Enchanting
Beatrix Potter
I wonder sometimes if significant women of our past were contemporaries of ours today.
of today, or would they hold true to pen, quill, paintbrush and paper.
Once such woman I am contemplating this morning is one of my favorites,
Beatrix Potter.
She opened doors for women of her time simply by being enchanted by the wildlife and
flora and fauna of her surroundings.
A talented artist and writer, Beatrix enchanted children and adults in her time with her characters such as Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck.
Her books are still the same size, detail and character as she stipulated many years back.
Inspired at her Hilltop Cottage in England
and caring for the surrounding landscape
– so much so that she bought several
acres of farmland to preserve them and later donated them to the National Trust for preservation.
With one simple phrase, “I will tell you a story” you are drawn
into a world of fantasy created by the verdant mind of Beatrix Potter.
“I do not remember a time when I did not try to invent pictures and make fairy tales—
Amongst the wild flowers, the animals, trees and mosses and fungi—all the thousand
Common objects of the countryside; that pleasant unchanging world of realism and romance.”
It was Beatrix’s close upbringing and her close observance of nature around her
that enabled her to see beyond the everyday things.
“It may just be that one sees (things) because one has an open mind, not in a groove”
The sweet story of Beatrix Potter’s life is gently told in a movie called
Miss Potter.
Enchanting in its portrayel of the artist and writer, one is drawn to the story of
her life, her loves, her struggles and ultimately her triumphs as a woman
of her time.
What would she be like if she lived in our world today? What would enchant her?
These are just a few things that I ponder as I enjoy the life and the writings of
Beatrix Potter.
Some images from the 1988 August issue of Victoria Magazine
