‘The Knitted Collar’: Virtue in Sickness and in Health

Mary Anne Hoare’s short story of a little girl who makes a tough choice inspires us all to do the same.

"The Lacemaker," circa 1665, by Bernhard Keil. Metropolitan Museum of Art. A girl strives to provide for her impoverished family by selling a knitted collar. Public Domain

Cold and hunger are hardly catalysts for kindness, let alone virtue. Yet, in her short story “The Knitted Collar,” Mary Anne Hoare showed a young girl who, though struggling to keep herself and her family alive, upholds dignity and virtue. Beneath her thin body and ragged clothes shines a truly remarkable spirit.

Cold and Hunger

"An Irish Peasant Family Discovering the Blight of Their Store," circa 1847, by Cork artist Daniel MacDonald. Public Domain