What Can She Do?

In Short

After their father’s death and financial ruin, three spoiled New York sisters are thrust into sudden poverty and forced to relocate to a modest country home in Pushton. Raised without practical skills or moral grounding, they struggle to cope with the harsh realities of earning a living. The eldest sister, Laura, retreats into passive apathy; the youngest, Zell, falls prey to a predatory suitor; and the resilient middle sister, Edith, takes charge of the household. The novel has endured as an earnest Victorian cautionary tale about the perils of raising women without practical education, spiritual fortitude, or self-reliance.

The Story

The plot centers on the Allen family, wealthy New Yorkers accustomed to lavish living and high-society ambitions. Mrs. Allen and her eldest daughter, Laura, prioritize social status and wealthy marriages, while seventeen-year-old Zell gives free rein to her vanity and impulsiveness. Edith, though quiet, possesses a sharp mind and keen powers of observation. When Mr. Allen dies suddenly after losing his fortune in Wall Street speculation, his family is left virtually penniless. Creditors seize their grand mansion, leaving them with only a small, cheap country cottage in Pushton, New York, which Mr. Allen had once casually given to Edith as a birthday gift.

Accompanied only by their devoted old black servant, Hannibal, who refuses to abandon them, the family retreats to the country on a dreary April day. The transition is harrowing. Mrs. Allen and Laura remain frozen in pride and helpless apathy, viewing manual work as a disgrace, while Zell harbors desperate hopes of escaping through her wealthy, manipulative suitor, Mr. Van Dam. Edith alone steps up to shoulder the burden of their survival. Encountering local hostility and facing an overdrawn bank account, Edith attempts to settle their mounting debts by selling off her remaining jewelry in the city.

Disaster strikes when Zell, unable to endure the privations of poverty, succumbs to Van Dam’s false promises of marriage and flees to New York, only to be lured into moral ruin. Meanwhile, Edith reaches the end of her physical and emotional endurance. Sick and overwhelmed by impending starvation, she turns in deep desperation to the Gospels. Reading the life of Christ with fresh eyes, she experiences a profound spiritual awakening, finding faith, strength, and inner peace.

Armed with new spiritual resolve and practical determination, Edith transforms their small property into a life-sustaining haven. She works the land herself, cultivating small fruits and strawberries with Hannibal's loyal help. Through her quiet integrity, she softens the hostile opinions of the local villagers and earns the deep affection of Arden Lacey, a brooding neighbor burdened by a drunken father. Edith’s influence gradually redeems Arden, turning him into an industrious, faith-filled partner. Though Zell returns to them broken and frail, she finds spiritual forgiveness and peace on her deathbed before passing away. Ultimately, Edith’s indefatigable labor and faith rescue her remaining family from ruin, leading to her marriage to Arden in her beloved garden.

How It Unfolds

The illusion of prosperity The Allen family enjoys a life of luxurious ease in their New York mansion, hosting expensive gatherings while ignoring the moral and financial decay beneath their feet. Mrs. Allen schemes to marry off Laura to the wealthy Mr. Goulden, while Zell flirts recklessly with the cynical, predatory Mr. Van Dam.

Exile to the country Following Mr. Allen’s sudden death and financial collapse, creditors strip the family of everything, forcing them to move to a small cottage in Pushton. Edith leads the gloomy exodus alongside old Hannibal, while her mother and sisters remain paralyzed by vanity and pride.

Struggles and betrayal As debts accumulate and the bank account is overdrawn, Edith desperately tries to manage the household while her mother clings to social pretenses. Zell, unwilling to face poverty, secretly writes to Van Dam and runs away to the city under the delusion that he will marry her.

A transformative revelation Recovering from illness and bearing the sole weight of her family’s survival, Edith reads the New Testament and finds a comforting, personal faith in Christ. This spiritual rebirth gives her the courage to work the land and face their bleak circumstances with hope.

Harvest and redemption Edith turns her small orchard and garden into a thriving source of income, earning the respect of the local community and inspiring her neighbor Arden Lacey to reform his life. Surrounded by family and loyal friends, Edith sees her hard work rewarded and marries Arden in her garden.

The People

• Edith Allen: The courageous middle daughter who emerges as the backbone of the family. Initially relying on pride, she undergoes a deep spiritual conversion that fuels her relentless work ethic, leading her to successfully cultivate the land and win Arden's heart.
• Mrs. Allen: The haughty mother whose life revolves around social appearances and French modistes. Incapable of adjusting to poverty, her rigid pride and refusal to let her daughters work only exacerbate their financial ruin.
• Zell Allen: The brilliant, impulsive youngest sister whose vanity makes her vulnerable to evil. Lacking self-control and moral training, she succumbs to Van Dam's deceptive advances, leading to her tragic downfall and early death.
• Laura Allen: The eldest daughter, defined by stately pride and selfishness. After the family's ruin, she sinks into helpless apathy, relying entirely on Edith for shelter and care.
• Arden Lacey: A bitter, cynical young neighbor burdened by poverty and a drunken father. Edith’s practical goodness and faith inspire him to overcome his resentment, become a successful fruit grower, and win her love.
• Hannibal: The faithful, gray-haired family servant who refuses to desert the Allens in their poverty. He works tirelessly alongside Edith out of pure love, serving as a pillar of unwavering loyalty.

In Its Own Voice

"The ordinary avenues of industry are growing thronged, and it daily involves a more fearful risk for a woman to be thrown out upon the world with unskilled hands, an untrained mind, and an unbraced moral nature."

The author sets forth the explicit moral purpose of the work in his introductory remarks on the perils facing women in a changing society.

"'What do you mean,' cried Zell, dragging under the gaslight her cavalier, who assumed much penitence and fear, 'by thus rudely and abruptly breaking in upon the retirement of three secluded young ladies?'"

Zell playfully addresses her suitors during an evening of high-society entertainment in their New York home before their ruin.

"'My heart is all ole Hannibal has left, if 'tis black, and if you send me away you break it. I'd a heap rader stay here in Bushtown and starve to death wid you alls, dan live in de grandest house on de avenue.'"

Hannibal tearfully begs Edith to let him remain with the impoverished family rather than seek paid work elsewhere.

What It's Really About

The novel is an explicit critique of nineteenth-century social conventions that raise upper-class women as ornamental, helpless creatures. Roe argues that sheltering young women from practical labor and moral discipline leaves them utterly defenseless against economic disaster and moral temptation. The plot contrasts the emptiness of fashionable society—where men prey upon vulnerable women and wealth masks spiritual bankruptcy—with the dignity of honest, physical labor. Beneath its domestic narrative lies a firm theological argument for personal redemption: true strength and self-reliance do not stem from social status or inherent superiority, but from an active Christian faith that transforms character and empowers individuals to overcome the harshest adversities.

Why Read It Today

This work offers a fascinating, unvarnished look at Victorian social anxieties surrounding female independence, labor, and economic instability. Modern readers will find a compelling historical document that addresses real socio-economic hazards of the 19th century—specifically the brutal consequences of financial ruin on uneducated women and the systemic wage inequality faced by female workers in large cities.

The reading experience is characterized by earnest, didactic prose, dramatic moral stakes, and sharp contrasts between corrupt urban luxury and wholesome rural labor. Readers should be prepared for period-specific elements that may prove challenging: lengthy theological reflections, didactic commentary directly from the author, and heavy, phonetic representations of dialect in the dialogue of working-class and Black characters.

Despite these archaic features, the book remains a deeply sympathetic story of resilience. Edith’s determination to dig into the dirt, cultivate strawberries, and physically work her way out of poverty gives the narrative a grounded, satisfying grit. Anyone interested in 19th-century domestic fiction, the history of women's work, or moral melodramas will appreciate its warm heart and resolute focus on practical self-reliance.