Chris goes through a lot of emotional hardship in her life. the main incident being the death of her mother who committed suicide and also took the life of her two newborn twins with her. This was a huge blow to Chris as she is left with the burden of her Father who tries to abuse Chris and has a very vile temperament especially towards Chris’s schooling. After the death of his life he says to Chris; ‘You’ll be leaving the college now, I’ll warrant education’s dirt and your better clear of it. You’ll find time for dreaming and dirt when you’re keeping the house at Blawearie.’ Chris is instantly thrown into the mother role in the house. She has to give up her studies and many of her childlike qualities and take on the responsibility of caring for her family and the farm. The only support she is given to her Father’s behaviour towards her is from her brother Will. When Chris is upset by her father Will comforts her by saying; ‘Don’t let them worry you, Chris don’t let father make a damn slave of you, as he’d like to do. We’ve our own lives to lead.’ Later on in the book however Will leaves Chris and Blawearie to go and get married in Aberdeen.
As Chris is growing up she naturally starts to have an interest in boys and relationships. It is hard for her however as her mother is dead as she never really has anybody to talk to about it. Sex is something that she starts to think about but is still unsure about. When she is lying in bed with her brother she wonders to herself; ‘Was it likely a brother and sister would do anything if they slept together? And besides, she didn’t know how.’ This shows Chris’s naivety, which I think comes a lot with the general opinions of sex in the 1930s were it was still a taboo subject that most people would never really discuss until they actually found out for themselves on their wedding night.
A major step for Chris is when she has her first kiss, which is in fact with a complete stranger and happens on the night that there is a fire in the village of Peesie’s Knapp. She accidently bumps into a stranger when walking up from the village and before she knows it, he has her in his arms and is kissing her. She kicks the man, which causes him to leave her alone. Chris feels violated but deep down you get the feeling that she actually quite enjoyed it by the way she describes it by saying; ‘he had a face with a soft, grained skin, it was the first time a man had ever kissed her like that’. The man that kissed her is actually called Ewan and he plays a vital part in the entire story as he and Chris actually end up getting married. The second time Chris sees Ewan is when he comes to visit the house to look for Will. It is then that you see that Chris has quite a strong attraction towards him as when she sees him she cannot stop blushing; ‘she could feel the red warm blushing come through her skin from tip to toe.’ The blushing adds to Chris’s overall innocent demeanour. He also is attracted to Chris as he too is said to be blushing at the sight of her.
Another major incident in Chris’s life is her father dying. Chris quite frankly is happy do be rid of him as she can now live her life properly without being under the fearsome shadow of her father. Chris is shocked to find that her father has left her the farm and a large sum of money in his will. Chris can now start her life as a farmer and manage the farm by herself as an independent woman. The death of her father gives Chris the chance to mature and think for herself.
Now that Chris has the farm her life is on track and it is then made better by meeting Ewan and going on a day out with him at Dunotter Castle. They share a few kisses and see their attraction for one another. After this they then meet again and Ewan proposes to Chris. She accepts on the condition that Ewan moves in with her at Blawearie and works on the farm. Chris now finally has some say in her life and can finally be independent with Ewan at her side. In the book Chris and Ewan’s love and marriage is described as being like the harvest; ‘for was not the spring to come and the seed time springing of their love and the bonny days of summer flowering it and autumn with the harvest of their days’. This links in with the main farming theme of the novel. They are married and Chris is finally happy with her life. Her marriage is followed by a baby. The birth of their baby links back to the chapter’s title, which is ‘Seed time’. The ‘seed’ being their baby.
The end of the book is slightly tragic as Ewan goes off to war and leaves Chris and his son on the farm. When Ewan comes back on leave, the war has changed him. He is no longer the man Chris married and he has taken on a very violent streak. Chris fells completely detached from him and when he returns to the war she is left to support herself and her young son. Ewan sadly was killed fighting in the war. Shortly after this she finds out the true story from her friend Chae Strachan who is home on leave: Ewan was shot as a deserter, but he died thinking of her and Blawearie.
After Ewan she begins a relationship with the new minister and she watches as he dedicated the War Memorial at the Standing Stones above her home. Chris however gets through the service as she has become strong in response to all the hardship she has suffered in her life. She has gone through many things that most nineteen year olds wouldn’t have gone through in a lifetime. But through suffering all these hardships it has made Chris have to grow up prematurely. By the end of the novel you have complete sympathy and care for Chris which in my eyes is what makes a satisfying ending.