So Big
by Edna Ferber is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel published in 1924. It tells the story of
Selina Peake DeJong
, a strong and resilient woman who, after her father's death, becomes a schoolteacher in a rural Dutch farming community near Chicago. She marries a simple farmer, has a son named Dirk (nicknamed "So Big"), and is soon widowed.
Despite many hardships, Selina works tirelessly to run the farm and give Dirk a better life. As Dirk grows up and achieves material success, he drifts away from the artistic and meaningful values Selina tried to instill in him. The novel explores themes of
motherhood, sacrifice, the value of beauty and art, and the emptiness of wealth without purpose.
Ultimately,
is a celebration of quiet strength and integrity in the face of life's challenges.