The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
Written by Maria Augusta Trapp
Maria was perhaps the worst
behaved novice at Nonnberg Abbey.
She slid down the banisters, whistled
in the hall and was always late. So when she was summoned to
see the Abbess Mother, Maria expected that she was in trouble. But she
was not prepared for what came. The Abbess asked Maria to leave the Abbey for
nine months as a tutor. Her pupil was to be the daughter of a Baron,
Captain Georg von Trapp.
Maria didn’t want to leave her beloved
Abbey. But the Abbess Mother insisted; so she summoned up all her courage
and headed away to meet the Captain and his seven children.
In the past, Captain von Trapp had been
in the Austrian Navy as a submarine pilot. He became quite famous because
of his great skill and daring. He was even awarded the Empress Maria Theresia
medal!*
When the Captain’s wife died, leaving him
seven children, he left the Navy and settled down. His plentiful supply of
money meant that he did not need to work.
*
When Maria met Captain von Trapp for
the first time, she was surprised. He was not anything like she had imagined-
tall and bearded and rough, since, after all, that is what sea captains look
like. But Georg could hardly be described as tall, and his kindly face
was beardless.
Maria soon got to know all the
Captain’s children, especially her new pupil. The girl was so ill that
she had to be confined to her room; and was therefore unable to attend school.
Maria was shocked to find that the
children never sang. So she taught them.
At night, around the fire, they would
all sing together. The air was filled with Austrian folk songs, hymns, carols
and many more beautiful songs. Eventually, Captain von Trapp joined them, and
many a happy evening was spent gathered around the fire, Maria with her guitar
and the children with their voices. The children all grew to love Maria. They
were not the only ones.
When Maria had heard that George would,
most likely, soon be engaged to a princess, she was overjoyed. She knew
the children needed a mother. And when the Captain went to visit princess
Yvonne (not for the first time), everyone (especially Maria) supposed
that this was “the” visit. Then Georg sent Maria a letter, which
mentioned “...I wish I could see your eyes when you read the announcement of
my engagement.” Maria was furious! She sent back a fiery letter
saying “My eyes are none of your business!”
At the time the Captain received the
letter, he was walking in the garden with princess Yvonne, and just on the
verge of proposing. But after he read the letter, he knew he could not
marry Yvonne. Captain von Trapp loved Maria.
Meanwhile, Maria was stricken with
guilt at her hasty letter, and was wishing fervently that she had never sent
it.
A few weeks past. The Captain
came home, and everyone was busy and happy. Maria was happily unaware of
George’s feelings towards her. She was also unaware that the children had
decided the two should marry. And since nothing was happening, the children
devised a plan. While Maria was distracted, they crept into their
father’s office, and asked if he loved Maria. He replied that yes, he did
love her, but he doubted that the feeling was mutual. So the naughty
children went and demanded of the preoccupied Maria whether or not she liked
the Captain. Naturally, Maria said that she did. Back to the office
rushed the children to tell their father that Maria said she did love him.
So when the Captain came out of his
office and asked if what the children said was true, she was shocked!
Never had she suspected such a thing. Without so much as a goodbye,
she left for the Abbey. Maria did not want to marry; she wanted to be a
nun. And yet...
___________________________________________
The story goes on to
tell how Maria was convinced by the Abbess Mother to marry Captain von Trapp,
and how they shared many wonderful, peaceful years together in Austria.
But their life changed forever when their bank went broke and the Captain
lost all his money. It then took another turn when the Germans invaded Austria,
and the von Trapp family had to flee to America. There they began a new
life, and also their family choir, the Trapp Family Singers. Maria had
three children of her own.
My
thoughts:
This book was a
interesting and heartwarming autobiography. Maria was a Catholic, and I could really sense her genuine love for God. You can see
Maria grow from a fun and mischief filled young woman into a wise and kind
mother. Three and a half stars.
_________________________
*This medal is only awarded if the recipient has shown extraordinary bravery at his own initiative, sometimes even against orders.
