Tending the Heart of Virtue: My Thoughts
This is one of the books that has been growing old on my to-read list, waiting for me to pick it up. Last year, I bought it at my favorite local bookstore, after which I promptly put it on my shelf without even leafing through it.
Then, January of 2025 arrived, as did discussions with friends about their reading habits in 2024 and prospective reading goals for the new year. I eventually decided I'd follow the lead of others and commit to reading more of the books that I actually own, rather than going to the library and finding something there. This is one of those books that is finally leaving the purgatory of unread-books-sitting-on-the-shelf.
There was something very comforting about starting to read this book, and I don't know if I can explain what it was. Perhaps it's Vigen Guroian speaking about topics I love very deeply - children's literature, the effect that entertainment has on human formation, etc. Maybe it's a pseudo-intuition of the comfort of familiarity, since I watched a free Hillsdale College online class that he led. Or, it could be the fact that he quotes so many writers and works that I love. In any case, when I started this deep dive, I could tell from my place in Chapter 1 that this is a man I'd like to write a letter to when I finish this book.
Introduction and Chapter 1
It's funny how often I love the introduction to some of the books I end up reading. Not to say the rest of the book isn't great, but I really enjoyed reading the introduction and first chapter. I combine them here because one flowed into the other well. I was grateful to be reading the revised and expanded version of this book.
Most of the quotes I made note of came from these sections. He does a good job explaining what a moral imagination is, why it is important, and how we kid ourselves when we think that we can have a truly secular education...there will always be an indoctrination of some kind, whether we realize it or not.
There are a few things I wish he'd elaborate on a little bit. First of all, how much engagement does there need to be between the adult and the child for these moral lessons to sink in? And if adult engagement is required, doesn't that run the risk of turning reading these great stories into a chore to accomplish, a means to an end? I think there would be some interesting discussion to be had in that arena.
The other question I'd like addressed would be, why does he discuss books or stories that are fairly old? The most recent books he presents to the reader hail from about 70 years ago (The Chronicles of Narnia series). I know that there's a lot of value in these old books, which are never on the shelves at Scholastic book fairs, I notice, but is there a particular reason that he doesn't have anything more modern?
He makes me want to be more widely read, to tackle philosophical works like After Virtue and try that again. It's a good start.
Chapter 2
I must admit, I wasn't thrilled to read about Pinocchio, it never having been a story that appealed to me. However, reading his commentary helped me feel up to the task of reading it for one of my book clubs, and allowed me to let go of the concern that I'd be missing seriously good insight if I didn't buy the special edition recommended by the book club's organization. I don't think I'm going to enjoy reading that story any more than I would have before reading Tending the Heart of Virtue, but I feel ready to appreciate it and look out for certain elements along the way.
Also noted here...it looks like this is another author who likes to explain what's wrong with Disney movie adaptations of classic stories. I have to admit, I love some of those movies, so it's sort of weird to come across people who are really down on the changes Disney made.
Chapter 3
Oh boy...reading about "The Little Mermaid" is just as much a gut-punch now as it was when I first read the original - or, at least, a close adaptation of the original. I also learned that if you're going to have a female character in a story and you have any imagery that puts blood and the moon in the same scene, some people might make the jump to the assumption that you're talking about the menstrual cycle. Weird, but good to know, I guess. I suppose that's part of the world of literature - you can have a set of symbols that are meant to mean something, but people can run with it in a totally different direction. This chapter, and later ones, also remind me that this book is a collection of one man's take on classic stories. These are his interpretation, and just because it makes sense doesn't mean that it's the definitive interpretation out there.
All that to say, I certainly do appreciate what he has to say. I wouldn't be opposed to reading the partnered selection, "The Tale of the Velveteen Rabbit", and consider having it be something I at least check out for my household.
Chapter 4
This chapter was a bit of an odd one. The first bit made sense, about The Wind in the Willows and the idea of encountering the world and growing through friendship. Making some of the focus about mentorship doesn't make as much sense to me (explored through Charlotte's Web and Bambi). I don't know that kids need to have "mentorship" instilled as part of their moral education, although I'm certain that Charlotte's Web has some great literary merit to it. Maybe I'm just biased because I tried listening to the Bambi audiobook version and wasn't convinced it was worth finishing even the first chapter, but a lot of this chapter didn't resonate with me.
If nothing else, this book has me curious about The Wind in the Willows again, which I hadn't been much impressed or moved by during my original read.
Chapter 5
Most excellent! We're back to some meaty good stuff - The Snow Queen and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! This chapter was excellent, breaking down what was going on in the Hans Christian Anderson tale and tackling the incredibly written dilemma of Edmund in C. S. Lewis' classic. This chapter was all I hoped it would be and had me dreaming about writing up a musical for Lewis' books again.
Chapter 6
Even better than Chapter 5? This one looks at Lucy Pevensie and Princess Irene from The Princess and the Goblin - some of my favorites! I found it fascinating that Guroian had a chapter seemingly dedicated to female protagonists, but none to male ones, but that seems to be more because these characters depict courage, vision, and moral maturing so well, and just happened to be girls. I appreciated that. He goes so far as to explain the weird bathing scene in The Princess and the Goblin as a baptismal experience - fine there - but indicates he thinks MacDonald had the Great-Grandmother character depicting Mother Mary. I can see how he came to that conclusion, but I didn't think the Congregationalist minister would necessarily have given that sort of credit to Mother Mary, although I would. I always felt the character was a representation of God, and that it was strange to have a woman as a figure or representation of God in the story. Well, it is something I will try to think on the next time I read the book. I really appreciated how Guroian broke down the symbolism happening in MacDonald's work, as he does later. I know it's just his interpretation, but it adds a lot of depth to my understanding and appreciation of that delightful tale.
Also, as much as I love Lucy Pevensie, I think I'll always dislike The Last Battle. Even reading about that book is very uncomfortable for me.
Chapter 7
This is a good breakdown of two more tales by Anderson. I'd enjoy reading these originals more than "The Little Mermaid", that's for sure! Also, how have I never read the originals of these tales?
Chapter 8
I enjoyed this chapter and it made me feel good about already being familiar with The King of the Golden River. I especially appreciated his examination of landscape descriptions in that work...it will help me with a different blog post somewhere down the road.
Chapter 9
I'd forgotten that I'd also read this somewhat strange tale by MacDonald already, The Wise Woman: A Double Story. I think it might have made a bigger impression on me at the time if I'd had this handy work nearby to refer to. I get the feeling that this book (Guroian's) is going to be well-liked by some relatives I know who are already raising their kids and getting into the world of reading with them.
Cliff-Hanger Conclusion
Guroian does have a conclusion, but it's not a cliff-hanger. That descriptor is for my conclusion here. I wasn't able to keep up with taking notes here, in the Deep Dive, while I was reading - especially while I was on vacation! Since I wrote this mostly after I finished the book, it's probably not as deep as a Deep Dive ought to be. However, I'm glad I went through it and recorded some thoughts, and I'm especially glad I finally sat myself down and made this my reading selection at last! It was a great book and I hope other people read it and share with me what they thought about it.
