L.M. Montgomery’s Short Story, ‘The Magical Bond of the Sea’

“On the Beach, Long Branch, New Jersey,” 1869, by Winslow Homer. A young girl yearns to see the world, but is pulled by the bond of a home near the sea, in L.M. Montgomery’s “The Bond of the Sea.” (Public Domain)

Though adventure may call with irresistible charm, the blessings of home in a harbor village cannot be forgotten. Home always welcomes the adventurer back to savor the warm memories, love, and the magical bond of the past. In her short story, “The Magical Bond of the Sea,” L.M. Montgomery follows Nora Shelley as she journeys out into the world. Though Nora is fascinated by the excitement the new experiences promise, she always carries her home and the sea in her heart.

Choosing Adventure

Nora has lived in Racicot Harbor her whole life, but she has always longed to experience a life beyond the small harbor. When the millionaire Camerons build a summer house “across the harbor, on a fir-fringed headland” and become acquainted with Nora, they present her with the chance of a lifetime.

Since they are childless, the Camerons offer to adopt Nora as their own daughter. Such an offer would allow Nora to experience the wide world, something that she’s always wanted. Nora decides that she must go.

News quickly spreads throughout the town that the Camerons are adopting Nora. Though many feel jealous and bitter towards her, Rob Fletcher is truly sad at the news of her departure.

One evening, Nora meets Rob and, as they walk along the shore, Rob says, “You‘ll be a fine lady—oh, all the better for that perhaps—but you’ll not be the same. [...] But will you be happy?” Unperturbed by Rob’s question, Nora answers that she believes that she will be happy. She says that adventure has called to her for a long time and now she must follow.

Rob admits that the adventure will be good for her. But then, he suddenly bursts out: “Nora! Nora! Whatever am I going to do without you!” Surprised by this burst of feeling, she asks him to stop, assuring him that there are other girls. Rob falls silent, saying that he will love no one else.

Despite the sadness she feels after her meeting with Rob, Nora soon leaves with the Camerons. In the autumn, they spend time in New York and, in winter, they head south.

Throughout all her travels, Nora sends letters home with details of her adventures. She writes grand descriptions of all the things, people, and places she sees. Nevertheless, the more letters she sends, the more they become “like those of a stranger and one apart from the Racicot life.”

The Call of Home

The next summer Nora and the Camerons return to the Cameron’s summer house across from Racicot. Having adapted extremely well to her new life, Nora is more beautiful and charming than ever. Yet the sight of Racicot Harbor and the magical sea breeze “bring to her the tang of the salt wastes and fill her heart with a great, bitter-sweet yearning.”

Through this story, Montgomery demonstrates the power and beauty of home. Despite the need for adventure, she shows, as Charles Dickens says, that “every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.”

While adventure provides a perspective on the wide world, home helps to foster gratitude and appreciation for the small, loving, magical moments and places in life.

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