Analysis of Jewett, A Country Doctor

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Jewett, A Country Doctor
Sarah Orne Jewett wrote the novel A Country Doctor. It revolves around a young woman, Nan, who is a doctor and is undergoing different issues in society as she tries to cope with the dilemmas of her self and her gender. She is going through conflict on whether to meet the demands of society or her wishes (Jewett 22). The author shows how the protagonist’s childhood is normative, and she is undergoing conflicts due to her gender and expectations from society.
Jewett presents Nan’s childhood to show that the protagonist’s goals are objective rather than extraordinary. Jewett relies on the book to describe her childhood and professional experiences, which means that Nan’s experiences are realistic. She begins to gain awareness about the sounds and signs of the native people, which was crucial to give her more profound and extensive lessons about life and her field. The author shows how women undergo various limitations by using Nan’s childhood, who could not practice herbalism due to her problems. Nan is not happy about the herbal healing that is practiced by Eliza Dyer. However, Dr. Leslie informs her that she would be “the successor of Mrs. Martin Dyer, and the admiration of the neighborhood” (Jewett 178). It is at this point that she becomes aware that being a herbalist is a promising career. Her goals are normative since it is something that a young person wants to achieve and wants to help the society around her. He agrees that being a herbal healer is a promising career, but it has its limitations, such as being next to the doctor who is viewed as the “authority on all medical subjects” (Jewett 29). She is not happy with the idea that she would be second place. This is why she decided to renounce social propriety and marriage so that she can continue to study medicine, which goes against the community’s expectations. She does not want to e limited like all rural women, which suggests that they are designed to less powerful roles such as herbal healers rather than being medical doctors. Her normative attitude means that she wants to change how women are viewed in society and become something more than being in the second position.
Nan’s travels with the “country doctor” have been critical in shaping her goals and outlook in life. She decides to go into a career in medicine to move away from the female world of rituals and love to the new world of patriarchal knowledge accessible to more women. Her travels with the doctor influence her outlook as she begins to appreciate her abilities and what she can do. Being a herbalist is a symbolic way to show how the women’s role was regarded as less important than males who are allowed to be doctors, thereby representing medicine and modernity (Jewett 112). The village doctor is permitted to move effortlessly between public and private spaces, which is not the case with the herbal healer confined to local reputation and ho...