Louisa and Caesar - A New England Nun

In the story, A New England Nun, Louisa Ellis struck me as a very interesting character. She seemed to be a very passive woman that was set in her ways due to living alone for so long. The words used to describe her actions or possessions were “soft, dainty, feminine, slender, sweet, pretty, etc.” Louisa’s descriptions and lifestyle made me think of her as a woman who focused on being feminine and based her life around a man. However, as I read on I noticed that Louisa did not seem to have a desire to stick to her 14 year promise of marrying Joe Dagget. I connected the story behind Louisa’s dog, Caesar, to her feelings about the wedding. One mistake Caesar made as a puppy caused him to be chained to a kennel for 14 years. “It was now fourteen years since, in a flood of youthful spirits, he had inflicted that memorable bite, and with the exception of short excursions, always at the end of the chain, under the strict guardianship of his master or Louisa, the old dog had mained a close prisoner,” (356). This passage may be suggesting that Louisa’s youthful decision to wait for Joe Dagget resulted in a 14 year entrapment. Even though Louisa was alone at home, she was still a submissive to Joe and remained faithful to him the entire time. She had gotten used to this metaphorical chain to Joe and seemed to be afraid of what would happen if she were to be set free.