Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part Two

"A Jonquil for Mary Penn"

     Mary and her husband, Elton Penn, have been married just over a year. Their love for each other is strong and fresh. Though they are poor, they think of themselves as the happiest people on earth.           During Mary's growing up years, her family made it clear that she was to marry a professional man, such as a doctor or, even better, a minister. Anything less was not acceptable. So when she went off and married Elton, a farming boy, they cut her off from them, saying that she was no longer to be apart of their lives. Mary and her husband moved to Hargrave, where they were accepted with open arms. Mary was "adopted" by the women of her neighborhood, learning all of the housewife ways, and Elton by the men of the neighborhood. Everyone loved each other and found joy in one another. Mary and Elton finally felt they belonged somewhere. So, even though their house was shabby, their money stash low and their families far away, they had high spirits. They saw a bright future ahead for themselves and knew anything could be endured as long as they were together.

     The story began with Mary Penn waking up one morning, very sick. She tried to go about her morning routine without letting her husband know something was wrong. She made his breakfast and coffee, and after he ate, he hugged her and headed out to work. For a while Mary Penn sat in her house and tried to motivate herself to start cleaning. She attempted to start a fire in the stove box to warm herself but even that was too much. As she sat, she began feeling sorry for herself. She thought of her husband, who seemed so far away, not saying anything about her sickness that morning. With her last bit of strength, she ended up lying down again, and with disappointment that her husband didn't notice her condition and come back home, she fell asleep. 

     When she awoke she found that the house was toasty warm and clean, with a tea kettle warming on the stove. Looking around she saw one of her dear neighbors, Josie Tom, sitting beside the bed, embroidery laying over her lap. It turns out that her husband did notice her ailments this morning and had stopped by on the way to work to ask Josie Tom to come take care of her while he was away. With this knowledge in her heart, she happily fell back to sleep.

     This was a truly, heartwarming story, even though it was rather short and a bit random. I enjoyed it a lot more than the previous one, mainly because I love the picture of a little old, country house with a fire going and a teakettle on. It makes me feel happy and peaceful. Also, the bond between Mary and her husband is sweet to read. They love and treasure each other and this is so often not the case in other books or even in real life. This is a refreshing story.