Article #350-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Fanny Herself, by Edna Ferber

She did it, taking turns with Pearl and Sadie at weaving the great, lacy
square during dull moments. When it was finished they placed it in
the window, where it lay like frosted lace, exquisitely graceful and
delicate, with its tracery of curling petals and feathery fern sprays.
Winnebago gazed and was bitten by the Battenberg bug. It wound itself up
in a network of Battenberg braid, in all the numbers. It bought
buttons of every size; it stitched away at Battenberg covers, doilies,
bedspreads, blouses, curtains. Battenberg tumbled, foamed, cascaded over
Winnebago's front porches all that summer. Listening to Sam Kiser had
done it.

She listened to the farmer women too, and to the mill girls, and to the
scant and precious pearls that dropped from the lips of the East End
society section. There was something about her brown eyes and her
straight, sensible nose that reassured them so that few suspected the
mischievous in her. For she was mischievous. If she had not been I think
she could not have stood the drudgery, and the heartbreaks, and the
struggle, and the terrific manual labor.

She used to guy people, gently, and they never guessed it. Mrs. G.
Manville Smith, for example, never dreamed of the joy that her patronage
brought Molly Brandeis, who waited on her so demurely. Mrs. G. Manville
Smith (nee Finnegan) scorned the Winnebago shops, and was said to send
to Chicago for her hairpins. It was known that her household was run on
the most niggardly basis, however, and she short-rationed her two maids
outrageously. It was said that she could serve less real food on more
real lace doilies than any other housekeeper in Winnebago. Now, Mrs.
Brandeis sold Scourine two cents cheaper than the grocery stores, using
it as an advertisement to attract housewives, and making no profit on
the article itself. Mrs. G. Manville Smith always patronized Brandeis'
Bazaar for Scourine alone, and thus represented pure loss. Also she
my-good-womaned Mrs. Brandeis. That lady, seeing her enter one day with
her comic, undulating gait, double-actioned like a giraffe's, and her
plumes that would have shamed a Knight of Pythias, decided to put a stop
to these unprofitable visits.

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber**

Context of the Novel

Fanny Herself (1917) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for her sharp social commentary and strong female protagonists. The novel follows Fanny Brandeis, a young Jewish woman in the early 20th century who navigates poverty, ambition, and societal expectations in the fictional Midwestern town of Winnebago (based on Ferber’s hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin). Fanny is a resourceful, witty, and resilient character who works in her mother’s struggling shop while dreaming of a better life.

This excerpt captures Fanny’s observational humor, her mother Molly’s shrewd business tactics, and the social dynamics of small-town life, particularly the class tensions between the working-class Jewish shopkeepers and the aspirational (but often pretentious) Christian elite.

Breakdown of the Excerpt

1. The Battenberg Craze: A Satire of Trends and Consumerism

"She did it, taking turns with Pearl and Sadie at weaving the great, lacy square during dull moments. When it was finished they placed it in the window, where it lay like frosted lace, exquisitely graceful and delicate, with its tracery of curling petals and feathery fern sprays. Winnebago gazed and was bitten by the Battenberg bug..."

Battenberg lace was a popular Victorian-era needlework technique involving intricate braided lace patterns. Here, it symbolizes the fickle nature of trends—how a small display in a shop window can spark a town-wide obsession.
The imagery is rich:
- "frosted lace, exquisitely graceful and delicate" → suggests beauty but also fragility, mirroring the transient nature of fashion.
- "tumbled, foamed, cascaded" → verbs that evoke excess and hysteria, mocking how Winnebago’s residents blindly follow trends.
Satirical tone: Ferber pokes fun at small-town conformity—how people will mindlessly adopt a fad just because it’s in vogue.
Causal link: "Listening to Sam Kiser had done it." (Sam Kiser is likely a traveling salesman or trendsetter who planted the idea.) This hints at how external influences (like advertising or social pressure) drive consumer behavior.

2. Fanny’s Mischievous Resilience

"She listened to the farmer women too, and to the mill girls, and to the scant and precious pearls that dropped from the lips of the East End society section. There was something about her brown eyes and her straight, sensible nose that reassured them so that few suspected the mischievous in her. For she was mischievous. If she had not been I think she could not have stood the drudgery, and the heartbreaks, and the struggle, and the terrific manual labor."

Fanny as an observer: She listens to all classes—farmers, factory workers, and the wealthy "East End" elite—absorbing their quirks and pretensions.
Dual nature of Fanny:
- Outward appearance: "brown eyes and straight, sensible nose" → suggests trustworthiness and practicality, making people underestimate her.
- Inner mischief: She guys (mocks) people gently, using humor as a coping mechanism against the harshness of her life (drudgery, heartbreak, manual labor).
Significance: Her mischief is not cruelty but survival—a way to maintain her sanity and dignity in a world that often dismisses her.

3. Class Satire: Mrs. G. Manville Smith vs. Molly Brandeis

"Mrs. G. Manville Smith (nee Finnegan) scorned the Winnebago shops, and was said to send to Chicago for her hairpins. It was known that her household was run on the most niggardly basis, however, and she short-rationed her two maids outrageously. It was said that she could serve less real food on more real lace doilies than any other housekeeper in Winnebago."

Mrs. G. Manville Smith is a social climber—her pretentious name (nee Finnegan) suggests she’s Irish but trying to pass as high-society.
- "sent to Chicago for her hairpins" → false sophistication; she acts like she’s too good for local shops, yet she’s cheap in reality.
- "niggardly" (stingy) household → hypocrisy: she starves her maids but flaunts lace doilies (symbols of false elegance).
Molly Brandeis’ business strategy:
- She sells Scourine (a cleaning product) at a loss to attract customers, but Mrs. Smith only buys the cheap item, making her a financial drain.
- "my-good-womaned" → Mrs. Smith condescends to Molly, treating her like a servant.
Molly’s revenge:
- She notices Mrs. Smith’s "comic, undulating gait, double-actioned like a giraffe’s, and her plumes that would have shamed a Knight of Pythias" (a fraternal order known for ostentatious regalia).
- Decides to "put a stop to these unprofitable visits"—likely by refusing to serve her or calling out her hypocrisy.

4. Themes in the Excerpt

Class and Social Pretension
- The East End elite (like Mrs. Smith) look down on shopkeepers but are just as flawed—cheap, pretentious, and cruel.
- Molly and Fanny are working-class but clever, using humor and business savvy to navigate a rigged system.
The Power of Trends and Consumer Culture
- The Battenberg craze shows how people blindly follow fads, revealing small-town conformity.
- Molly’s shop window acts as a catalyst for consumer behavior, highlighting how commerce shapes society.
Resilience Through Humor
- Fanny’s mischief is a defense mechanism against poverty and social exclusion.
- Molly’s dry wit (e.g., mocking Mrs. Smith’s gait) shows how marginalized people use humor to reclaim power.
Jewish Identity and Outsider Status
- The Brandeis family (Jewish) is both part of and apart from Winnebago society.
- They observe and adapt but are never fully accepted by the Christian elite.

5. Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Satire	The Battenberg craze, Mrs. Smith’s hypocrisy	Mocks small-town conformity and class pretensions.
Imagery	"frosted lace, exquisitely graceful and delicate"	Creates a visual contrast between beauty and fragility.
Irony	Mrs. Smith acts elite but is stingy	Exposes hypocrisy in social climbing.
Characterization	Fanny’s "mischievous" nature vs. her "sensible" appearance	Shows duality—how people hide their true selves to survive.
Hyperbole	"Battenberg tumbled, foamed, cascaded over Winnebago’s front porches"	Emphasizes the absurdity of the trend.
Symbolism	Battenberg lace = fleeting trends; Scourine = false economy	Represents superficiality in society.

6. Significance of the Passage

Social Commentary: Ferber critiques class snobbery, consumerism, and the illusion of social mobility in early 20th-century America.
Fanny’s Agency: Unlike traditional female characters of the time, Fanny doesn’t passively accept her fate—she observes, mocks, and strategizes.
Jewish Experience: The excerpt reflects anti-Semitic undertones (e.g., Mrs. Smith’s condescension) but also Jewish resilience through humor and business acumen.
Feminist Undertones: Molly and Fanny run a business in a male-dominated world, using wit and adaptability to survive.

Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

This excerpt is a microcosm of Ferber’s broader themes—class struggle, female resilience, and the absurdity of social hierarchies. Through sharp satire, vivid imagery, and nuanced characterization, Ferber:

Exposes the hypocrisy of those who pretend to be elite while exploiting others.
Celebrates the cleverness of working-class women who use humor and strategy to navigate oppression.
Critiques consumer culture, showing how trends control people rather than the other way around.

Fanny and Molly represent the unsung heroes—those who see through the illusions of society and find ways to thrive despite them. The passage is both funny and biting, a hallmark of Ferber’s style, which blends humor with social critique.

Would you like any specific aspect explored further (e.g., historical context of Battenberg lace, Ferber’s autobiographical influences, or deeper analysis of Fanny’s character)?

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of the Battenberg craze most closely functions as a:

A. nostalgic celebration of communal craftsmanship and its role in fostering small-town solidarity.
B. satirical critique of the herd mentality and superficial consumerism that grip Winnebago’s residents.
C. metaphorical exploration of the fragility of beauty, using lace as a symbol for the ephemeral nature of human endeavors.
D. historical documentation of the economic impact of textile trends on rural Midwestern economies in the early 20th century.
E. character study of Molly Brandeis’ entrepreneurial genius in manipulating public taste for financial gain.

Question 2

The narrator’s description of Mrs. G. Manville Smith’s "comic, undulating gait, double-actioned like a giraffe’s, and her plumes that would have shamed a Knight of Pythias" primarily serves to:

A. underscore the physical grotesquerie of the upper class as a manifestation of moral decay.
B. highlight the absurdity of fashion trends that even the elite cannot pull off with dignity.
C. contrast Mrs. Smith’s ostentatious appearance with Molly Brandeis’ understated, practical demeanor.
D. expose the performative and compensatory nature of Mrs. Smith’s social climbing through exaggerated sartorial choices.
E. provide comic relief that temporarily distracts from the passage’s darker themes of exploitation and class resentment.

Question 3

Fanny’s mischievousness, as described in the passage, is best understood as:

A. a rebellious rejection of the societal norms that constrain her ambition and intelligence.
B. an inherited trait from her mother, whose own subversive humor is directed at customers like Mrs. Smith.
C. a coping mechanism for the tedium of manual labor, allowing her to find joy in otherwise demeaning work.
D. a necessary psychological defense against the drudgery and heartbreak of her circumstances, enabling her resilience.
E. a calculated strategy to ingratiate herself with customers while subtly undermining their pretensions.

Question 4

The phrase "scant and precious pearls that dropped from the lips of the East End society section" employs which of the following literary techniques to convey its meaning?

A. Irony, by juxtaposing the triviality of the society women’s remarks with the elevated metaphor of "pearls."
B. Metonymy, using "pearls" to represent the wealth and status of the East End elite.
C. Synecdoche, where the "lips" of the society women stand in for their entire social class.
D. Hyperbole, exaggerating the value of the society women’s words to highlight their perceived importance.
E. Allegory, in which the "pearls" symbolize the hidden wisdom that Fanny alone can discern in their speech.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the narrative tone in the passage’s treatment of Winnebago’s social dynamics?

A. Detached and clinical, presenting the class tensions as an inevitable consequence of economic structures.
B. Wry and subversive, using humor and irony to expose the absurdities and injustices of small-town hierarchies.
C. Sentimental and nostalgic, idealizing the resilience of the working class while gently mocking the elite.
D. Cynical and dismissive, portraying both the working class and the elite as equally flawed and hypocritical.
E. Didactic and moralizing, explicitly condemning the elite’s exploitation while praising the virtue of the poor.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: B

Why B is most correct: The Battenberg craze is depicted with exaggerated, almost manic imagery ("tumbled, foamed, cascaded") and linked to the town’s mindless adoption of a trend after seeing it in a shop window. The passage mocks the herd mentality of Winnebago’s residents, who are "bitten by the Battenberg bug" and engage in superficial consumerism (e.g., buying buttons of every size, stitching unnecessary items). The satirical tone is unmistakable, aligning with Ferber’s broader critique of conformity and materialism in small-town America.