The Signature of All Things

Alma Whittaker is the protagonist around whose life the novel is structured. Alma is the only biological child of Beatrix and Henry Whittaker to survive childbirth. She looks like her father: “ginger of hair, florid of skin, small of mouth, wide of brow, abundant of nose” (51). Alma is clever and sturdy, described by the narrator as a “a right little dromedary” (51). Because her mother disapproves of emotional displays, she teaches her daughter to be stoic and uncomplaining, and so Alma learns from a young age to keep her emotions hidden. She also takes to heart her mother’s injunction to improve herself.

Like most young children, Alma is inquisitive, and from her earliest days, her parents cultivate this quality in her. They always try to give Alma an honest answer to her every “Why?” and they encourage her to explore her world thoroughly. Beatrix gives Alma a very structured education based on classical models; from age four, she learns English, Dutch, French, Latin, and even some Greek. Alma’s childhood also includes having the run of the house and grounds of White Acre, a freedom that indulges both her love of study and her interest in the natural world.