Song of Hiawatha Family Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Line)

Quote #1

For himself he kept the West-Wind,
Gave the others to his children (2.87-88)

Mudjekeewis might be a selfish jerk, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to share. When he takes control of the Four Winds, he only keeps one for himself and gives the others to his three sons. Then again, this might all be about his ego anyway, because he might think of his sons as extensions of himself.

Quote #2

Wooed her with his soft caresses,
Till she bore a son in sorrow,
Bore a son of love and sorrow (3.54-56)

Wenonah gives in to Mudjekeewis' seductions and eventually gives birth to Hiawatha. But why does this happen "in sorrow"? It's because Mudjekeewis abandons her and she dies of heartbreak shortly after. How's that for a good dad?

Quote #3

For her daughter, long and loudly
Wailed and wept the sad Nokomis (3.65-66)

Nokomis mourns the death of her daughter, mostly because she (Nokomis) warned Wenonah many times not to get involved with Mudjekeewis. But it's the same sad story. A mother tells her daughter not to go for a certain guy, and of course the daughter will be even more attracted to that guy than she was before.