against ‘em for me or any other girl - you'd find that out, Joe Dagget." As a whole, the honor displayed in the story is an element of the local color of the New England area. The title of "A New England Nun" captures several qualities of both nature and religious sentiments. The genre of local color is partially characterized by the landscape scenes. "There was a full moon that night. About nine o’clock Louisa strolled down the road a little way. There were harvest-fields on either hand, bordered by low stone walls. Luxuriant clumps of bushes grew beside the wall, and trees—wild cherry and old apple trees—at intervals. Presently Louisa sat down on the wall and looked about her with mildly sorrowful reflectiveness. Tall shrubs of blueberry and meadow-sweet, all woven together and tangled with blackberry vines and horsebriers, shut her in on either side." The emphasis is not on the impact nature has on the humans, nor the humans upon nature. Like a good ecosystem, both nature and humans are able to interact peacefully. However, in spite of the drama of the story, the ecosystem continues on in its natural rhythm. The term "nun" implies several layers of complexity to the short story. There are a number of religious inferences to the text, which give the piece a feeling for the deep devotion of Louisa to her way of life. For example, "If Louisa Ellis had sold her birthright she did not know it, the taste of the pottage was so delicious, and had been her sole satisfaction for so long". This passage explains the opportunity for marrying had passed the protagonist and her "pottage" was the world she meticulously cared for. The passage expresses an awareness of the loss of a good opportunity, but the greater joy came from the "pottage" of the life she already knew. Another example: “Louisa sat, prayerfully numbering her days, like an uncloistered nun". The catholic notion of prayer accompanies the rosary and the numbering of prayers. Freeman uses this religious imagery to display the devotion-like rhythm Louisa accepts and loves. Adaptations In 2001, the Radio Tales series presented an adaptation of the story on National Public Radio. References 1891 short stories American short stories Short stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman Harper & Brothers books