Who Was She? From "The Atlantic Monthly" for September, 1874

"Who Was She?" by Bayard Taylor is a thoughtful story from the late 1800s. As a philosophical piece, it explores themes of who we are, what society wants from us, and how love works. The story centers on a narrator at Wampsocket Springs who finds a mysterious book left behind by a woman and becomes fixated on finding her. He's drawn to her deep thoughts and drawings in the notebook. His search leads him to false conclusions about romance and connection. The story moves between his hopes for love and bitter understandings about society and himself. The woman eventually sends him a letter that reveals they’ve met before, and expresses her sadness that he couldn't see her for who she really was, which makes him think about who he is and what he truly wants. The story captures the difficulty of finding real closeness in a world that can be shallow and restrictive.