Part Two: Chapter XVIII, Trapp Family Austrian Relief Inc. Summary and Analysis

Maria begins this chapter with a Biblical allusion to Joseph, the son of Jacob, likening the Trapps circumstance to Jacob. Like Jacob, the family is exiled against their will. After much struggle, the family thrives. Jacob hears of a famine in his native land, and in his new surroundings is now able to help ease the starvation in his country.

In January 1947, a letter from the "American Army of Occupation in Austria" arrives. The letter outlines the suffering of the Austrian people and pleads the Trapps to do something to help. The Trapps go to Montpelier to incorporate. They start the Trapp Family Austrian Relief, Inc., "for the purpose of aiding the poor and displaced of all nationalities in the U.S. and elsewhere". This...