Anna Larsdatter Monologue

Today was Christmas of 1918. All of the remaining family members from Ingeborg and Niels’ descendents and immediate family were all going to have dinner at Anna Larsdatter’s plenty large home. For a nearly-80-year-old woman, Anna sure knew how to make it look like she owned a fortune. When Gunnhild, Kristen, and Laura arrived, they discovered the rest of the family had been waiting on only them for the party to begin.
Laura studied each person in turn, trying to get a feel for how friendly they might be to her. There had to be about 25 to 30 people present.
Anna Larsdatter had married a man named James Brown who might have been handsome at some point but old age had caught up to him, giving him a weathered look. His face was frozen in an
endless scowl, disapproving of everything. They had three kids, Inga, Todd, and Rose. Inga was married to a man of the name William Miller who had short black hair and had the glassy-eyed stare of someone who voluntarily detached themselves from society. The two of them four children, one of which was already married and had a baby girl. Todd Brown married a woman named Margaret and had three children. Todd resembled his mother, Anna, with light blonde hair and soft blue eyes. Margaret had what would be an ugly brown hair color, if not for the way she styled it, and dressed like she was royalty, wearing only the fanciest of clothing. Anna and James’ third child, Rose, was not much older than Laura, as Rose was born when her parents were about 40. Laura took an instant liking to Rose for two reasons: their close proximity in age and Rose’s friendly and outgoing personality.
“It is quite a pleasure to meet you, Laura,” Rose began, nodding curtly.
Laura smiled and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “The same to you, Rose. I wonder why I have never been introduced to you before today. I think I’ll be able to get along with you pretty nice.”
“Oh, yes.
I wonder the same,” Rose agreed. “Miss Gunnhild told Anna and I over the telephone that you have been aspiring to go on Broadway. I am impressed! You must have quite a large amount of determination. I would never have continued pursued a dream after being rejected so many times!” Coming out of someone else’s mouth, that may have sounded extremely rude, but somehow, Laura’s intuitiveness allowed her to know that Rose meant that statement. Just as Laura was about to thank Rose for her compliment, they heard Anna call out, over the noise of the crowd, her voice far from frail.
“Listen! Let’s gather around the table and say our prayers.” Anna paused for a moment, then continued in a volume so loud that it seemed to defy her age. “Let the Christmas feast begin!”
Everyone clambered over to the large table, long enough to fit fifteen full grown adults on each side. With their heads bowed down and hands pressed together, the family thanked God for their meal and began heaping the abundance of varying foods onto the delicate china plates provided by the Brown’s.
In about an hour, dinner was over and the extended family, unable to eat any more, gathered in the living room of the Brown’s. Anna had started a storytelling “show,” beginning with her journey to America and
Ingeborg.
“I remember Ingeborg threatening to throw of one of the passengers of the boat for trying to steal my book.
It was so heroic, yet immature of her, but that was the moment our relationship strengthened. I knew she liked my brother, but wasn’t so keen on the idea before that day. Just think, Laura,” Anna added, “You would never have been born if I had any say over who my brother married, before Ingeborg saved my book!”
Laura, along with everyone else, laughed at Anna’s hilariously absurd statement. Gunnhild’s eyes, however, told a different story than her laughter. They held fear at the mention of her sister’s name.
Gunnhild glared at Anna. “You didn’t know Ingeborg like I did. Hun var et monster. She killed a man. Did you ever not wonder hvorfor Ingeborg kom til Amerika? Hun var egoistisk and ønsket ikke å bli fanget.. Ingeborg knew I’d never report her, even though I saw what she did. I knew if I reported her, ville jeg være ved siden av å dø.” Even with the partial Norwegian phrases, we understood fully what Gunnhild had informed us about.
We all sat solemnly when Todd and Margaret’s kid, Helen exploded, “You killjoy! We’re all havin’ a swell time and you needed to go an’ kill the mood!” Todd and Margaret both gasped and scolded their 15-year-old daughter’s language. But Laura stared in disbelief at
Gunnhild.
“Did-did she really?”
Gunnhild smiled a sad smile at Laura. “I’m ‘fraid so.”
Laura stared at Gunnhild with a dangerously angry expression on her face. “I,” Laura started slowly, only letting a hint of her outrage show through, “have lived with you for almost seven months with Kristen and you. And you never thought once to tell me that my grandmother and father are murderers? That maybe I might turn out like them?” Laura turned around and stormed from the room. “If you need me, I will be walking home and packing my belongings!”