The rejected wife

"The Rejected Wife" by Ann S. Stephens is a novel written in the mid-19th century. Set several generations earlier in a rural Connecticut village, it promises a domestic drama of love, ambition, and moral reckoning. The story orbits the Arnold family—warm, devout parents, their lovely daughter Hannah, and the returning son Benedict—whose stylish French guests disrupt the homestead’s calm and draw out hidden attachments, especially with the miller’s daughter, Amy Leonard. Expect a tale of romance and social pressure where a woman’s trust is severely tested. The opening of the novel paints Norwich and its neighboring farms on the eve of Thanksgiving, as Mrs. Arnold and Hannah finish their newly completed rooms and bustle through preparations while the household’s enslaved servants, Hagar and Dan, provide earthy humor. Benedict arrives home with Laura de Montreuil and her brother Paul; a village shooting-match, a reverent church service, and a sparkling sleigh-ride showcase the contrast between homely piety and cosmopolitan charm—Paul’s gallantry warms to Hannah, and Laura captivates attention. Beneath the merriment, Benedict grows tense when a saw-mill family is mentioned, and that night he secretly meets Amy Leonard by the mill to coldly repudiate a private union she believes binding, leaving her crushed and alone. The next day’s delayed departure keeps the guests under the Arnolds’ roof, with affection, deception, and impending conflict now set in motion.

The rejected wife, by Ann S. Stephens. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78470.