Inglenooks

Chilled air, tired body. Need for rest. First to sit, maybe to read and relax. Perhaps to chat idly with a good friend or close family member. A sip of wine maybe, but relaxing. By a fire? Lounging or sitting or lying down?

An inglenook comes to mind. In my mind I see a large fireplace made of stones. Capacious with large andirons and maybe a swing arm with a hook for a cooking pot. Adjacent to the fireplace is the hearth, expanded, large enough to hold a bench seat with cushion top; one such bench on either side of the fireplace. The mantle is high and overhead of the benches. Like wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and safety.

This is an inglenook. A safe refuge in the home seated by the fire within the confines of the mantled embrace of the fireplace itself. Warm and toasty.

Doesn’t this give an image of security, peace and snugness?

Inglenooks were features of country cottages in Europe, usually in mountainous areas with variable climates rapidly running from cold rains to deep snowfalls and lush green meadows and near-vertical grazing land on steep hillsides. Maybe in the Alps; maybe in lesser precipitous locales, but an area where nature is immediate and snug repose a welcoming thought.

That is the genesis of the inglenook. Not common in America these days. But a welcomed image for us in these days of chaos, anger, violence and general upset.

It is sobering to realize we are living in this sort of age. For the generations that faced the realities of World War II, social unrest framed by war-time exigencies were a constant. Price controls on common goods. Gas rationing. Shortages of paper, tin and steel. Food stuffs shared far and wide to support the troops. Building restrictions making new apartments impossible to get. Homes divided into living units to accommodate those looking for space to call home. New cars not available; used cars treasured and kept in tip-top condition.

Letters from the war front told of death and misery and threat. Threat to peace, and to well being. And of course our worry grew for loved ones stationed overseas. Would we see them again.

Newsreels at the theater chronicled war-front news – battles won and those we lost. Scenes of horrific damage to countryside and cities and towns. Chaos and burning shards of communities.

Seeking comfort then was focused on home, kitchen, and hearth. Fireplaces provided the glow and warmth of safety, families snug in their place of repose and comfort.

In 2016 we note inner city unrest. Protests, police brutality concerns, shootings of unarmed minorities in unsettled neighborhoods. Division among us in our very own communities and neighborhoods. Awareness of differences and discrimination feared. A place of safety needed. Yearned for, too.

An inglenook? Might this be a symbol of what we all are looking for? A place of safety and comfort in which we can be ourselves and yet share one another’s life and space?

I think so. This image of embracing comfort upon the hearth of a home with a crackling soothing fire. A place where we can sit and think good thoughts. Caring and embracing thoughts. Reaching out to others to give them comfort.

What we need is an inglenook nation to sooth the unsettled times we find ourselves in.

Yes. Very much yes!

October 3, 2016