Lena Lingard: Summary

In part three, Lena Lingard, Jim goes away from the small town of Black Hawk and goes to Lincoln for college. As he is there he works hard and meets a brilliant scholar by the name of Gaston Cleric. Jim and Gaston go on walks together, discuss school work, and tell each other stories of their past lives. Jim stays with an older couple, living in an old broom closet and working in a small study. "The house was inconveniently situated for students, and on that account I got two rooms for the price of one." One day as he is enveloped in his Latin book, a visitor comes to greet him. At first he does not recognize the young woman standing in front of him with a neatly trimmed black suit, hat, and small gloves, but as he takes another look, he realizes that it is Lena Lingard. He is excited to see her and invites her into his small study room. There they talk of many things, starting off with Lena. Lena had come during the winter and had set up her own dressmaking business. She said it was going wonderfully and that she was glad she had started it. She said it was because of her mother that she started it. She wanted her mother to have a nice house, and with Lena's income, Lena could buy carpet and furniture to decorate the house. Jim was surprised by Lena's business and new orderly life, and he told her he was unsure if he could do what she did. Lena reassured him and then told him about Antonia. She said that Antonia and Larry Donovan was now an "item" even though many people did not approve. Lena also said that Antonia was always talking about Jim and his college work and his intelligence. Jim was glad that Antonia still remembered him, but he was also unhappy about her choices. "I said I didn't like Larry, and never would." Then Lena told him that his grandparents were doing just fine and hope he was doing just as well. After this one encounter, Lena and Jim meet up to go to dinner and a play, and after this, the tradition was set. Whenever they could, Lena and Jim would go to a play, and then back to her house. While he was there, he was rudely glared at by Ordinsky, Lena's Polish neighbor. Only until Ordinsky knew that Jim and Lena had been friends a long time, and that Jim had no intention of hurting her, did Ordinsky finally respect him. Gaston Cleric said he was offered a job at Harvard College, and Jim should come with him. Jim is unsure and asks his grandparents and Lena first. They both agree, and Lena tells Jim that he shouldn't stay with her because she would never get married, to him or anybody.