This Week in A Northern Light

One of Mattie's good friends is names Minne, and Mattie goes over to her house to tell her that she has been accepted to College. When she enters, she finds that Minnie has started to go into labor, and that the midwife is hard at work in her delivery. Minnie is a mess, and Mattie helps comfort her and deliver the babies as well. After a long time in labor, the babies are born. To everyones surprise, twins, a boy and a girl, are delivered. Then, Minnie's husband comes home in shock. Mattie envies the love that these two share, and questions whether its better to be in love or to have an education. She says shes never seen both. In the next chapter, we get a glimpse of Mattie's dad. Mattie has fallen asleep on the couch with her composition book, and her father wonders were she got the money. He beats her for it when she tells him she used some extra money to buy it. Later, Mattie goes to her Aunt's house. She asks her Aunt if possibly she would lend her money to go to college. The Aunt calls her selfish, and asks if shes out of her mind. Mattie's hopes of going to college are slimming. The following day, Mattie goes to the Loomis's house as her cow has broken through their fence. She is aided in retrieving the cow from Royal, and when walking her home, he kisses her and cups her breast. Though she yells at him, it is obvious that she likes it and is in love with Royal. In the next chapter, a quick glance to the future is portrayed as Mattie is working at the Glenmore. She is having trouble getting to sleep while thinking of the young girl who they retrieved from the bottom of the lake. Back into the past, Mattie and her best friend Weaver are walking home from school, and stop at the train station that Weaver's mother works at selling food from a cart. A man who must be from the south orders Weaver to take his bags, calling him a darky. Weaver is greatly offended and makes a scene kicking the mans bag. Royal interrupts, and offers Mattie a ride home. He doesn't make a move on her, as his little brothers are in the back seat, and Mattie is relived and disappointed at the same time. I truly home that Mattie gets the chance to go to college, and am realizing the lack of opportunity women have in this time period.