A New England Nun

A detailed Summary of A New England Nun


In "A New England Nun", Mary E. Wilkins Freeman depicts the life of the classic New England spinster. The image of a spinster is of an old maid; a woman never married waiting for a man. The woman waiting to be married is restricted in her life. She does

chores and receives education to make her more desirable as a wife.

This leads to the allegories used in this short story. The protagonist life paralleled both of her pets' lives, her dog Caesar's and that of her little yellow canary. Both comparisons are of restriction and fear of freedom. The animals and the woman

of this story are irreversible tamed by their captivity, and no longer crave freedom. Ideas of sin guilt and atonement are also present between the woman and the dog. These images typify nineteenth century beliefs of women and their place in society. This story of Louisa Ellis is an allegory for woman, and uses the levels of allegory ironically. The stories of the dog and the bird layer the theme to help represent Louisa's life, who in turn represents the Eighteenth century woman of society. Louisa's animals and their relationship to her suitor are further links between her and her pets. The suitor brings out different traits than the norm in both the animals and


them. This annoys her greatly, so she returns the books to their original order as if was compulsive. The order of her house like the structure of her life gave Louisa a sense of security. She becomes nervous if not angry when Joe later knocks over her work

night, and have no need to wake and flutter with wild terror against its bars."

The man's influence is seen as disruptive. Man is seen as a threat to the serenity and security of a spinster's life. Imagery put forth by this story, and by stereotypes of the

described the position of women who had sufficient economic status not to work. They like the birds were objects of beauty that were shown. Both were performers who were forced to live in cages, Louisa performed for Joe and society and the bird

The years, fourteen to be exact, tamed Louisa. She liked her life; she came to enjoy serenity. Louisa like any tamed animal grows accustomed to their situation. The dog Caesar would probably not know what to do with himself if he were set loose.



Some common words found in the essay are:
Louisa Ellis, Joe Dagget, Lily Dyer, Dagget Louisa's, Wilkins Freeman, Joe Louisa, Louisa Joe, I'm Louisa, joe dagget, little yellow, yellow canary, little yellow canary, dog house, louisa ellis, animals woman story, animals woman, set loose, life chores, domestic chores, tamed louisa,

Approximate Word count = 1733
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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