Summary

Eliza writes a letter to her sister. She gives her a report on happenings at the boardinghouse she runs. Most recently, a “gentleman lodger” named Jack has shown interest in her (3). Although she has “a vague affection for him,” she has no interest in marriage (3). He writes poetry, often about the other lodgers.

Meanwhile, the region has been unsettled since the end of the Civil War. Some of the local causes feel excessive to Eliza. Sometimes it feels like “the beginning of the end of the beginning” (7).

After describing more of her interactions with Jack, Eliza reflects on love, desire, and charity. Eliza has also been having regular “visits with the pastor” (8). Sometimes he questions Eliza’s bitterness. Although she sometimes feels happy, she usually feels “stumped and mystified and frozen in place” (8). Few people seem to understand her. Libby misses her sister...