Chute's Intentions

Carolyn Chute's, The Beans of Egypt, Maine, inspired a lot of conversation in our class, and afterward, I did some research on Chute to find out a little bit more about her and possibly uncover some of her intentions for writing Beans. 

Carolyn Chute

Born: June 14, 1947
Chute was born in Portland, Maine.  She now lives in a home with no telephone, no computer, and an outhouse in lieu of a working bathroom. She is married to Michael Chute, a local handyman who never learned to read.

After learning some of these startling details about Chute, I couldn't help but wonder, does she choose to live this way, or does she have to?  Because Chute seems to have left her novel soley up to the readers interpretation, I found that her living situation might be one of choice, but also necessity.  From what I found about the Chute family, I feel as though Carolyn enjoys her lifestyle very much.  Although our initial reaction to The Beans, may be one of horror, I believe that Cute also wanted to expose the idea that abject poverty does not have to mean  a life void of love and spiritual wealth.  Would I ever want to live like Carolyn Chute? Absolutely not, but I am glad she has found a life that makes her happy whether or not she has t use the bathroom outside during a Maine winter.