aunts’ approach and promises to return Rose to health, explaining that he is in the business of turning “pale-faced little ghosts into rosy, hearty girls” (36).

First, he lines up Aunt Myra’s nostrums (medicines made by someone without medical knowledge) on the balustrade and throws them into the garden. Then, when Phebe brings Rose her morning cup of coffee, he throws it over as well, asking for a cup of milk instead. At breakfast, he convinces her to eat healthy oatmeal, despite her dislike of the dish. Later, at church, her animated boy cousins are so excited to see Uncle Alec that their theatric responses distract Rose from the sermon. After church, the boys are upset that they can’t come over for dinner with Uncle Alec straightaway, so he bribes them with the promise of gifts from his travels if they wait quietly until Monday night.

At Sunday night dinner, Rose is sent upstairs to visit Aunt Peace while Uncle Alec and the other aunts deliberate over a plan for Rose’s welfare. Rose feels compassion for her Aunt Peace, who at 20 experienced tragedy when her betrothed died the day they were to be wed. To Rose, she is a romantic figure, with beautiful silver hair and a calming demeanor. She reflects that Aunt Plenty is the opposite: a boisterous woman who relishes the practical responsibilities of housekeeping.

Meanwhile, Uncle Alec and the aunts discuss Rose’s sickly disposition—its causes, and possible cures. Uncle Alec blames his late brother George’s sedentary and cloistered lifestyle. Each aunt offers their different opinions of what they feel that Rose needs, from boarding school to lessons in etiquette, and Aunt Myra morosely predicts that Rose will die within a year. Aunt Jessie suggests that what Rose needs most is a mother-figure, and Uncle Alec agrees that Rose would be best served by being the sole charge of one guardian, rather than being raised by the conflicting parenting styles of six different aunts. The aunts agree that as Alec is her appointed guardian, Rose will live one year in his sole care without interference. Alec promises that if, at the end of the year, Rose’s health is not improved, he’ll allow one of the other aunts to take charge of her.

To appease the aunts’ expectations of medicinal cures, Alec creates placebo pills made from brown bread. He gives Rose an aromatherapy herb pillow to sleep on and a cup to drink milk from each morning, and he says that she must milk the cow herself. In good humor, he jokes to the aunts that he is so daunted by the gravity of his task that he might run away until Rose comes of age.