Charity This Is a Story

¶ … Charity This is a story that explores the tensions of coping with infirmities of old age and the passionate desire to live an independent life. The author dispels the myth that old or handicapped people are completely dependent on others and incapable of leading that effort. (Marsha Saxton, 1987) Two sisters who never married. Harriet is the strong one, determined to stay independent and out of the poorhouse. She may be a bit deaf but she is definitely not down. Charlotte is considerably more irrational, and blind to boot.

The sisters live in rural New England in a small but rent-free ramshackle house with a terribly leaky roof. They have a small garden and occasionally catch a trout in a nearby stream. Thoughtful neighbors drop by occasionally with food. With some difficulty, Harriet and Charlotte manage. (Freeman, 1887) One neighbor, a busybody named Mrs. Simonds, decides that the women simply can't make it on their own.

Although Harriet insists that "nothing short of Gabriel's trumpet will get us out of our house," the sisters end up being carted to a rest home. It doesn't take long for them to realize that living among the "proper" ladies is not for them. Even sweet Charlotte is willing to do anything to get back home. (Freeman, 1887) The author analyzes the way "upper-class" women gain their sense of identity by taking a charitable interest in their lower-class neighbors.

It is this sense of moral superiority that is actually a form of take-over and domination since it is purchased at the expense of others. (Judith Fetterley, 2003) Mistaken Charity focuses.