The Whistling Season

Rose is a beautiful, petite young woman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who takes a job as a housekeeper with the Milliron family in Marias Coulee, Montana. From the moment of her arrival, Rose gently, but with complete self-assurance, takes charge of the home. None of the males possess the ability to dissuade her from any of her intentions, which are largely benevolent and bring about needed changes in the household. She proves a pleasant, soothing transformative addition.

As she cleans the house and restores domesticity to the Millirons, she also provides for her brother, Morrie, and raises her own station in life by buying the homestead of deceased Aunt Eunice, and, finally marrying Oliver. She not only cleans the family home but also brings order to the schoolhouse and teacherage, whistling as she does so. In so doing, she physically and metaphorically creates a place for herself, bringing about the destiny that she envisions for herself. At the same time, Rose remains secretive about her previous life. An accidental slip of the tongue in the presence of the older Milliron boys, however, results in the revelation of Rose’s problematic history. Her first husband was the boxer Casper Llewellyn, murdered by gamblers after throwing a fight in which he bet on his opponent.

Morrie, as Rose and the Milliron family call him, arrives unannounced with his “sister” Rose. A loquacious, handsome young man with a large mustache, Morrie presents himself as a former leather goods dealer. He says he was in business with Rose’s husband, his brother-in-law, before the business suddenly floundered. Genial and well-educated, Morrie soon finds himself in charge of the Marias Coulee school. Though he has never taught school before, he captivates the students and positively transforms the school.

Morrie is unpredictable and continually surprises Paul and the other characters. Morrie deals with a multitude of challenges with confidence and creativity. His shepherding of the school through an inspection by the state board of public instruction spares the establishment from dissolution. Morrie’s unexpected nature continues through the conclusion of the narrative when Paul discovers his name is actually Morgan Llewellyn and that he is the brother and fight manager of Casper, Rose’s deceased husband.

Oliver Milliron is a widowed homesteader in Montana and the father of three sons. A former Wisconsin drayman, he farms his own and others’ land and participates in the construction of the Big Ditch irrigation project. Oliver adores his children. He has high expectations for them, particularly for Paul, upon whom he lavishes responsibility and praise. He is a sentimental person who still grieves the loss of his wife, sometimes working to hold his tears at bay. When he reveals his underlying emotions, as upon the occasion of explaining to Paul his anxiety about the backward horse race, he scarcely contains his emotions.

Doig describes Oliver as a dreamer, tall, dark-headed, and physically powerful. He is an articulate person, prone to using flowery language, so much so that Paul describes Oliver’s first encounter with Morrie as Oliver meeting himself. He is an articulate, well-read individual who serves as the president of the local school board. Marias Coulee citizens regard Oliver as a pillar of the community. Oliver perceives himself as a peacemaker, an individual who strives to maintain tranquility and propriety. Thus, the presence of the attractive, single Rose in his home results in community gossip that he shrugs off, though it troubles him that his sons hear suspicious remarks about the situation from their schoolmates.

One year younger than Paul is Damon, the middle child, who is a sixth grader. Damon has already attained his older brother’s height and is physically his equal. Damon is perceptive and intelligent, though he is far more interested in athletics. He gathers all his father’s newspapers to make scrapbooks of football, baseball, and boxing. Damon enjoys roughhousing and has a reputation for looking for a reason to have fistfights. He does a good job, however, of keeping his passions in check. When Paul angrily punches the hulking Eddie, Damon separates them and calms his brother. Knowing that Paul cannot stand up to Eddie in a fight, Damon calmly negotiates a bragging rights contest that seems to favor Eddie, knowing that Paul will easily prevail.

Damon and Paul, while quite different constitutionally, are firmly bonded and accepting of one another. When Damon’s spontaneous rejoicing of Paul’s exploits results in Paul receiving a spanking from Oliver, Damon apologizes and lies in bed crying. The brothers share the same bed, resulting in Damon sleeping on one edge because Paul’s bad dreams cause him to thrash wildly.

The youngest of the Millirons is Toby, an exuberant, unfiltered seven-year-old second grader. The author depicts him as an innocent, loveable boy full of energy and awkward questions. Toby is the only member of the family born in Montana. His serious injury, resulting from a draft horse stepping on his foot, draws Rose into the Milliron house to act as his nurse, which further cements the position of Rose in the lives of the family. As he recovers, Toby wants out of his bedroom and the house so desperately that he tests the patience and affection of everyone except Rose. Before her death, Aunt Eunice favored Toby, who was the only Milliron who liked her.