Her first crush

Gustavo Quntero
English 48B
February 26, 2008
Journal #31 Sarah Orne Jewett



Quote:
"...Sylvia still watched the young man with loving admiration. She had never seen anybody so charming and delightful; the woman's heart, asleep in the child, was vaguely thrilled by the dream of love"(Jewett 526).



Summary:
Sylvia is overcoming her fear of people and has developed a crush on the young hunter.


Response:
This is the turning point for the novel and for Sylvia. She is overcoming her fear of people and has a crush on the hunter. This is a huge step for Sylvia especially considering that just a day earlier she was deathly afraid of the young hunter. The part I find a little strange is how Sylvia can find a man that is so crass and demanding as charming. When he first met Sylvia he basically demanded that she find him room and board. He also came off very aggressive to Sylvia grandmother. I do not know why she finds this man charming. Maybe she finds him charming because he is a very masculine man. Sylvia has never had any interaction with anyone let alone a man. This is why she develops this crush on him. His masculinity overwhelms her and she has feelings for him. It's as if the city she grew up in, repressed her so much that she was never able to develop feelings for the opposite sex. In the quote it says, "the woman's heart, asleep in the child", is ever important because Sylvia is craving affection. I almost think that she fantasizes about being swept off her feet by a knight on a horse. The typical fantasy that girls about her age fantasize about involves the princess and the knight. Now that she is not oppressed by the factory town she is free to explore the feelings of love and affection. I do not think that she is in love because she is to young to know what love is. Crush is the perfect description for what Sylvia feels for the young hunter because she is just beginning to express herself affectionatly and sexually. She has not yet fully matured sexually, although at the end of this story I think that Sylvia finds herself closer to full maturity.