The Story of my Life - Chapter Wise short Summary

Chapter 1

Helens 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 everyones attention
piping out words like How dye and tea.

Helen suffers an illness that leaves her deaf and blind

In February, 1882, at the age of nineteen months, Helen fell ill with an acute congestion of the stomach
and brain, which could possibly have been scarlet fever or meningitis. This illness left her deaf and blind.
Later on, her spirit was liberated from the world of silence and darkness by her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

Chapter 2

Helens initial attempts to communicate

After her sickness, Helen started using crude signs to communicate with others. A shake of the head
meant No and a nod Yes, a pull meant Come and a push, Go. 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 misbehavior but did not try to change it.

Companionship with Martha Washington and Belle

Martha Washington was a little coloured girl who understood Helens signs. She was the cooks
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 others hair. Helen cut Marthas hair and Martha cut off a curl of Helens. Martha
would have cut them all if it werent for Helens mothers timely intervention.

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 little vine-covered house to a
large new one.

The loving relationship between Helen and her father

Helens 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 Helens reiteration of these stories. Her
fathers death in the summer of 1896 was Helens first great sorrow-- [her] first personal experience
with death.

Helens 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 Nancys cradle in which her sister was sleeping. Fortunately, their mothers
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.

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.

Helens mothers hope was aroused by an account she read in Dickenss American Notes 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 Helens
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
punching machine 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 Helens education at Baltimore

At Baltimore, Dr. Chisholm said that there was nothing he could do about Helens sight. However, he
advised Helens 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 Helens 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, from isolation to friendship,
companionship, knowledge and love.
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.

Chapter 4

The most important day of Helens 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 Helens 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 D-O-L-L on Helens 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
M-U-G and W-A-T-E-R, 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 Helens hand under a spout of water.
As the cool stream gushed over Helens hand, Miss Sullivan spelled the word water on the other. Then
Helen realized that water meant that cool something that was flowing over [her] hand. She
experienced the joy of gaining knowledge. When she returned to the house, she was eager to learn
since every name gave birth to a new thought.

That day Helen learnt several new words, including father, mother and teacher. This eventful day
left her very happy and excited. She waited eagerly for the upcoming new day.
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 crouched down in the fork of the tree. 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 wages open war against her children

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 Mimosa tree 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 little seat and felt like a fairy sitting on a rose cloud.
Chapter 6

With the acquisition of words, Helen turns more inquisitive

Gradually, Helens 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, I love Helen. 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 show 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 think on her hand. Helen suddenly realized that the word
is the name of the process going on in her mind. This was Helens first conscious awareness of an
abstract idea. Finally, her teacher explained to her that, you cannot touch love either; but you feel the
sweetness that love pours into everything.

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.
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, doll, is, on, bed, 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 Reading for Beginners.

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. Helens favourite walk was to the Kellers 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 raised maps in clay 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 orange stick representations.

Miss Sullivan taught Helen arithmetic, botany and zoology with the same leisurely approach.

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
antediluvian world 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 bits of knowledge that one gathers into pearls of thought.

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 glass globe 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

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 half spelled words and
incomplete sentences 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.

Helens new pet: Tim:

Helen woke up to a large number of gifts. She was most pleased by her teachers gift: a canary bird.

Helen named the little bird as Tim and Miss Sullivan taught her to take proper care of it. Tim was a
friendly bird who clenched to Helens 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 birds bath, she felt a pussy cat pass by
her. Soon she realized what happened: she would not be able to see it again.

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 restless 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, Helens 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 formless heap of cotton and could only be recognized by Helen by her two bead
eyes.

Helens 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.

Helens 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.

Helens maiden ocean voyage: trip to Plymouth:

The next day, they went to Plymouth by water. It was Helens 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
1620 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 Quakers.

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 The City of Kind Hearts.

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.

Helens 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 ecstasy 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, Who put salt in water?

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 Helens 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.

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 rough camp 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 savoury odour 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.

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 were out looking for them.

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 white marble. The roads and paths were all covered
with snow. Helen could scarcely feel the earth below her feet.

The favorite amusement during winters: tobogganing

Helens 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.

Chapter 13
Helens urge to speak

With the loss of the ability to hear, Helens 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 sweet-natured lady who started tutoring Helen on the 26th of March, 1890.
Miss Fuller passed Helens 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. It is
warm 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 Sullivans help.

Helen learns to speak with Miss Sullivans assistance

Miss Sullivan dragged Helens attention to the mispronounced words. 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: Helens 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 big silence.

Chapter 14

Helens 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 late foliage 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 The
Frost king. 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 medium of others eyes
or ears.

The Frost King 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 Perkins Institution reports.

Helens happiness gets crushed in Boston

During her short stay in Boston, Helen was astonished to discover that her story The Frost King was
similar to The Frost Fairies written by Miss Margaret T. Canby. This story had appeared in the book,
Birdie and His Friends, which was published even before Helen's birth. The fact that the language of
the two stories was alike confirmed that Miss Canbys story had been read to her and that hers was a
plagiarism. 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 The Frost Fairies 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 dreadful
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.

The problem in the composition of The Frost King acknowledged

Miss Sullivan had never heard The Frost Fairies, 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 Canbys 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 playing with
words again for a long time fearing that she would repeat her mistake again. Miss Sullivans
encouragement, however, helped her to continue writing in future.

Helens early compositions

Helen recognized herself as a part of the process of learning by assimilation and imitation 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 poetical essence in her ideas.
Helen was happy that even though the works resembled a crazy patchwork comprising of her own
thoughts and others, they proved her ability to express of her admiration for beautiful objects in clear
and animated language.

Effects of The Frost King incident in the later life of Helen

The good part of the tragic experience of The Frost King was that Helen started thinking about the
problems of composition.

After the publication of The Story of My Life in the Ladies Home Journal, Mr. Anagnos, in a letter to
Macy, stated his views supporting Helen in the matter of the Frost King. He also stated that he had
cast his vote in favour of Helen in the court of investigation.

Helen remarks the Frost King 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.