Reflections on "A New England Nun"

I’m on the same page as Leah - while reading Freeman’s “A New England Nun”, I found myself relating to Louisa in many ways, especially her appreciation for the happy comforts of home. I’ve had roommates in the past and now live with my parents, but I can’t wait for the day that I can make a living and have a place to call my own. I want to have a space that completely caters to me and what I like. Similar to Louisa, I don’t want to clean up after other people and I don’t want anyone moving my stuff around. I believe Louisa to be very secure in her world and also protective of it. Over fourteen years, she had developed a comfortable routine, which would come to a halt with her marriage. The coming of such an intense shift in her lifestyle was reasonably unsettling to Louisa. In this sense, I have absolute understanding for this character, but I think to a lot of people (especially at that time but not exclusively) this must seem strange and spinster-ly. I mean, who wouldn’t want to give up their home and independence to live with and take care of man they hardly know and a nasty mother-in-law? Heh. Louisa would have been perfectly content if Joe never came back, but if anyone had wondered why she wasn’t married there would be a good and acceptable excuse. The following lines communicate Louisa’s complete contentedness without Joe:

Her life, especially for the last seven years, had been full of a pleasant peace, she had never felt discontented nor impatient over her lover's absence; still she had always looked forward to his return and their marriage as the inevitable conclusion of things. However, she had fallen into a way of placing it so far in the future that it was almost equal to placing it over the boundaries of another life.

I felt extremely glad and relieved that Louisa got what she wanted; throw in a couple of exotic short haired cats and I think she would have it all. However, as we touched on in class, it’s sad to think that both Louisa and Joe’s happiness relied on the unlikely instance of overhearing such an important conversation. “Doing the right thing” is such an ambiguous idea because it can take on several meanings. Louisa and Joe were willing to sacrifice happiness to do the proper thing, but how on earth can something be “right” if all parties involved end up miserable?