Have you ever felt crumbled under everyone else’s beliefs on how you should live an aspect of your life? Some may say that they simply have your best interest at heart; however, you are the key to true happiness in your life. As a country, we are utterly fixated on the idea of marriage being a way of life with 61% of adults aged 18 and older planning on getting married in their lifetime. Many believe falling in love, marriage, and having children is a birthright. Living in a society and in a country that prides itself on individuality, why is it so frowned upon when an individual breaks the norms on marriage and love? In her short story “A New England Nun”, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman succinctly, yet accurately portrays a woman that struggles with
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She has developed her own routine and has learned how to live on her own. However, everything changes when her significant other, Joe Dagget, returns from a 14-year stint in Australia. Fourteen years ago, Joe sent out to Australia to earn enough money to support his life with his future wife, Louisa. In a turn of events, Louisa has a feeling of consternation when Joe returns. “Louisa’s feet had turned into a path, so narrow that there was no room for anyone at her side” (Freeman 442). Since adopting a self-sufficient lifestyle, she seldom requires assistance from any other individual. In Louisa’s methodized lifestyle, she sees everything Joe does as detrimental to her quaint routine; even something as insignificant as how she treats her dog. Upon his return, Joe recognizes the fact that Louisa has her dog, Caesar, chained up. “Under the strict guardianship of his master Louisa, the old dog had remained a close prisoner” (Freeman 443). This begs the questions: Is Caesar a symbol of Louisa’s life? Does Louisa feel like a prisoner to Joe and the expectedness to get married? Louisa, however, has not always felt this way towards Joe. There was a time when Louisa fully believed she would marry
She has developed her own routine and has learned how to live on her own. However, everything changes when her significant other, Joe Dagget, returns from a 14-year stint in Australia. Fourteen years ago, Joe sent out to Australia to earn enough money to support his life with his future wife, Louisa. In a turn of events, Louisa has a feeling of consternation when Joe returns. “Louisa’s feet had turned into a path, so narrow that there was no room for anyone at her side” (Freeman 442). Since adopting a self-sufficient lifestyle, she seldom requires assistance from any other individual. In Louisa’s methodized lifestyle, she sees everything Joe does as detrimental to her quaint routine; even something as insignificant as how she treats her dog. Upon his return, Joe recognizes the fact that Louisa has her dog, Caesar, chained up. “Under the strict guardianship of his master Louisa, the old dog had remained a close prisoner” (Freeman 443). This begs the questions: Is Caesar a symbol of Louisa’s life? Does Louisa feel like a prisoner to Joe and the expectedness to get married? Louisa, however, has not always felt this way towards Joe. There was a time when Louisa fully believed she would marry