Lamp at Noon Summary

The Lamp at Noon
The story starts with a woman lighting a lamp during a dust storm on a farm. The lady looks out the door and window, commenting on the thickness of the dust, then moves back into the house to tend to her baby. When her husband walks into the house, she shows a level of weakness. She complains to her husband, Paul, about the hardships she has to face as a farmer’s wife on this desolate land. She offers to ask for financial help, or to even go live with, her family, as they have money and are financially secure. However, Paul has a bit of an ego, and as such refuses to ask help from his wife’s family. He wants to stay on the farm and refuses to leave, despite the fact that the dust storms have relentless for years. Saying this, he storms out, towards the stables. He feeds the horses, and returns to the house. He is shocked to see that Ellen is gone, the door left open, and the crib empty. He gets other people to help search for her, but two hours later, he find her by himself, holding the child. Ellen seems to have gone crazy, as she is just smiling does not notice that her child has gone cold, most likely dead. Paul takes Ellen and there lifeless child back to their farm, and the story ends with Ellen telling Paul that her arms were tired from carrying the