when each partner has learned to stand alone. A woman has to come of age by herself, must find her true center alone, and must become “a world unto herself.” Men must accomplish the art of looking inward as well. These two separate worlds or solitudes have more to give each other than when each is a meager half. Even between the closest human beings infinite spaces exist. We must love those distances if we are to find the pattern of freedom that instinctive dancers share with their easy, unforced rhythms. Why do many couples hesitate, stumble, and find this delicate dance so difficult? They hold on too tightly and destroy rather than nourish this creative pattern, this “winged life” as William Blake calls it. These dancers must also be in touch with a larger rhythm, that of the swinging pendulum between sharing and solitude, the particular and the universal, the near and the far. The argonauta represents the couple who live in the present and understand the ebb and flow of a relationship, the couple who are at ease with the impermanence and the intermittency of a relationship, knowing that as each cycle of the tide is valid, each cycle of love recedes and returns eternally.

As she prepares to leave the beach, Lindbergh selects these shells to remind her of the precepts that point toward a way of being: simplicity, balance, work without pressure, space for significance and beauty, solitude and sharing, closeness to nature, faith in intermittency, the spirit, creativity, and human relationships. She will appreciate the here and now, individuals versus the world, the future and the masses. These shells will remind her to see with island eyes.

In 1975, Lindbergh reopened her book, still valid after twenty years. She noted the current oysters and their growth of consciousness—their advocacy of the dignity and rights of the individual, their questioning of materialistic values of the Western world, their awareness of life on our planet and our place in the universe. Lindbergh saw women’s liberation—the mushrooming of women talking to each other and beginning to talk to men, and men listening. Her final thoughts acknowledge that this growth in awareness has been painful but must be faced by men and women, side by side.

Christian Themes

Christian themes are found throughout Lindbergh’s meditations. She leads us to the first—that of patience and faith—by setting up the beach atmosphere. One arrives at the beach not able to work, to read, to write, or to think—at least at first. The tired body takes center stage, and one is captivated by the primeval spell of the sea. One sleeps. Then slowly the mind comes back to life—but a beach life, not a city life. One never knows what will surface in the conscious mind, but one must not seek or dig for it. The sea does not reward greed or impatience or lack of belief. The sea will offer its rewards when one has learned patience and faith.

The second prevalent Christian theme deals with the inward journey to peace and serenity. The answers we seek are within, are always found within. However, one must learn how to travel inward—not to look for the answers on the outside.

The third theme—that of fear and love—appears in the chapter on the argonauta. The intricate and instinctive dance between two people moving together in a light, easy rhythm must be free of cling or clutch or heavy hand. Why is this dance so difficult to achieve? What makes us cling to the last moment or clutch for the next? Fear. Fear destroys the grace of the dance. How can we exorcise fear? With its opposite—love. When there is love in one’s heart, there is no room for doubt or hesitation. This absence of fear makes possible the dance and gives it life and rhythm.

Sources for Further Study

• Herrmann, Dorothy. Anne Morrow Lindbergh: A Gift for Life. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. Lindbergh as wife, mother, and twentieth century American author. Bibliographical references and index.
• Hertog, Susan. Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life. New York: Nan A. Talese, 1999. Covers her marriage and her life as an American author, woman pilot, and spouse of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh. Bibliographical references and index.
• Lindbergh, Anne Morrow. Dearly Beloved: A Theme and Variations. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962. This book, like Gift from the Sea, was written during a dissatisfied period in Lindbergh’s marriage. Using fiction rather then the nonfiction of Gift from the Sea, Lindbergh explores various conflicts in marriage, particularly the inadequacy of communication. Nevertheless, she firmly supports marriage for its sense of community.
• Lindbergh, Anne Morrow. The Flower and the Nettle: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1936-1939. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. A collection of diary entries and letters that are valuable in understanding Lindbergh’s view of women’s roles.
• Lindbergh, Anne Morrow. War Within and Without: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1939-1944. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. This final volume of Lindbergh’s diary entries and letters covers the years of World War II. Anne discusses the Lindberghs’ response to the accusations that Charles was a “traitor.” She comments on the American attitude that raises individuals to hero status and then knocks them down by contempt and ostracism. She also reveals her personal struggles as she reconciles her devotion for her husband and their differing views about war.
• Lindbergh, Reeve. No More Words: A Journal of My Mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Covers Lindbergh’s last years, her career as an author, and her family relationships: aging parents, parents and children, parents and adult children, mothers and daughters.
• Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de. Wind, Sand, and Stars. Translated by Lewis Galantière. New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1939. This work was greatly admired by Lindbergh, who wrote a glowing review of it for the Saturday Review of Literature. Saint-Exupéry is often quoted in Lindbergh’s writing because he was an aviator like herself and a writer who shared her perspective on the need for inner spirituality.
• Vaughan, David Kirk. Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Boston: Twayne, 1988. Criticism and interpretation of her works. Biographical information, bibliography, and index.