A Room of Her Own: The Dream of Louisa in Mary Freeman’s “A New England Nun”

【摘要】In the late nineteenth century， Mary Freeman wrote a short novel which partly revealed her own dream and pursuit as an American woman. In this study， the dream of the protagonist Louisa Ellis will be analyzed in three aspects including the confrontation between Louisa and Joe Dagget， the image of her dog， and the comparison between two female characters.

【關鍵詞】American Dream; Mary Freeman; Feminism

【作者簡介】許暢，北京體育大學國際體育組織學院。

Narrated in a pastoral and clam manner with mild humors， Mary Freemans simple love story is a thorough manifestation of her top priority. Because of the similar life experience， what Louisa always dreamed of is actually in line with Mary Freemans wish. However， in the late nineteenth century of America， this idea seemed rebellious and evolutionary， since being a housewife was the only acceptable option for women.

The confrontation in Louisas house demonstrated that it was impossible for her to let Joe enter into her world. There is a clear difference in the characterization of Joe and Louisa. Joe was a rough and virile outdoorsman who had been trying to make his fortune in Australia for many years， while Louisa was limited to her home like an elegant and delicate china teacup. Therefore， their first meeting was full of playful dissonance. Freeman used “he seemed to fill up the whole room” to portray the presence of Joe at the beginning of their meeting. This sentence leads the following descriptions that Joe Dagget was irreconcilable with Louisas little room， and also actualizes her potential fear that her space was taken up by a man. As the conversation went， it is obvious that they were strange to each other from the embarrassed and uneasy tone. And the content of their conversation was insignificant and in a polite formula varying from weather to Lily Dyer. The comments on Lily Dyer take an important part which indicate the romantic relationship between Joe and Lily. Interestingly， it was Louisa who first spoke of Lily which showed her sensibility and womens intuition. Moreover， the detail that Louisa could not put up with the slight change of books position made by Joe unveils her attitudes toward outsiders. For Louisa， Joes visit disturbed her orderly life， and also caused emotional pressure. Hence， Joe is like “an innocent bear” in Louisas “china shop”.

Their second verbal interaction happened after Louisa knew Joe and Lily Dyer were lovers accidentally. Louisa terminated the engagement without mentioning Lily. She simply said that she shrank form making a change which， at bottom， was part of the reason. The root cause lies in the idea of living in a house of her own and being her own master. Louisa did not give out her intention bluntly， because she was a woman who took sweet grace as her sword and armor. Nevertheless， Joe made some strong commitments which certainly touched Louisa， so when he asked “this aint the way weve thought it was all going to end， is it， Louisa？” Her face quivered. Louisa was like a nun who would not put marriage at the top of the list， but never immune to love. At that night， she wept a little but hardly knew why. She loved Joe but did not love him enough so that her marriage was sacrificed to the solitary and insular lifestyle.

The image of the large dog “Caesar” implicated how Louisa viewed herself and how other people treated her. Due to his sin committed within his puppyhood， Caesar was chained up for fourteen years. By describing the dog as a prisoner， Freeman expressed her judgement that Louisa was also a prisoner. Louisas brother restricted Caesars freedom， while Louisa was trapped by herself. Caesar was regarded by people in the village， even wayfarers， as a very monster of ferocity， only because he was chained. Ironically， Caesars situation was similar to Louisas. Because she lived alone and did not marry someone like other women， the neighbors thought her weird. Furthermore， the name “Caesar” connotes a male figure radically incongruous with the lifestyle and temperament of the dog and especially its owner. From Louisas perspective， he was also a veritable hermit leading an ascetic life. And it was Joe Dagget who saw the good nature in Caesar and wanted to release him， which indicated their marriage might drag Louisa out of the secluded house. Louisa did not agree with the decision about Caesar. After her marriage， Caesar was probably set free and would trigger his restrained ferocity， so Caesar and Louisa could not be hermits anymore. However， what she expected is to be free indeed. She wanted to escape from the engagement which she accepted hastily in her maidenhood after fourteen years， and this can not be realized by marriage.

Last but not the least， compared to Louisa， Lily Dyer was a decisive and enthusiastic woman with great ardor. She was so proud that she would rather leave than let Joe defy the promise. Her speech was resolute and filled with vehemence. To some extent， the personality of Lily was opposite to Louisas： one was fervid and enthusiastic， while the other was placid， soft and tender. Lily determined not to marry any other man， since she still loved Joe， while Louisa made that determination as well， because she intended to live for herself. In this novel， Freeman did not show her preference about these two options. Actually， she left the space for readers. She did not suggest that all women should fight against traditional marriage or get married at all costs. The dream of Louisa which is revealed in the comparison between Louisa and Lily is having the right to choose their ideal life.

“A New England Nun” is a written in a peaceful tone with hidden turbulence. At the end of the story， Louisa got rid of the engagement， maintained her original life， and helped Joe and Lily reunite which seemed like a perfect ending. Nevertheless， in order to live the life Louisa had chosen， there were several necessary conditions including no relatives， a fortune， isolation and etc. Therefore， it was difficult for women in the nineteenth century to pursue the life they wanted. During the fourteen years， Louisa gradually realized that marriage was not an inevitable conclusion of things and awoke to the meaning of being a woman. She dreamed of having her own space， arranging her time， and making life choices freely. Her dream could also be seen as a dream of American women at that time. The novel reminds me of a saying by Virginia Woolf， “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Only they possessed their own space， specifically like a room， could they feel like a queen in their life.

References：

[1]Tritt， Michael. Selling a Birthright for Pottage： Mary Freemans Allusion to Genesis in “A New England Nun”[J]. ANQ： A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles， Notes and Reviews，2006，19：4：34-41.