Question

Meneseteung from friend of my youth summary

Answer 1

The story opens with the narrator remembering dreams of her mother. Her mother had been a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse, boarding at the armhouse occupied by the religious Grieves sisters, Ellie and Flora. The home was divided: one side by Ellie and her husband, Robert; the other by the single Flora.

Robert and Flora had once been a couple. Yet, Robert got Ellie pregnant: '''Now there had to be a wedding, though not the one that had been planned.'' Robert and Ellie married, with Flora handling the betrayal in stride: helping her sister ready for the wedding and pressing Robert's suit.

We see the differences of an older, perhaps simpler time in this portion, yet a question about how the sisters' true beliefs given Ellie's betrayal of her sister. It's possible that the focus here isn't so much about a generational difference, as a difference in personalities (Flora is old-fashioned, while Ellie is wilder).

Answer 2

Answer:

This story is told by an unknown narrator who is piecing together information about the life of a 19th century poet called Almeda Roth. Although the story is exploring the past, it is told in present tense. Almeda lives in a small town on a respectable street.