Jacob Have I Loved is a 1980 coming of age novel for teenagers and young adults by Katherine Paterson. It won the annual Newbery Medal in 1981. The title alludes to the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau in the Bible, and comes from (quoting ).
The novel follows the story of the Bradshaws, a family who depends on the father, Truitt Bradshaw, and his crabbing/fishing business on his boat, the Portia Sue. Truitt's two daughters, Sara Louise and Caroline, are twins, and Caroline has always been the favorite. She is prettier and more talented, and receives more attention not only from their parents but also from others in the community.
The book traces Louise's attempts to free herself from Caroline's shadow, even as she grows into adulthood.
Setting
This story takes place during the early 1940s on the small, fictional island of Rass in the Chesapeake Bay.
Plot summary
Imaginative, emotionally sensitive, and hard working, Sara Louise Bradshaw, a young girl growing up on an isolated fishing island off the coast of Maryland during WWII, is made to feel second-best from the moment of her birth. Her impoverished family consists of her rough but gentle father, always absent due to his working-class job on his oyster boat; her ladylike and intelligent mother, who had arrived on the island as a school teacher and stayed after falling in love; her grandmother, a bitter and nasty woman with a religious bent; and Caroline, Sara Louise's younger twin sister who is the main impediment of Sara Louise's struggle to distinguish herself and obtain the affection she craves. Caroline is fragile, beautiful, and admired—everything Sara Louise is not.
Caroline is offered a scholarship to a mainland school for voice lessons, due to her rare singing skills, and the rest of the family, mainly Sara Louise, must sacrifice to make this happen. To raise money, Sara Louise catches crabs with her only friend, McCall "Call" Purnell, a dumpy, short-sighted boy.
One day, Hiram Wallace, the only islander to leave to go to college in fifty years, returns to the island. Hiram, whom they call "the Captain", bonds with Call over their shared sense of humor, becoming a father figure.
After Sara Louise finds a local spinster from Hiram's generation (Trudy) suffering from a stroke that necessitates sending her to the inland hospital, Call, Sara Louise, and Hiram work to clear Trudy's house for her return. Hiram tells the children how Trudy may have a fortune hidden in the building, which is filthy and overrun by a starving feral cat colony. Unable to keep the cats, Hiram determines the most humane thing would be to drown them. This horrifies Sara Louise, who protests vigorously, but her friends overrule her. Unable to go through with it, Sara Louise jumps from the rowboat on the way to perform the deed and swims to shore. Call and Hiram reveal they could not bring themselves to kill the cats after Sara Louise's display, and Caroline steps in to introduce herself. Going door to door and charming the locals into taking in the mangy cats, Caroline is lauded by Call and Hiram as the cats' savior, forgetting Sara Louise's role.
The island is struck by a ravaging hurricane. Sara Louise's father sends her into the storm to fetch the Captain and bring him to their home. This act saves Hiram's life; his entire home is demolished. Meanwhile, Caroline is allowed to sleep through the storm.
Hiram, now homeless, moves into Sara Louise's home. A 14-year-old Sara Louise realizes she is in love with Hiram, despite his being older than her grandmother and oblivious to her feelings. Caroline mocks Sara Louise for her crush, and her grandmother begins accusing her of being a harlot and quoting scriptures at her. Caroline suggests the homeless Hiram enter into a marriage of convenience with Trudy, exchanging a place to live with living assistance, and Hiram lauds Caroline for saving the day.
Eventually, the economic hardships after the hurricane result in Caroline being pulled from her voice lessons inland. As a thank you for the pleasure Trudy received from Caroline's singing, Hiram offers to pay for Caroline to attend a prestigious boarding school in Baltimore and have a private voice tutor. Sara Louise has always wanted to attend a better school, but Hiram does not offer, and there is no money to send her anywhere equivalent. She struggles with feeling of resentment and jealousy.
Call enlists in the navy and leaves to join the war. Sara Louise drops out of school and takes over Call's duties, finally allowed on her father's oyster boat.