The Main Theme of the Story Sister Imelda Essay Example

to the narrator about wanting her to stay and live out their lives in the convent together forever. This puts more and more pressure on the narrator and this is the point where the reader might question why exactly Sister Imelda is so hell-bent on staying in the convent where she has to keep her love a secret, as opposed to the outside world where the two wouldn’t have to be as secretive, even if being openly lesbian wasn’t exactly socially acceptable.

This may lead us to the conclusion that Imelda is trying to validate her “sinful” romance by continuing to live out her life as a nun. The time during which the story is set was not a very positive one for the homosexual community and these people were very often a subject of social stigma. Maybe, because of this, Imelda was punishing herself with the religious life as atonement for what she thought was a “sinful” relationship.

This argument in itself is fairly flawed however when we realize that even if Imelda saw her relationship with the narrator as “sinful” she continued the affair apparently without much thought. This may contradict the idea that Imelda is not serious about her vocation and redirect to think that Imelda may simply think that living inside the convent would make the relationship easier for her. These two contradictory ideas are what make the idea of Imelda not having strong conviction for her vocation the main point of the story.

Another facet to this idea could possibly be the fact that Imelda likes control, within the convent she has complete control over the relationship

and this is what makes her not open to the idea of her and the narrator leaving the convent to continue their relationship in the “real world”. The control Imelda seeks to have over the narrator through her control of the relationship is what I believe spells the end for the couple because the narrator is not willing to be in such a controlling environment both romantically and psychologically.

The relationship ultimately ends because of Imelda’s need for control and the narrator’s refusal to submit to it. In the end it seems that Imelda’s need for control and security override her feelings for the narrator and possibly show that on one hand she may be putting her vocation before her relationship, but what is more likely is that she simply did not wish to relinquish the control over the relationship that staying in the convent would have given her.

After all this analysis, it becomes clearer and clearer that Imelda’s true dedications lie in her desire to control her little world and the people within it, rather than in her conviction for her vocation to religious life. Therefore, it is safe to say that Imelda has little conviction for her vocation because of her relationship with the narrator.