The Joy Of Nell Deane Analysis

Willa Cather, from “The Joy of Nelly Deane” (p. 223)
Willa Cather writes the story of The Joy of Nelly Deane, describing Nelly’s joy as “unquenchable,” especially, Nelly’s joy attracted all the Baptist ladies who admired the prettiest girl in Riverbend, Nebraska (Cather, p. 225). Nelly fluttered from one social event to another, parties, picnics and dances, and sings like a “prima-donna” in the Baptist Church choir, where she met Peggy, the narrator of the story.
Peggy was named, by the Baptist sewing women, as a good influence for Nelly because she was quiet and although quiet, Peggy actually was a good influence because she was discerning, she gave subtle warnings to Nelly on how she felt about the young men whom Nelly chose, like, Scott Spinney whom Peggy describes as “so set in dark” and “Taciturn and domineering.” Peggy later writes about her discerning intuition when she shakes Scott’s hand as he was walking out of the Post Office, “ He gave me a hard grip with one black hand” (Cather, p. 231).
Cather writes Peggy’s description of Nelly’s baptism, before her marriage to Scott, which sealed the quenching of Nelly’s worldly joy into the cement Baptismal pit that swallowed Nelly into dark
The argument begins the man returns from the two mile walk from the store without the women’s anticipated coffee. Instead of the coffee the man held a 24 foot rope. The man did not drink coffee and that must be, according to the women, why it was forgotten. The women wondered, “What was the rope for?” The man could not think of anything, at the moment that the rope could be used for, in addition, the women discovered the eggs had been broken, apparently when the rope had been laid on top of the them. The rope argument escalated and hate prevailed and worked it’s way into other surface issues, household chores,