"The Freedom, and Perils, of Living Alone"

I just posted a link to this article on the blog for my ENGL 360 class, because we read Mary Wilkins Freeman's "A New England Nun," in which the protagonist finds herself so changed by years of living alone that she ultimately chooses a single life when her fiance returns (after 14 years--long story) to marry her.

I've been teaching Freeman's story for about five years now and each and every time, more and more students express sympathy for and understanding of Louisa. (And yeah, plenty still just say she's weird and OCD and all that...). I am not sure how big and permanent this trend is towards single living is, but clearly the choice is becoming more accepted.

And holy cow, can I relate to most of the anecdotes/examples in the article. Wow.