Freeman uses an omniscient narrator throughout these stories, and the tone is both wryly ironic and sympathetic to the plights of the characters. Freeman’s use of irony undercuts the pathos of her plots; her wry sense of humor saves the stories from becoming too sentimentalized.
Her characters are often outcasts from society who are nevertheless productive, upstanding individuals. Christmas Jenny, who lives alone in the mountains above the village, is the object of unkind village gossip, yet she spends her meager income on rehabilitating injured animals and in caring for an adopted deaf-mute boy. Aurelia Flower also adopts a young girl; she proves her love for the child despite the grandmother’s bias against her profession as a “yarb-woman.” Nicholas Gunn misanthropically rejects all visitors until he realizes Stephen Forster’s need for shelter and companionship.
Many of her women characters are artists, either traditionally or nontraditionally defined—singers, herbalists, quilters, seamstresses, even “A Poetess.” Not only do they support themselves with their art, but they also find fulfillment through these activities. Characters’ names reveal their occupations or personalities: Martha Patch is a quilter, Fidelia Almy has a faithful soul, and Aurelia Flower is an herbalist with a heart of gold.
Freeman’s symbols come from the natural world and ordinary objects. In “A New England Nun,” Louisa Ellis’ dog Caesar represents her pent-up, misunderstood passion. Martha Patch’s lack of a front window (and the perspective it would afford) shows how circumscribed her life is until her neighbors reach out to help her, offering to put a window in for her. Aurelia Flower restores her neighbors’ health with her herbal preparations, just as she restores her adopted child to a loving home. The black silk dress that Elizabeth and Emily share in “A Gala Dress” and then give to Matilda Jennings represents sisterhood, not only the biological bond the sisters share, but also the...
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