Eleanor H. Porter’s ‘The Bridge Across the Years’

Memories connect the past with the present in this short story. Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock

As one year replaces another, memories flood our minds as we look forward to the next year. Nevertheless, whether painful or sweet, we must hold these memories close. Memories bridge the past with the present, teaching us and carrying us through the years.

Eleanor H. Porter highlights the importance of memories in her short story, “The Bridge Across the Years.” In this story, Porter conveys the value of Grandpa and Grandma Burton’s memories, when their son, John, wishes to do away with their possessions.

Porter demonstrates that memories bring hope and love to the present and shed light on the future.

The Auction

Grandpa and Grandma Burton have lived in their old farmhouse for 60 years, raising and losing children, keeping up a farm, and saving memories. Then, one day, their daughter-in-law Edith, and son John, send them a letter telling them that they are too old to be living on that old farm alone. Edith and John will bring them to their home and auction off their farm and possessions.

This poses such an abrupt change to their lives! Grandpa and Grandma wonder how they will part with their farm and all the memories: “An auction, indeed! Pray, what have we to sell?” Everything, except a few drawings and their clothes, are listed to be auctioned off. Their cradle, that rocked all their children, Grandpa’s rocking chair, which fits him perfectly, and Grandma’s hair wreath, which holds locks of hair from the whole family, are all to be sold.

Too soon do Edith and John arrive, pack up Grandpa and Grandma’s necessities and quickly auction off everything. The yard fills with buyers, gossipers, and an auctioneer. “Going, going, gone!” rings through the yard and up into the empty attic, where sad Grandpa and Grandma hide.

After everything is auctioned off, Edith and John take the dejected grandpa and grandma to their home in the city, ignoring the couple’s sad state. Their new home is filled with the latest, finest furnishings, and is stylish and sumptuous. Yet these new things are not the same as what they had. They do not carry those sacred memories; Grandpa and Grandma try their best to put on brave faces.

Think and Remember

However, Grandpa and Grandma’s time in their new home is quickly cut short. Edith and John’s house catches fire and many of Edith’s prized possessions are lost: “It won’t be the same—it can’t be. Why, some of those things we’ve had ever since we were married. They seemed a part of me.”

Such a sudden, tragic loss of her possessions shocks Edith into realization. She and John had taken away all of Grandpa and Grandma’s possessions and, in those possessions, their memories. Edith instantly realizes her mistake, and is determined to change it.

Through this story, Porter shows how crucial memories are, weaving our lives together in a beautiful way. She encourages us to think and remember, just as L.M. Montgomery says in “The Story Girl”: “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.”

We must treasure our memories, whether painful or sweet, for they bind our lives together and teach us as we continue on. The painful teach and enlighten and the sweet bring comfort, hope, and love. Therefore, let us think and remember, because memories matter.

Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]