Scene 3, hands and pens
September of 1928
Liesl - age 7
Friedrich - age 5
Louisa - age 4
Kurt - age 2
The new school year had just started, and Louisa would now be joining her siblings. She had been thrilled to be learning new stuff and went to school very excited. However Georg noticed she came back from school with a glum face.
"How was your first day of school?" he asked. Louisa shrugged her shoulders. "She has Fräulein Müller." Liesl said. Georg looked at his eldest with a confused look. "She's very strict." she added. "Oh, I see".
"What did you learn today?" he asked Louisa, trying to brighten her mood.
"You said we were going to learn new things. The only thing we did was practising the alphabet and counting to twenty! It was boring, papa!" Louisa uttered.
Georg scratched his head and looked for an answer. This had been exactly the thing he and Agathe had been afraid of. Louisa constantly needed to be engaged in exciting and new things, or otherwise she would lose her attention. For at least the next couple of weeks, perhaps even months, she would probably not be learning things she hadn't learned already.
"Well, not everyone has already been taught the same things as you. They get a chance to learn, while you get the chance to be the smartest child in your class, isn't that fun?" Georg insinuated. Louisa shrugged and huffed.
When they got home the children engaged themselves, while Georg worked on some unfinished projects. He suddenly heard a soft knock on his door.
"Enter." he said, with a slight annoyance that could be heard in his voice.
The door opened, and at the sight of his youngest daughter his annoyance flew away. "Can I sit with you, papa?" the girl asked.
"Yes of course, why don't you find a good book to read and sit down on the settee. I'll bring you some water." her father answered with a smile.
Louisa browsed through the planks of the bookcase, and chose a large book about animals, filled with drawings. Carefully, with one hand she brought it to the settee and settled herself down.
After a few moments Liesl and Friedrich barged in, who also wanted to spend time in the study. But after ten minutes of having to be quiet and sit down, they quickly got distracted and left again.
A few hours later Agathe went to get the two for dinner, but stopped at the enchanting scene. Georg was concentrating on his work, while Louisa was on the settee browsing through the book. Both of them shared the same seriousness on their faces. Louisa was definitely her father's daughter, no doubt. While Liesl and Friedrich were often more concentrated than their sister, Louisa was the one who could spend hours in silence accompanying her father.
At dinner Georg noticed Louisa's left hand. The girl's hand had been bruised, and she tried to avoid using it as much as possible. He made a mental note to speak with Agathe and Louisa about it.
"Papa, mama said that I was allowed to start taking music lessons!" Friedrich said excitedly.
"Oh, yes, but I did say that he had to ask you before we would sign him up. Friedrich wants to play the piano, like his father." she explained.
"Really, is that so?" Georg turned to Friedrich.
"You picked the best instrument, son." he smiled proudly.
"That's not true! Mama says the violin is the best one, and the hardest one to play." Liesl defended.
"I suppose I have to side with Liesl this time, boys." Agathe shrugged jokingly.
Louisa sighed and sloughed back in her chair. She had to wait at least till she turned five to be allowed to play an instrument. Her birthday wasn't until February. Friedrich had turned five in January, and had to wait all the way to September. The rest of the family continued talking about music instruments and lessons.
She looked across the table, and watched as Kurt stuffed both his hands with food inside his mouth. She hated when he did that, but also couldn't stop watching him. Sometimes she wondered if he was some sort of little food machine. He was either eating or sleeping. She surely wouldn't survive a day living like that, it would be too boring. She snapped out of her thoughts when her mother called.
"Louisa, sit up straight." she said. Louisa sighed and sat up straight. "Louisa von Trapp, don't sigh at me like that, please." her mother reprimanded.
"Sorry mama." Louisa muttered.
"Papa, may I take dance lessons? My friend Theresa dances, and I want to do it too." Liesl asked.
Agathe and Georg shared a glance. "Well, don't you think your violin lessons are enough for now?" he answered, putting his glass back on the table.
"But I want to dance too. May I please take dancing lessons?" Liesl pleaded, with her sweetest smile. Liesl was the pleaser, none of the other children ever begged like her and got away with it.
When she looked at him like that his heart ached to deny her. Agathe knew it, and reminded him. "Georg." she almost whispered.
"You can practise your dancing at home. Perhaps you can let Theresa come over, so you can dance together. I can't see why you need to take dance lessons now." he said firmly.
"But all my other friends are allowed to." Liesl tried.
"I said no, and that will be my final answer, Elisabeth." her father said, leaving no room for discussion.
Dinner ended and Georg discussed with Agathe what he had seen. They decided that Georg asked Louisa about her hand after a bedtime story, while she put the other children in bed.
"Are you going to tell me what happened to your hand? I noticed that it is bruised, and that you have been trying to avoid using it all day." Georg said.
Louisa shrugged and sat next to him on the bed. "Whatever happened to it, you can tell me, you know that right?" he tried.
"Fräulein Müller said I wasn't allowed to use my left hand anymore." Louisa muttered.
"Why is that?" her father asked.
"I don't know, she said I have to write with my right hand now".
Georg's younger sister, Hede, was left-handed too, and always had problems with it. Before she went to school she never wet the bed, and didn't stutter, but after the first couple of months both had started. No one ever talked about it, but he always assumed it had to do something with being forced to write with her right hand.
He couldn't see why her teacher had a problem with it. Yes, it did make stains on the paper, and yes with a dip pen it could rip the paper faster, but why was it such a big deal? Louisa had already written with her left hand at home, and no one had an issue with that.
"Did you write with your right hand?"
Louisa turned away from him. "I tried, I really tried, sir. But after lunch I forgot it, and she got angry".
"Drop the sir, you're not in trouble, Louisa. Your teacher got angry, is that why your hand is messed up like that?" he asked concerned.
Louisa nodded. "She hit my hand, really hard, and then I had to sit on it for the rest of the day." she whispered.
Georg pulled Louisa on his lap, and tried to console her. Slowly she relaxed her tense muscles and started crying in his chest.
"I am sorry. I really am." she cried.
"Don't cry, Loulou. It's not your fault. Papa's here, I'm going to make it alright." he whispered in her ear, while rubbing soothing circles on her back.
They stayed like that until she fell asleep in his arms. He carefully laid her down and placed a blanket on top over her.
The next morning Georg brought the children to school, and went to speak with Louisa's teacher. "Good morning, Fräulein. I inquire to speak with you about something rather important." Georg said in his steadiest voice.
"Oh Captain, could it wait till the afternoon? I have a class waiting for me, sir." the woman responded, and motioned to the children in front of her, who were settling down.
"I'm afraid it cannot wait. You see, my daughter came home yesterday with a bruised hand. She told me that her teacher did not allow her to write with her left hand. I can't see why she has to write with her right hand, and I most definitely can not see why you should use such brutal techniques to make your point come across." he said, ignoring the woman who tried to interrupt him. The children had become quiet and followed the conversation between the adults.
"Everybody in this school has to write with their right hand, and your daughter is not an exception, Captain. I won't have her make stains, and rip the paper. It would make an ugly mess, which I do not have time for. I had already told her not to write with her left hand, and she disobeyed by doing so. The rules in this classroom are simple, you disobey, you bear its consequences. Surely you use the same methods at home, given your training and the amount of children you have, sir." she replied.
Georg's eyebrows raised upon hearing her last remark. "Excuse you, Fräulein…" he snapped his fingers, as if trying to find her name.
"Müller." she repleted.
"Fräulein Müller, how dare you assume that I physically hurt my own children? No child should endure such behaviour from adults, let alone their own father." he spat.
The children in the classroom started to rattle on about what Louisa's father just said.
"Really, does your father not hit you when you are in trouble?" the girl next to her asked.
"No, never. But I do get punished though." Louisa explained.
"You have such an amazing father! Mine would never talk to a teacher for me." another girl exclaimed behind her. Louisa smiled proudly at her father.
"I am certain that there are other methods to teach, or remind a child that they should use their right hand, instead of their dominant hand." Georg affirmed.
"As long as I am the teacher, I will get to decide what consequence your daughter will receive. I have to start teaching now, so if you wish to discuss the subject further, I would recommend speaking with the headmaster, Captain." the woman said.
"Trust me, I had already planned to speak with him, Fräulein." he remarked.
"Good day children, Fräulein." Georg said. Before leaving the classroom he winked at Louisa, who sat behind her school desk beaming with pride.
Georg went to the headmaster and explained what had happened. "Well, I can't tell Fräulein Müller how she should teach, Captain." the man responded.
"The only thing I am asking is not to physically hurt my children until bruises and marks could be visibly seen, and especially not for such a silly reason as writing with her dominant hand. Is that too much to ask, sir? If it is, I must take my children to a school that will not only respect my children, but my will as a parent too." he threatened.
"Well, I suppose I could have a talk with some of the teachers about it, Captain. After all, you are their father and should have a say in the matter." the headmaster answered.
Georg shook his hand, and left.
With relief he stepped into the car and rode back home.