Beyond The Mapped Stars by Rosalyn Eves

Beyond The Mapped Stars is the story of a young Mormon girl's journey to find her path in life in pioneer Utah.

Elizabeth Bertelsen lives with her father Anders and her mother Hannah, and her nine siblings in Monroe, Utah. She and her family belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church.

Elizabeth's father, whom she calls Far, had a first wife, Aunt Elisa and who died when Elizabeth was five years old. Far and Aunt Elisa married in Denmark, and then travelled to Utah with the Mormon missionaries. He met Elizabeth's mother, Hannah in Salt Lake City, and took her as his second wife. After Elisa's death Far married, Olena, making her his second wife. This upset Hannah and she threatened to divorce him.

It is June 28, 1878. Elizabeth is reading a dime novel about Texas Jack, while sitting on an outcrop overlooking Little Green Valley. As she walks home, after hearing her mother call for her, Elizabeth notes the positions of the Big Dipper and other constellations as darkness falls. She will record them in her notebook at home. In less than a month, there will be a total solar eclipse, the first in a century, visible in the western territories of the United States. "...The path of totality will cross through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Texas." Elizabeth won't see the eclipse however, because it will not be visible in Utah. Arriving back at the house, Elizabeth's mama admonishes her for "moonin' after the stars..." telling her she "should set your mind on higher things."

The next morning Far arrives with the horses for Elizabeth's mama who plans to spend the day in Richfield. She is curt towards her husband, unhappy that Far spent the night with Olena. Mama warns Elizabeth to watch the boys and her younger sister Rachel while she is gone. Elizabeth had been hoping to accompany her mother to the town. 

After spending most of the morning caring for Rachel and trying to amuse herself by re-reading Mormon newspapers, Elizabeth finds herself wanting ideas. While Rachel naps, Elizabeth convinces her brother David Charles to stay at the house while she runs to see Miss Phoebe Wheeler, a teacher at the Presbyterian school, who lends her books to read. Elizabeth's mother wouldn't let her attend the school, fearful she would be converted away from her Mormon faith. On her way she meets Samuel Willard, a boy a few years older than her, who wonders where she's going.

Miss Wheeler lends Elizabeth a new science book about the physical sciences written by a woman. Miss Wheeler explains to Elizabeth that the author, Miss Somerville is a real scientist. But on her way home, Elizabeth meets David Charles on the road, and learns that Rachel has gone missing.

While her brothers go to fetch Hyrum from their father's mill, Elizabeth discovers Rachel in the creek. Hyrum manages to revive Rachel, but she remains unconscious and is carried back to the house. Rachel's condition deteriorates, and soon Elizabeth's parents arrive home. After Rachel is prayed over by Sister Larsen, Elizabeth spends the night watching over her sister, promising herself and God that she will give up the stars and never quarrel with her mother again.

As Rachel gradually recovers, Elizabeth's mother begins talking about Elizabeth marrying and has suggested she become the second wife of Brother Yergensen. This idea is repulsive to Elizabeth who doesn't want this life for herself. Then they receive a telegram from Rebekka, Elizabeth's half sister, daughter of Far and his first wife, Elisa. She is close to having her baby and her husband Ammon wants family to be with her. Rebekka has lost her first four babies, so everyone is concerned. Elizabeth volunteers to go and help out. 

Far arranges for Samuel Willard  and Vilate Ann to take Elizabeth to Salt Lake City where he is dropping furniture to his brother. On the journey to Salt Lake City, Elizabeth and Samuel Willard share their hopes for their lives. He challenges Elizabeth as to why she would give up her dream of being an astronomer just because others tell her it's not a suitable thing to aspire to. She tells him how she has given up on her dream to attend Vassar College and study with Maria Mitchell, an American female astronomer. Like Samuel, Elizabeth has decided to be someone no one has to worry about. However, the two have a falling out just before she arrives at Salt Lake. 

On the train to Cheyenne, Elizabeth and the passengers are robbed. With the tracks destroyed, Elizabeth decides to walk back to Rawlins with Alice and Will Stevens, who are wealthy and descended from slaves. Their grandfather escaped slavery as a boy and made his fortune by moving west and opening what has become one of the finest hotels in Denver. 

Meeting the Stevens proves providential for Elizabeth. She meets Thomas Edison and Dr. Henry Morton, president of Stevens Institute of Technology, two people interested in the upcoming eclipse which is only eighteen days away.  Elizabeth also discovers that Alice is an aspiring artist, hoping to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and then onto Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While in Rawlins, Elizabeth is able to view the heavens through Dr. Draper's telescope, seeing the Hourglass Nebula.

After helping Rebekka deliver her baby safely, Elizabeth is encouraged by her sister to follow her dreams and to return to Denver for the solar eclipse. As Elizabeth finds herself coming closer than she ever thought to achieving her dreams, she tries to fit in by not being true to herself. Eventually she realizes that half-truths will not work. But can she be a scientist and still be a good Mormon woman? What about her promise to God to obey her mother? Is it possible to have faith and be a scientist? All these questions, Elizabeth must answer for herself.

Discussion

Beyond the Mapped Stars is a historical fiction novel with a unique storyline, well defined characters, set during a little known celestial event. The novel occurs over the span of a  little more than a month, from June 28 to July 31, 1878. 

The story focuses on the main character, Elizabeth Bertelsen's desire to follow a different path from most women in her era and especially that of a Mormon woman: she wants to be an astronomer. This desire sets off intense internal conflict in Elizabeth. Her mother tells Elizabeth that she wants too much and that she "...follow God's will, not your own." But Elizabeth reasons that God has "...planted yearnings in our hearts to drive us to bigger things."

"Sometimes I feel as though there's an Elizabeth-shaped hole in my life that I'm supposed to fill neatly. But parts of me - ideas, desires - keep spilling out like tentacles of some sea creature. I'm forever stuffing them back in, smashing down ideas I'm not meant to have, shutting my lips on words I'm not meant to say."

Elizabeth's internal struggle is between what she wants for herself and what her mother believes she should aspire to as a young Mormon woman. When Elizabeth tells her mother her desire for "ideas" is "like a steady, low hunger constantly gnawing at my soul" her mother believes Elizabeth to be ill. She advises her daughter to "...spend more time with your Bible, and less time in your books. Turn your thoughts to heaven, put you longing in God." But for Elizabeth, her desire to understand the stars doesn't take away from her faith. 

Elizabeth discovers that her older brother Hyrum is also struggling with what he wants in life. Like Elizabeth he has been taught that "...the highest level of heaven is for husband and wife, sealed together." but what does that mean for those who do not want a married life. In addition to this, Elizabeth struggles with the idea of polygamy which she does not want for herself.

As was common in the late 19th century, Elizabeth like many women in her era is discouraged by a male scientist, Dr. Morton. When she tells him of her dream of becoming an astronomer, he suggests she "study something more conducive to your own happiness, like domestic sciences." 

This only intensifies the conflict within Elizabeth. "I want Denver, with the coming eclipse and its accompanying talk of ideas. I want the entire universe, the stars in the sky. If the glory of God is intelligence, if God is both wise and good, can't I serve God as well by learning as by serving others?"

Elizabeth's sister, Rebekka encourages her to see the eclipse in order to determine what her path in life is to be. "I think of the telescope, back in Rawlins, how a smudge sprang into clusters of light under the right focus. Maybe my own conflict is like that smudge - the effect of asking the wrong question, of choosing the wrong focus. Maybe I'm not meant to be a wife and mother, to be my mother. Maybe I am meant to study the stars instead."

It is Elizabeth's exposure to the debate about the incompatibility between science and religion that ultimately helps her determine her own path. In a discussion on this topic during tea at Dr. Avery's home, Maria Mitchell states, "We cannot have science held back by religious tradition..." while Miss Culbertson, a student of Miss Mitchell who aspires to be a doctor, tells the women "..But that's just what Mr. John Draper argues in his book, that as scientific discovery continues to progress, it will grow more and more estranged from organized religion. Ultimately the two are not compatible." This stuns Elizabeth who begins to wonder if her mother's advice, that her interest in science will drive her away from God, is correct. So when pressed if she is Mormon, Elizabeth doesn't profess to being one and in pursuit of her goals, she also lies about her experience with telescopes.

Unfortunately, this interesting scene in the novel digresses into a discussion about Mormon polygamy. It's the one drawback of this novel, it forces the reader to contend with too many issues at once; discrimination of Mormons in the late 1800's, the issue of polygamy, women and science, the right of women to obtain an education and choose a career outside the home, the parallel efforts of black feminism, and Elizabeth's own personal, internal conflict. There is also several allusions to same sex attraction with Hyrum's situation and that of Miss Culbertson. While all of them are nested together, it makes for a daunting challenge to readers.

Elizabeth is eventually confronted by her new friend Alice over her intellectual and personal dishonesty, and even by Miss Mitchell who doubts her resolve, telling her that women who do not do good scientific work will hold back other women.Miss Culbertson believes that Elizabeth being a Mormon could adversely affect Miss Mitchell's work and asks her to consider both her faith and her involvement in Mitchell's work. Ultimately Elizabeth finds another path to viewing and working on the eclipse. After the eclipse, the climax of the novel, Elizabeth has a moment of clarity in which she decides she can live her life as both a Mormon and a scientist, in marriage and with work. 

"For so long I have seen my life as a question of faith or science, as though choosing one meant abandoning the other...Maybe I have been looking at everything  wrong, seeing "or" where I should have seen "and". When I watched the eclipse today, I wasn't a woman of faith or a woman of science. I was both."

The character of Elizabeth is presented in a realistic way in a historical era that is portrayed authentically. Many readers will be attracted to the theme of a young woman who wants to be a scientist in a world not yet ready for such a possibility. However, others may find the novel tries too hard to incorporate too many themes in an attempt to be diverse and relevant.

Rosalyn Eves is a Mormon so she knows the history of her religion well. The subject matter is dear to her and that is evident in her writing. The main character was inspired by the real life Elizabeth Bertelsen, the author's great-great-grandmother, who was eighteen years-old in 1878. In an extensive Author's Note at the back, she provides a great deal of background information on Mormons and the American West, Race in the American West, notes on various historical characters who are included in the novel, and Changes to the Historical Timeline. It should also be noted that there really was a solar eclipse on July 29, 1878.

Book Details:

Beyond the Mapped Stars by Rosalyn Eves
New York: Alfred A. Knopf     2021
367 pp.