Ramona — A Significant Novel
Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)
Late nineteenth century was the time of triumph for several important women writers in America such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Louisa May Alcott. Helen Hunt Jackson is not named among them often. Yet, Ramona by Jackson is a significant novel for several reasons. Most importantly, it was intended to be a protest against the mistreatment of American Indians by the White Settlers. It is also a beautiful romantic novel and an accurate historical account of Southern California ranchers’ lives in the picturesque Southern California.
In the early part of her career, Jackson wrote poetry and some prose for the prominent periodicals. She was a life-long friend of Emily Dickinson. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an admirer of Jackson’s poetry. But in 1870, after hearing a speech by Ponca Chief Standing Bear on the injustices suffered by the American Indians and their dispossessions by the US government, Jackson was inspired to act. She wrote to a friend, “A fire has been kindled within me, which will never go out.” When her book A Century of Dishonor fell on the deaf ears of the government, she decided to appeal to people’s hearts. Ramona was intended to inform and inspire the country to right the wrongs committed against the American Indians. The North American Review called it, "unquestionably the best novel yet produced by an American woman.”
In spite of Jackson’s intentions, today Ramona is remembered and appreciated for its romanticism and its immortal love story. The prose is fluid and meditative. Blue eyed Ramona, an orphan of mixed Scottish and American Indian heritage, is raised by the Spanish matronly rancher Señora Moreno. Ramona falls in love with an American Indian sheep shearer Alessandro and immediately faces strong opposition from Señora Moreno. Alessandro himself is going through extremely harsh conditions due to the dispossession of his father’s land. Against all odds, Ramona and Alessandro forge a life of love. The tale of love, loss, and sacrifice set against the picturesque Southern California landscape pulls at the heartstrings of the readers.
Another unintended consequence of the novel was the rise in Southern California tourism. By coincidence, Southern Pacific Railroad opened the rail lines in California around the same time the novel was published. Enchanted by the Spanish aristocratic life portrayed in the novel and the descriptions of regions surrounding Temecula, people flocked to Southern California looking for places mentioned in the novel.
The political message of the novel was noticed, but did not gather enough steam at the time. Could it be that the social and political climate of the nineteenth century was not ripe enough to accept a message of this magnitude from a female poet writing a romantic love story? Regardless, Ramona has stood the test of time and it is a significant work by a nineteenth century female novelist and activist.
