In the beginning of this short story, written in 1899, the story is ruled by body language. We do not get a lot of dialogue to analyze. With this insight into Lydia’s thoughts and observations, we see that Lydia and Gannett are two people very accustomed to reading each other. We also get to see that Lydia’s thoughts are deep and complex, ping ponging around about an unknown issue that seems to involve Gannett. Soon, the reader comes to find out that her thoughts are leaving her conflicted about the institution of marriage. We see this conflict through the passage “She was free; and not so much (she had begun to be aware) that freedom had released her from Tillotson as that it had given her to Gannett.” (1459) This conflict is one that is indeed very complex, as we come to find out later in that same paragraph that Lydia has a deep love for Gannett. Through this knowledge we are able to conclude that Lydia is facing an internal battle between her independent values and her thirst for what she calls “respectability” in society.

Lydias values are unique for a woman in the 1800s. Lydia seeks to break free from a society which, “revolved in the same small circle of prejudices” (1459). Therefore, she leaves her husband rebelling against these kinds of circles of prejudice. However, once she is able to be with the man that she loves she finds herself stuck once again. Lydia realizes that she has put herself in a position where Gannett now “owed her something”. Lydia now needs Gannett in order to hold this “respectability” in society and to be considered an honest woman. Lydia does not like this aspect of being dependent on a man once again. She is repelled by the concept of getting married in order to appease the conventional morality of society that she hates.

Although Gannett is clearly deeply in love with Lydia, it is interesting to observe that even he is taken aback by her independence and progressive ideals. Everything Lydia stands for was not considered the “norm” in those times. Gannett himself seems to be on the brink of progressive thinking, but he is weary of it and does not have the fight in him that Lydia does. Lydia is definitely the more passionate of the two and she seems to be the one with strength in the relationship which is another interesting thing to note about a work written in the 1800s.

Although Lydia has this desire for independence and freedom, she finds herself once again in an internal battle between independence and respectability. Toward the end of the story Lydia falls into introspection; “Respectability! It was the one thing in life that I was sure that I didn’t care about, and its grown so precious to me that I’ve stolen it because I couldn’t get it any other way” (1474). This revelation reveals an underlying message, the message that one can never really obtain freedom once they have married. Lydia travels all over the globe trying to escape the burden that marriage has put on her, yet no matter what she does she can not escape its torment. The burden follows her everywhere she goes.

Lydia’s deep thought and introspection is one of the many things that makes her strong and passionate, however it is also her down fall. Gannett realizes this and he feels “bound to her now by a hundred ties of pity” (1476). To a modern reader, it may seem clear that the release from suffering can be found in Lydia owning her controversial opinions and being honest about her situation. However, Lydias character is complex, as we have observed, and freedom is not the only thing that she needs to be happy. Lydia needs both freedom and respectability, and this short story is asserting the point that you can simply not have both. At the end of the story we are told exactly this, “she asked so much of life, in ways so complex and immaterial” (1477).

This short story leaves much for the modern reader to contemplate. Is it true, in our modern society, that one cannot escape the burden of marriage, even after divorce? Is there still a prejudice against divorced people in society? If society’s views on marriage and divorce have changed, then how have they changed?