Caleb's Crossing

I have just finished Geraldine Brook's novel Caleb's Crossing -- a very thought-provoking read.

Historically, Caleb was the first Native-American to graduate from Harvard University in the 1660's.  He came from the Martha's Vineyard area, having been converted to Christianity by a more liberal Pilgrim missionary who had broken away from the original Massachusetts foundation.

But the novel isn't really about Caleb.  The scribe is Bethia, daughter of the missionary, who struggles to free herself from the puritanical restrictions that bind womenfolk to child-raising and the kitchen.  By devious means she educates herself in scripture, languages and culture, refusing to accept that religion has any right to limit women's dignity or freedom.  Bethia breaks free and in the end shows that marriage and education can enrich each other.

That was nearly 400 years ago.  But still today countless women live under the same restrictions, often imposed in the name of religion.  And not just those subject to the Taliban.  Even here in our local communities we see women living under the strictures of a cultural baggage that has no place here.  But there are signs of hope:  a visit to the UQ campus reveals many scarfed women from overseas backgrounds enjoying the joy and freedom that education brings.