A fine example of one of Beattie's strong and loving characters is Mrs. Brikel in the novella "Windy Day at the Reservoir." In a nineteenth-century novel, she would be a heroine. She has raised a retarded child on her own but does not consider herself either heroic or a candidate for martyrdom.

She has not been a perfect mother, especially in the early years when Royce was very young and wild. Yet she has kept him at home, raising him as best she can until his fateful death at the Reservoir. She is a character in whom other characters confide because they trust her. In an unguarded moment, she asks another character why people confide in her, thinking she has won their trust because raising Royce might give her a sort of guru appeal.

The character, Chap, quickly agrees, and then realizes he has diminished her. With Mrs...