Holding onto her hope for romantic love,
Louisa refuses to encourage the attentions of a neighboring
farmer, John Nye, who could, if Louisa married him,
save her family from starvation and drudgery.
In Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's story of
one young woman's stubborn struggle for freedom, Louisa
earns her liberty through independence of mind and
the determination that, so far as true love is concerned,
"when I meet him I'll know it."
