3. CHAPTER 1
Helenâs apprehension before writing her autobiography
Helen felt a kind of hesitation before she set on the task of penning down her autobiography and, thus,
reveal the story of her life. In addition, the task itself was a difficult one for Helen: looking back, she could
hardly distinguish between the facts and the fancies across the years. Furthermore, in the process of
learning new things, she had forgotten many important incidents and experiences of her childhood.
Birth of Helen
Helen Adams Keller was born on a plantation called Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880. She
was the eldest daughter of Captain Arthur H. Keller, a former officer of the Confederate Army, and Kate
Adams. Helen was named after her grandmother, Helen Everett. Even as an infant, she showed signs of
eagerness and independence. By the age of six months, Helen attracted everyoneâs attention piping out
words like âHow dâyeâ and âteaâ.
Helen suffers an illness that leaves her deaf and blind
In February, 1882, at the age of nineteen months, Helen fell ill with âan acute congestion of the
stomach and brainâ, which could possibly have been scarlet fever or meningitis. This illness left her
deaf and blind. Later on, her spirit was liberated from the âworld of silence and darknessâ by her
teacher, Anne Sullivan.
4. CHAPTER 2
Helenâs initial attempts to communicate
After her sickness, Helen started using âcrude signsâ to communicate with others. A shake of the head meant âNoâ and a nod âYesâ, a pull
meant âComeâ and a push, âGoâ. If she wanted anything, she would imitate the relevant action. Her mother encouraged her by involving her
in the household activities. This made Helen more observant of the actions performed by the people around her.
Observing herself as different from others
Helen started to observe that unlike her, other people did not use signs for communication but talked with their mouths. She realized that
she was different from others. She attempted to copy them but in vain. At times, she released her frustration on her nurse, Elisa, by kicking
and screaming at her until she felt exhausted. She regretted her misbehaviour but did not try to change it.
Companionship with Martha Washington and Belle
Martha Washington was a little coloured girl who understood Helenâs signs. She was the cookâs daughter. Martha submissively
obeyed Helen, who in turn enjoyed domineering over her. Both the girls spent a lot of time in the kitchen, kneading dough balls,
grinding coffee, quarrelling over the cake bowl.
Helen enjoyed feeding the hens and turkeys, and feeling them as they ate from her hands. She also loved to hunt for guinea-fowl
eggs in the long grass. Even though Helen could not understand Christmas per se, she enjoyed the preparations leading to that
occasion.
One July afternoon, when Helen and Martha were bored of cutting paper dolls, they came up with the idea of cutting each otherâs
hair. Helen cut Marthaâs hair and Martha cut off a curl of Helenâs. Martha would have cut them all if it werenât for Helenâs motherâs
timely intervention.
5. CHAPTER 2 CONTD.
Belle was a lazy old dog and a companion of Helen. Despite of her attempts, it was inattentive to her signs and gestures. As a result, Helen would get frustrated and go
looking for Martha.
Helen is saved by the nurse from getting burnt
Once, while drying her wet apron in front of the hearth, Helen ended up going too close to the fire. Her clothes caught fire. Fortunately, she was saved by the nurse, Viny,
who threw a blanket around her to extinguish the fire. Except for her hands and hair, she was not badly burnt.
Discovering the use of a key: used as a tool for mischief
About that time, Helen found out the use of a key. The mischievous Helen played a prank on her mother by locking her in the pantry. After Miss Sullivan arrived to teach her,
she played the same prank on her. Helen locked her teacher in her room and refused to reveal the hidden key. Eventually, her father had to intervene and take Miss Sullivan
out of the room through the window.
When Helen was around five years old, the Keller family moved from the âlittle vine-covered houseâ to a large new one.
The loving relationship between Helen and her father
Helenâs father was loving and indulgent. Helen was fond of the stories her father narrated to her by forming spellings on her hand. Her father in turn enjoyed Helenâs
reiteration of these stories. Her fatherâs death in the summer of 1896 was Helenâs âfirst great sorrow-- [her] first personal experience with death.â
Helenâs relationship with her baby sister
Initially, Helen viewed her younger sister, Mildred, as an intruder. She felt that her sister got all the attention from her mother. Helen vented her frustration and showed her
affection on her doll, Nancy. Once Helen overturned Nancyâs cradle in which her sister was sleeping. Fortunately, their motherâs timely arrival saved Mildred. Later,
however, the love between the hearts of the two sisters prospered despite the fact that neither of them understood the language of the other.
6. CHAPTER 3
The need for a better means of communication
Gradually, the few signs that were used by Helen to communicate became inadequate. Failure to get across her thoughts led to fits of
anger and frustration in Helen. She felt miserable. As a result, it became imperative for her parents to find a teacher or a school for
Helen so that she could learn a better means of communication.
Helenâs motherâs hope was aroused by an account she read in Dickensâs âAmerican Notesâ about the education of Laura Bridgeman, a
deaf and blind student, by Dr. Howe. Unfortunately, his methods had possibly died with him. Besides, it would not be easy to find a
teacher who would come to their distant town in Alabama to teach Helen.
The train journey to Baltimore
Helen was six when her father decided to consult an oculist in Baltimore for the treatment of Helenâs sight. Helen enjoyed the new
experiences during her trip. She was happy to receive a box of shells from a lady and a doll made out of towels from her aunt during
the journey. She also played with the âpunching machineâ of the conductor. In fact, she did not experience any fits of temper during her
journey as there were so many things to keep her mind and hands busy.
Exploring the possibilities of Helenâs education at Baltimore
At Baltimore, Dr. Chisholm said that there was nothing he could do about Helenâs sight. However, he advised Helenâs father to consult
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell of Washington, who would be able to guide them in regards to the education of Helen.
Meeting Dr. Bell was a great experience for Helen. He understood Helenâs signs, which made her happy. This meeting was the
beginning of a long friendship between Dr. Bell and Helen. Helen later recalled this interview as the foundation of her journey from
darkness to light, âfrom isolation to friendship, companionship, knowledge and love.â
Dr. Bell advised Mr. Keller to write to Dr. Anagnos, the director of the Perkins Institute in Boston. Her father wrote to him without any
delay and got a reply in positive. Finally, in the March of 1887, Miss Sullivan arrived at the Keller house.
7. CHAPTER 4
The most important day of Helenâs life
Miss Anne Mansfield Sullivan arrived at the house of the Keller family on the third of March,
1887. This was the day from which Helenâs life started to transform; the ailing spirit of Helen
could only find solace by the knowledge delivered by Miss Sullivan.
Beginning of the journey of knowledge with Miss Ann Sullivan
Miss Sullivan gave Helen a doll, which was a present from the little blind students of the
Perkins Institute and was dressed by Laura Bridgeman. Miss Sullivan spelled the word âD-O-L-Lâ
on Helenâs hands. Helen managed to imitate the movements of her fingers even though she
was not aware of the fact that Miss Sullivan was trying to teach her the name of the thing. It
took several weeks for Helen to realize that everything has a name. Miss Sullivan tried to
teach the names of several other objects to Helen, such as âM-U-Gâ and âW-A-T-E-Râ, but
Helen was annoyed at the repeated attempts of her teacher and she broke her doll on the
floor.
One day, when they were walking in the garden, Miss Sullivan put Helenâs hand under a spout
of water. As the cool stream gushed over Helenâs hand, Miss Sullivan spelled the word âwaterâ
on the other. Then Helen realized that âwaterâ meant that âcool something that was flowing
over [her] handâ. She experienced the joy of gaining knowledge. When she returned to the
house, she was eager to learn since âevery name gave birth to a new thoughtâ. That day Helen
learnt several new words, including âfatherâ, âmotherâ and âteacherâ. This eventful day left
her very happy and excited. She waited eagerly for the upcoming new day.
8. R CHAPTER 5
Helen could experience new joy as she learned the names of the objects and their uses. This made her
more confident and familiar with the outside world.
Learning lessons in the lap of nature
Helen had many new experiences during her summer trip to the banks of the Tennessee River with Miss
Sullivan. There, sitting on the warm grass, Helen learned lessons from her teacher. She got to know how
birds make their nests; how trees grow with the help of the sun and the rain; how animals find food for
themselves, etc. She became more sensitive to nature and rejoiced the company of the world about
which she was now more informed.
Helen learns that nature is not always kind
One day Miss Sullivan helped Helen to climb up a tree. It was a pleasant sunny afternoon and they
decided to have their luncheon there. Miss Sullivan left to fetch the food, with Helen sitting on a tree
alone. Suddenly the weather became dark and stormy. Helen was terrified and felt alienated from the
world. Helen longed for the return of her teacher and above all to get down from the tree. Too scared to
jump, she âcrouched down in the fork of the treeâ. Just as she thought she would fall along with the tree,
her teacher rescued her. Helen felt relieved to reach the ground safely. This experience taught her that
nature is not always kind, that nature âwages open war against her childrenâŠâ
Rejoicing independence and a new bond with nature
Helen continued to be terrified of climbing a tree for a long time. One day, however, she was lured to
climb a âMimosa treeâ by its beautiful fragrance. She did experience some difficulty in holding on to the
large branches but the pleasure of attempting something new and wonderful kept her going. Finally,
she sat down on a âlittle seatâ and felt like a âfairy sitting on a rose cloudâ.
9. CHAPTER 6
With the acquisition of words, Helen turns more inquisitive
Gradually, Helenâs knowledge grew in terms of vocabulary and subsequently, her area of inquiry
broadened. She returned to the same subject repeatedly, eager for more and more information.
Challenges in understanding abstract ideas
One day Helen brought a bunch of violets for her teacher. Miss Sullivan put her arm around Helen to show
her affection and spelled into her hand, âI love Helenâ. But Helen failed to understand the meaning as she
tried associating it with a thing and not with an emotion or an abstract idea. She was disappointed by the
fact that her teacher could not âshowâ her what love meant.
The first conception of an abstract idea
A couple of days later, when Helen was stringing beads of different sizes, her teacher kept on pointing out
mistakes to her. Helen was trying to think about the correct arrangement when Miss Sullivan touched her
forehead and spelled the word âthinkâ on her hand. Helen suddenly realized that the word is the name of
the process going on in her mind. This was Helenâs first conscious awareness of an abstract idea. Finally,
her teacher explained to her that, âyou cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that love pours
into everything.â
The tedious process of learning for a deaf and blind child like Helen
Miss Sullivan encouraged Helen to talk to her. She supplied her with several words and idioms by spelling
them on her hand. It was a long and tedious process that continued for several years. This was because
Helen could neither distinguish between the different tonalities of the speaker nor look at his expressions.
10. CHAPTER 7
Learning to read
The next important lesson for Helen was learning how to read. Once Helen had managed to spell a few
words, her teacher gave her slips of cardboard with raised letters printed on them. Helen promptly
learned that each printed word stood for an object, an act, or a quality. She was given the slips of paper,
which represented, for example, âdollâ, âisâ, âonâ, âbedâ, and each name was placed on the relevant object.
Her doll was put on the bed with words is, on, bed arranged beside the doll, thus making a sentence out
of it.
From the printed slips Helen moved on to read printed books. Helen enjoyed hunting for the words she
knew in her book âReading for Beginnersâ.
Learning lessons out of doors and through illustrations
Miss Sullivan taught Helen with the help of illustrations through beautiful story or a poem. In this way, she
made each difficult lesson easy to learn.
The early lessons were carried out in the sunlit woods. Among other places that Helen often visited were
the garden and the orchard. Helenâs favourite walk was to the Kellerâs Landing, an old wharf on the
Tennessee River. There she was also given geography lessons in a playful manner without any exhaustion
or feeling of being taught lessons. Helen built dams with pebbles, made islands and lakes, and dug river-
beds. Miss Sullivan built âraised maps in clayâ on a sheet so that Helen could feel the mountains, ridges
and valleys by following her fingers. She illustrated the division of earth into different zones with the help
of illustrative strings and âorange stickâ representations.
Miss Sullivan taught Helen arithmetic, botany and zoology with the same leisurely approach.
11. CHAPTER 7 CONTD.
Learning in the form of stories that were based on the gifts received by Helen
A collection of fossils was once gifted to Helen by a gentleman. These served as a key to the
âantediluvian worldâ on which Miss Sullivan narrated dreadful tales about various beasts and devils
with unpronounceable names.
Another time, a beautiful shell was gifted to Helen, and it helped her to learn about the habitat of the
marine animals. She associated the shell building process with the working of the mind. Just as the
Nautilus changes the material it absorbs from water and makes it a part of itself, similarly, the mind
converts the âbits of knowledgeâ that one gathers into âpearls of thoughtâ.
Lessons of science from life itself
Miss Sullivan picked up illustrations for her lessons from life itself. She taught the growth of a plant by
making observations on a growing lily plant kept on the window. Helen learnt about the behaviour of
animals by feeling the tadpoles in a âglass globeâ and monitoring their growth.
Teaching skills of Miss Sullivan
Miss Sullivan was a teacher with great teaching skills: she was sympathetic and loving. She could seize
the right moment for delivering knowledge to Helen, which made learning experience pleasant. Helen
developed such closeness with her teacher that she hardly thought herself distant from her. She
acknowledges her teacher for all the good in her and as a source of aspiration to gain knowledge
12. CHAPTER 8
Preparing for Christmas celebration
Helen eagerly waited for the first Christmas after the arrival of Miss Sullivan. Everyone in the house
was planning surprises for Helen and she, in turn, was preparing surprises for them with the help of
her teacher. Her friends incited her excitement by throwing hints at her with âhalf spelled wordsâ and
âincomplete sentencesâ which were both amusements and language lessons for her. Meanwhile, Miss
Sullivan and Helen played the guessing game every evening to help her learn the use of language.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, Helen was invited to a school in Tuscumbia. She felt excited in the presence of a
beautiful Christmas tree standing in the centre of the room. She was delighted when asked to
distribute presents among the school children. She received her gifts as well. However, she was not
satisfied with these and wanted those gifts that were being planned by her family and friends. Later,
she waited eagerly for the morning to discover her Christmas presents from Santa Claus and others.
Helenâs new pet: Tim:
Helen woke up to a large number of gifts. She was most pleased by her teacherâs gift: a canary bird.
Helen named the little bird as âTimâ and Miss Sullivan taught her to take proper care of it. Tim was a
friendly bird who clenched to Helenâs fingertip and loved to eat candied cherries out of her hand.
Helen grew quite fond of Tim, until one fateful day when a cat ate the bird. That day, she had
forgotten to shut the door of the cage and as she was returning with water for the birdâs bath, she felt
a pussy cat pass by her. Soon she realized what happened: she would not be able to see it again.
13. CHAPTER 9
The journey to Boston in May, 1888
In May, 1888, Helen travelled to Boston with Miss Sullivan and her mother. This journey was different from the previous journey to Baltimore as she was no longer a young
ârestlessâ child. Instead, she was now a calm child sitting beside her teacher who was informing her about the views outside the car window: the Tennessee River, cotton
fields, hills, woods and so on.
Helen recalls the tragic end of Nancy, her doll
After their arrival at Boston, Helenâs doll Nancy underwent a sad experience. During the journey, the doll became dirty and hence, the laundress at the Perkins Institution gave
her a bath. Consequently, the doll turned into a âformless heap of cottonâ and could only be recognized by Helen by her âtwo bead eyesâ.
Helenâs friendly arrival at the Perkins Institution for the Blind
Helen could befriend the blind children at the Perkins Institute quite easily. She was delighted to be able to communicate with the blind children in her own language. Besides,
she was happy to be at the same institute where Laura Bridgeman had been taught. She envied the blind children only in one aspect: their ability to hear. Eventually, Helen felt
contended and happy in their company and forgot all her pain.
Helenâs first history lesson at Bunker Hill
While Helen was at Boston, she visited the Bunker Hill. There she had her first history lesson. She was thrilled to imagine that she was standing at the high stairway which was
once used by the soldiers to shoot their enemies.
Helenâs maiden ocean voyage: trip to âPlymouthâ:
The next day, they went to Plymouth by water. It was Helenâs first trip on the ocean and first voyage on a steamboat. On reaching their destination, she felt the curves and cuts
of the Plymouth Rock and the â1620â engraved on it. A gentleman at the Pilgrim Hall museum gave her a small model of the rock. She was familiar with the wonderful stories
about the Pilgrims that visited that rock. She could idealize them for their bravery and zeal to acquire home in an unknown territory. Later on, she was disappointed to know
about their shameful acts of persecuting minority groups like the âQuakersâ.
Close companionship with Mr. William Endicott and his daughter
Among her close friends at Boston were Mr. William Endicott and his daughter. She was delighted by their stroll through their rose-garden of their house at Beverly Farms.
Their dogs, Leo and Fritz, were quite friendly with Helen and the horse, Nimrod, poked his nose in her hand to get a pat.
She also enjoyed playing in the sand near the sea. Mr. Endicott told her about great Europe-bound ships that sailed by from Boston. Helen recounts her whole experience at
Boston as full of pleasure and denotes the city in one phrase as âThe City of Kind Heartsâ.
14.
15. CHAPTER 10
The vacation at Brewster with Mrs. Hopkins
When the Perkins institute closed for the summer, Helen and her teacher went to Brewster, on Cape
Cod, to spend the vacation with a dear friend, Mrs. Hopkins. Helen had read about the sea in her book
Our Worldand was excited to visit it.
Helenâs first encounter with the sea
Once at the sea shore, she hurriedly plunged into the water. She was enjoying the water, when
suddenly her foot struck a rock. Her âecstasyâ changed into fear as she started drowning. She
struggled for a while and finally, the waves threw her back on the shore and she was supported by the
embrace of her teacher. After she recovered from the panic, she innocently asked her teacher, âWho
put salt in water?â
After she had recovered from the incident, Helen enjoyed sitting on a big rock and feeling the dashing
of waves against the rock, sending up a shower of spray. She noticed the movement of the waves and
their affect on the pebbles and the beach.
The horseshoe crab
Miss Sullivan drew Helenâs attention to a sea organism---the horseshoe crab. Helen was so fascinated
by it that she carried the heavy crab all the way to their house. On reaching their home, she carefully
placed it in a trough of water. But to her surprise, it disappeared the next morning. Helen slowly but
surely realized her mistake of separating the crab from his habitat and felt happy thinking that it had
possibly safely travelled to its home.
16. CHAPTER 11
Spending a leisurely autumn at the Fern Quarry
Helen returned to her Southern home in autumn. She felt happy and content
with her experiences in the north. She spent her autumn months with her
family at their summer cottage, Fern Quarry. The cottage was like a ârough
campâ situated on top of a mountain, near a limestone quarry. Helen spent
her time in a leisurely manner at the cottage.
Many visitors came to Fern Quarry. In the evening, men played cards and
talked about their hunting experiences. She woke up in the morning with the
sound of rattling guns and the smell of coffee. All the men went off to hunt
after bidding each other good luck for the season.
Later in the morning, barbecue was prepared. The âsavoury odourâ of meat
made her hungry even before the tables were set. Afterward, the hunting
party also joined the feast of veal and roast pig, following their discussion on
their hunting events during the day.
Helen had a pony and she named it Black Beauty, having just completed the
book. Sometimes, accompanied by her teacher, she rode the pony. At times,
Miss Sullivan would release the rein and the pony would stop at his will to eat
leaves from trees. On other days, they would go for walks in the woods and
return home with armful of laurels, ferns and other beautiful flowers.
Sometimes, she would go on similar trips with her sister and cousins.
17. CHAPTER 11 CONTD.
Adventure with the train at the rail road
At the foot of the mountain there was a railroad and about a
mile distant was a trestle spanning a deep gorge. Helen had
never actually been there until one day when she, along with
her sister and Miss Sullivan, got lost in the woods. They came
across the trestle, which was a short cut to their home. Since
they were lost, they decided to take this way in spite of the
dangers: the ties were wide apart and quite narrow. Feeling
the rails with the toes, Helen moved on the trestle cautiously
but without fear. Suddenly, train was heard coming in from
the other side. They had to climb quickly down upon the
crossbraces while the train passed by. With some difficulty,
they regained the track. When, ultimately, they reached back
home, it had grown quite dark and all the family members
18. CHAPTER 12
Chilly winter at a New England Village
After her first visit to Boston, Helen continued to visit the north every winter. Once
Helen went on a visit to a New England village. This village had frozen lakes and vast
snow fields. It was here that Helen got to experience the snow. She explored the
snow-covered hills and fields that were devoid of any life, the empty nests and the
bare trees.
One day, the advent of a snowstorm made Helen rush out-of-doors to enjoy the first
few descending snowflakes. Gradually, the whole area was covered by snow and the
morning became dark. In the evening, there was a snowstorm. Helen and her teacher
spent their time sitting around the fire and narrating stories. At night, they could hear
the terrifying noise of the wind on the trees around the house and the creaking and
breaking sounds of the rafters. On the third day, the storm was over and sunlight
peeped out from the clouds. It scattered to the different places making everything
shine and glow. The trees were standing still as if statues of âwhite marbleâ. The
roads and paths were all covered with snow. Helen could scarcely feel the earth below
her feet.
The favorite amusement during winters: tobogganing
Helenâs favorite pastime during the winters was tobogganing. Helen enjoyed plunging
through the drifts, leaping hollows, drifting and swooping down upon the lake while
riding on a toboggan.
19. CHAPTER 13
Helenâs urge to speak
With the loss of the ability to hear, Helenâs speech had died down. However, from a
young age, she had an impulse to speak. She tried to feel the noise that she made by
keeping one hand on her throat and the other on her lips, feeling their movements. She
produced sounds not to speak but for the exercise of her vocal chords. There was a
feeling of lack in Helen which needed to be fulfilled. She was not satisfied with the
means of communication she used and desperately wanted to learn to speak.
In 1890, Mrs. Lamson, one of the teachers at the Perkins Institutions, told Helen about a
deaf and blind girl, Ragnhild Kaata who had been taught to speak. Helen resolved that
she will also learn to speak and Mrs. Lamson took her for advice and assistance to Miss
Sarah Fuller, the principal of Horace Mann School.
Speaking lessons from Miss Sarah Fuller
Miss Sarah Fuller was a âsweet-natured ladyâ who started tutoring Helen on the 26th of
March, 1890. Miss Fuller passed Helenâs hand lightly over her face to make her feel her
tongue and lips when she made a sound. Within the first hour itself, Helen learnt six
elements of speech: M, P, A, S, T, I. âIt is warmâ is the first complete sentence that Helen
managed to utter. In total, eleven lessons were given to her by Miss Fuller. The syllables
were broken but, nevertheless, human. She was eager to share her happiness with her
family and to see the joy on their faces. Miss Fuller taught her the elements of the
speech but she was to continue practicing herself with Miss Sullivanâs help.
20. CHAPTER 13 CONTD.
Helen learns to speak with Miss Sullivanâs assistance
Miss Sullivan dragged Helenâs attention to the âmispronounced wordsâ.
Helen had to depend on the vibrations felt by her fingers, the movement
of the mouth and expressions of the face. Discouragement wearied her
efforts initially but as soon as she thought of the joy of her family, she felt
optimistic. Helen gave up the manual alphabet method to develop her
speech even though Miss Sullivan and her friends continued to use it to
communicate with her.
The final moment of joy: Helenâs speech
Finally, the happiest moment arrived. Helen had developed speech and
was eager to return home. As she reached the station and her family heard
her speak, they were overjoyed. Her mother was speechless with delight
and hugged her tightly; Mildred danced in joy clasped her hand and kissed
her; and her father expressed his pride and affection by a âbig silenceâ.
21. CHAPTER 14
Helenâs first attempt to write a composition on her own
During her stay at the Fern Quarry, Miss Sullivan described to her the beauty
of the âlate foliageâ plants. This apparently revived in Helen the memory of a
story that had been read to her in the past. The story had been unconsciously
retained in her mind but she thought that she was making up the story herself.
She eagerly jotted down her ideas before they would slip away from her mind.
The words and images smoothly flowed from her mind and she felt the joy of
composing a story. The story was called âThe Frost kingâ. She did not realize
that the words and images coming to her mind without effort were not her
own. For her, the boundary line between her own ideas and those she
gathered from the books were blurred because most of the impressions came
to her mind through the âmedium of othersâ eyes or earsâ.
âThe Frost Kingâ appreciated by family and friends
After completing the story, she read it to everyone at dinner. Despite some
pronunciation errors, she managed to impress everyone with her story.
However, someone did ask her if she had read the story in a book. Helen did
not have the faintest recollection of the story been read to her and so she
denied it saying that it was her story and she had written it for Mr. Anagnos.
Mr. Anagnos was delighted with her story and published it in one of the
22. CHAPTER 14 CONTD.
Helenâs happiness gets crushed in Boston
During her short stay in Boston, Helen was astonished to discover that her story âThe Frost
Kingâ was similar to âThe Frost Fairiesâ written by Miss Margaret T. Canby. This story had
appeared in the book, âBirdie and His Friendsâ, which was published even before Helen's
birth. The fact that the language of the two stories was alike confirmed that Miss Canbyâs
story had been read to her and that hers was âa plagiarismâ. Her joy changed into grief.
Mr. Anagnos felt deceived. He believed that Helen and Miss Sullivan had deliberately stolen
the thoughts of a great writer to win his appreciation.
Helen at the court of investigation
Helen was brought before a court of investigation where she was examined and cross-
examined by the teachers and officers of the Perkins Institution. The investigators seemed
to force Helen to acknowledge that she remembered âThe Frost Fairiesâ being read to her.
Helen felt heavy at her heart because of the doubts and suspicions from her loved ones.
She could respond to them only in monosyllables. Her consciousness could not be
unburdened by the realization that she had only committed a âdreadfulâ mistake. At last
she was allowed to leave the room. Her friends and family assured her that she was a brave
girl and that they were proud of her. That night, Helen wept pitiably, suffering for her
mistake.
23. CHAPTER 14 CONTD.
The problem in the composition of âThe Frost Kingâ acknowledged
Miss Sullivan had never heard âThe Frost Fairiesâ, let alone read it to Helen. So, with the assistance of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell,
she investigated the matter. At last, it was found out that Miss Canbyâs story had been narrated to Helen by Mrs. Sophia Hopkins
when she had spent a summer with her at Brewster. Even though Helen did not recall hearing the story, it sustained in her
memory.
During this distressing time, Helen received a lot of messages of love and sympathy from her loved ones. She also received a
kind note from Miss Canby herself, encouraging her to write something of her own in future that might help others. This was
comforting to Helen but she was afraid of âplaying with wordsâ again for a long time fearing that she would repeat her mistake
again. Miss Sullivanâs encouragement, however, helped her to continue writing in future.
Helenâs early compositions
Helen recognized herself as a part of the process of learning by âassimilationâ and âimitationâ to put ideas into words. Her early
compositions are mainly assimilation of the descriptions from various forgotten sources. Helen gives an example of the
composition she wrote for Mr. Anagnos about the beauty of the Greek and Italian old cities. Mr. Anagnos appreciated the
âpoetical essenceâ in her ideas. Helen was happy that even though the works resembled a âcrazy patchworkâ comprising of her
own thoughts and othersâ, they proved her ability to express of her admiration for beautiful objects in clear and âanimatedâ
language.
Effects of âThe Frost Kingâ incident in the later life of Helen
The good part of the tragic experience of âThe Frost Kingâ was that Helen started thinking about the problems of composition.
After the publication of âThe Story of My Lifeâ in the âLadiesâ Home Journalâ, Mr. Anagnos, in a letter to Macy, stated his views
supporting Helen in the matter of the âFrost Kingâ. He also stated that he had cast his vote in favour of Helen in the court of
investigation.
Helen remarks the âFrost Kingâ incident as an important one for her education and, therefore, has included it in the chapter
without an attempt to defend herself or laying the blame on anyone else.