The Life of Nancy
Despite the lack of relation between the characters in each story, a common theme runs through the collection: nostalgia for the past and/or a need for revival of tradition.
[9] In The Atlantic Monthly, Horace Scudder wrote: "Miss Jewett never quite parts with that air of fine breeding which gives grace and beauty to her work, and makes her characters the objects of a compassion born of fuller knowledge than they possess of themselves.
Mr. Daniel Carew: Tom Aldis’ friend who hurts his ankle while the two are in East Rodney, Maine.
It begins in Boston several months after Tom spent time with Nancy’s family in East Rodney, Maine.
Nancy informs Tom that a young woman whom he was involved with in East Rodney the previous summer is now seeing another suitor.
He has also purchased Nancy a form of wheel chair, which she uses to leave her house and visit Tom outside in the beautiful weather.
The story ends with Tom and Nancy sharing an emotional moment in which she says “there never has been a day when I haven’t thought of you”.
It begins with a short description of why Mr. Pinkham’s visit to New York City was featured in the newspaper by a particular reporter.
The final chapter of this story takes place in the Ethan Allen Hotel in which the elderly couple is staying in New York City.
The third, and shortest, chapter of this story gives a short description of the train ride that Tom takes to Virginia.
He becomes slightly infatuated with her and they make eye contact while he listens to her and her friends discuss the upcoming horse races.
Tom soon realizes that the portrait hanging in the main entrance to the house of Mrs. Bellamy is familiar as it looks like girl he saw his first day in Virginia.
Katy spends time with her father working on the fields, while Susan Ellen enjoys housework with her mother.
They continue to drive and John tells many stories to his daughters about crops, farming and past lives.
Once they arrive in the Topham Corners, John tells his daughters to act properly as they will now be in the presence of extremely high-class people.
Susan Ellen is not very entertained by the story nor the appearance of the Judge, but Katy is ecstatic and behaves with her best manners.
In the second, and final, chapter of this story Mrs. Bickford awakes extremely anxious about to which husband she should give the rose.
When John comes back, he tells his aunt that one flower fell out of the bouquets and asks if he can give it to his fiancé.
William invites his father over for dinner and to see Maria Durrant, a woman that could possibly work for him as a housekeeper.
The next morning Maria ignores Israel’s request to begin work in the afternoon, and decides to start early.
The townsmen (Captain Weathers, Ezra Spooner and Henry Staples) discuss how they feel he will be extremely helpful around the town as a kind of handyman.
Captain Weathers brings the news to the other men and they are extremely saddened- they complain about Canadians in general and are sad that Mary will be leaving them.
Cynthia is embarrassed that she did not think to bring a gift and discusses again how she is unsure that Mrs. Timms initially wanted her to come to her house.
After a short while they pass a house that Persis recognizes as that of Ms. Ezra Beckett, the stranger comments that that is the woman she is going to visit!
In the final chapter of this story, Cynthia and Persis are riding home from their visits with Nancy and Mrs. Timms in the same stagecoach that they took that morning.
Ezra comes outside to tell the driver that they need to send for the girl’s bags, confusing all of the passengers who had seen the strange exchange earlier in the day.
In the next chapter, John enters his home after a day's work outside to find his wife, Mary Hannah and his daughter Lizzie in the kitchen.
We learn that Mr. Farris is a sneaky businessman who has taken advantage of many people in times of need- paid them less than deserved for their timber.
The next morning is Christmas Eve, and John decides to take his fishing boat out to think over the tree matter alone.
They all hear a loud noise and Joe tells John that the whole town has come to celebrate him for stopping Farris from cutting down the trees!
