A Bird in the House

A Bird in the House is a collection of eight semi-autobiographical short stories written by Margaret Laurence and published in 1970. It is the fourth work in Laurence’s Manawaka cycle and is considered a significant contribution to Canadian literature. Although not a traditional novel, the stories are interconnected and follow the main character, Vanessa MacLeod, as she reflects on her childhood experiences from an adult perspective. Laurence’s collection includes themes such as The Role of Trauma in Behavior and Relationships, The Journey from Childhood Innocence to Adult Awareness, Reconciliation with the Past Through Memory, and The Tyranny of Life.

This study guide is based on the 1970 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. edition of the book.

Content Warning: The source material includes outdated, offensive terms for Indigenous and Japanese people. Additionally, the guide addresses themes of child and animal abuse.

Plot Summary

In this short story collection, Vanessa MacLeod, the narrator, reflects on her childhood memories within her family’s complex dynamics at the “old Connor place” in the fictional town of Manawaka, Manitoba. This collection begins with The Sound of Singing, where Vanessa and her pregnant mother, Beth MacLeod, visit her grandparents at the Brick House. Her grandfather, Timothy Connor—a gruff pioneer and recently retired hardware store owner—expresses discontent about seemingly everything. In contrast, Vanessa’s grandmother, Agnes, shows warmth and affection toward Vanessa; she calls her “pet” and delights in her canary, whom she refers to as “Birdie.”

Beth’s sister, Aunt Edna, resides with the grandparents out of necessity, and Beth struggles with the demands of impending motherhood and household responsibilities amid the Depression. During a family dinner, Grandfather Connor’s brother Dan displays inappropriate behaviors, such as burping and smoking, so Grandfather Connor sends him out of the house. When the family urges Grandfather Connor to reconcile, their lack of approval emotionally pains him.

In To Set Our House in Order, Beth faces precarious childbirth and is hospitalized two weeks before her due date. Vanessa overhears her father Ewen’s phone conversation with Dr. Cates about the baby’s critical position. Due to economic constraints, the MacLeod family has relocated to the old, ornate home of Grandmother MacLeod, who clings to old values and reminisces about past affluence. Her interactions with Vanessa are filled with stern warnings and reflect her detachment from the family’s current struggles.

Vanessa learns that Ewen’s brother, Roderick, died in the Great War, and Ewen feels responsible because his air rifle blinded Roderick before he was drafted. Ewen watched him die and then lied about Roderick’s heroism in death to his mother. Grandmother MacLeod insists that the newborn baby be named after Roderick.

In Mask of the Bear, Grandfather Connor is likened to a bear, as he retreats to the basement—which he calls “the cave”—when Aunt Edna brings men home. The story captures a day when Vanessa stays at the Brick House, contemplating a tragic love story she has written; it is set in ancient Egypt and reflects her fascination with themes of love and death.

An unexpected call from Jimmy Lorimer, an old flame of Edna’s from Winnipeg, leads to dinner at the Brick House. Grandfather Connor criticizes Jimmy’s urban lifestyle and job, straining the evening further. Vanessa overhears a painful exchange about Edna and Jimmy’s past relationship. Jimmy urges her to come to Winnipeg, but Edna politely refuses.

As a result of Grandmother Connor’s declining health, Beth moves in to offer her assistance, and she keeps Vanessa away from her grandmother. One morning, an emotional Grandfather Connor, without his bear pelt, informs Vanessa of Grandmother Connor’s death, crying into her shoulder.

As the family prepares for the funeral, Aunt Edna criticizes Grandfather Connor for his harshness toward Grandmother Connor and his refusal to show kindness to Jimmy. Vanessa, who is not allowed at the funeral, holds a private remembrance of her grandmother with the canary.

Post-funeral, family tensions surface over Grandfather Connor’s past affair and perceived lack of love toward Grandmother Connor. Uncle Terence, Beth’s brother, reveals that Grandmother Connor had almost left Grandfather years ago after discovering his infidelity. He suggests Grandfather felt Grandmother was too good for him.

Years later, a visit to a museum and a Haida bear mask remind Vanessa of her grandfather, linking his memory to the mask’s expression.

In A Bird in the House, Vanessa, at 12 years old, decides to skip the Remembrance Day parade; this disappoints her mother and makes her feel like she’s betraying her father, Ewen, who will be marching in the parade with other veterans. Her comment about the soldiers looking silly silently hurts Ewen. Beth returns to work at Ewen’s practice, and the family hires Noreen, a maid they can barely afford. Noreen’s intense religiosity discomforts Vanessa, especially after a session with a Ouija board.

A trapped sparrow in Vanessa’s room becomes a point of contention when Noreen suggests it signals impending death, unnerving Vanessa. At a church service with Noreen and her father, Vanessa questions the notions of heaven and hell, confused by her father’s metaphorical take on these concepts.

The flu season worsens the family’s situation, as Vanessa and Ewen fall ill. Amid a night crisis, Vanessa learns of her father’s pneumonia. His condition deteriorates, and he dies at home, leaving the family to cope with the loss. Vanessa struggles with her grief; she attacks Noreen in a moment of anger, rejecting Noreen’s consoling religious sentiments.

After Ewen’s death, Beth sells their house, and the family disperses. Vanessa finds a letter from and a photograph of a French woman in her father’s desk. Feeling disconnected from her surroundings and the memories of her father, she burns them.

Vanessa MacLeod describes the Tonnerre family’s modest shack along the Wachakwa River in The Loons. Jules Tonnerre, an 1885 Battle of Batoche veteran, built the permanent but makeshift home. The Tonnerres Métis are known for their drunken brawls in Manawaka.

Piquette Tonnerre, struggling with tuberculosis in the bone and frequently absent from school, is seen as an outcast. At 11, Vanessa visits Diamond Lake with Piquette, who has been brought along to alleviate her health struggles. Vanessa tries to connect with Piquette, intrigued by her Indigenous heritage, but Piquette remains distant. Vanessa listens to the loons on the dock with her father, marking the last time they would sit on the dock together.

That winter, Vanessa’s father dies, and Vanessa later learns of Piquette’s transformation into a stylish, hopeful woman grateful for her father’s help. Years later, Vanessa hears of Piquette’s tragic death in a fire at the Tonnerre shack after her husband abandoned her. Reflecting on these memories at Diamond Lake, now changed and renamed Lake Wapakata, Vanessa mourns the loss of Piquette, her father, and the loons she and her father once listened to together.

Vanessa is six years old in Horses of the Night. She learns that her 15-year-old cousin Chris will be coming to Manawaka to go to high school and will be staying at the Brick House. Upon Chris’s arrival, Vanessa warms up to him. His calm demeanor helps him navigate the tensions at home, particularly with Grandfather Connor, who complains about the inconvenience and cost of hosting Chris.

Chris shares tales of his home in Shallow Creek that captivate Vanessa, enhancing their bond. As economic hardships from the Depression and a drought affect Manawaka, Vanessa becomes more aware of the world’s challenges. She overhears her parents discussing Chris’s need for a scholarship to continue his education, as Grandfather Connor will not fund it.

After Chris’s departure, Chris’s mother reveals that he didn't return to Shallow Creek but went to Winnipeg instead, leaving no address.

Life in Manawaka goes on. Vanessa’s family faces various changes, including Aunt Edna’s return from Winnipeg and Grandmother Connor’s passing. Two years later, Chris reappears as a traveling salesman, now selling vacuum cleaners and later magazines and sewing machines.

Vanessa and Beth visit Shallow Creek later, and Vanessa realizes it isn’t the heavenly place that Chris described. Chris is different, having had to return home due to a lack of work. Vanessa finds out later that he joined the army in World War II, but that he was discharged and sent to an institution for a mental breakdown.

Vanessa, now 15 in The Half-Husky, is offered a puppy. Despite initial opposition, Grandfather Connor agrees to keep the puppy, named Nanuk, in the basement.

Local paperboy Harvey Shinwell mistreats Nanuk, provoking Vanessa’s anger, but she remains silent about it. Months later, after witnessing repeated cruelty from Harvey, Vanessa’s frustration builds when she learns Harvey also stole her brother’s telescope. With Grandfather Connor, Vanessa confronts Harvey at his home, where his aunt beats him and pleads for leniency regarding the police.

Harvey’s aggression toward Nanuk stops after this confrontation, but the damage to Nanuk’s trust leads to his rehoming on a farm. Later, when Harvey is convicted of a violent robbery, Vanessa learns that Nanuk had to be euthanized. Seeing Harvey’s aunt later, Vanessa grapples with her conflicting feelings of justice and sorrow for Nanuk.

In “Jericho’s Brick Battlements,” Vanessa recalls when her family moved into Grandfather Connor’s home after selling their furniture but keeping prized items like the MacLeod silver and china.

During this time, Vanessa seeks refuge in the old stable, imagining stories in the MacLaughlin-Buick—the only car Grandfather Connor owned but hadn’t driven in years. Here, she crafts a story about Marie, a girl in early Quebec, which she abandons as it feels unrealistic.

As Vanessa grows, so do her interactions with others in the Brick House. When Wes Grigg, the new Canadian National Railway (CNR) stationmaster, shows interest in Edna, Grandfather Connor is initially hostile, forgetting Wes’s identity and objecting to his presence. Despite Beth’s encouragement and Edna’s reservations about Wes—like his health and religious background—tensions rise, culminating in an incident where the pipes catch fire. Against Grandfather Connor’s objections, Wes effectively intervenes by using black powder to calm the pipes.

Wes and Edna marry and move away, while Vanessa deals with romantic disappointments, including a painful breakup with Michael, an airman she hoped to marry. After Grandfather Connor has a stroke and dies, Vanessa attends his funeral, reflecting on his life and their complex relationship.

Years later, Vanessa returns to Manawaka with her own family, revisiting memories of her past, her parents’ deaths, and the changes in her old home. She feels the weight of her history and the passage of time.