# Isolation and Community in New Hampshire

> Theme guide for New Hampshire by Robert Frost.

The work examines rural solitude, as in 'The Census-Taker' and 'Stopping by Woods,' alongside the quirky, interconnected lives of small-town New Englanders.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Census-Taker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/the-census-taker): The chapter emphasizes extreme isolation, with the census-taker finding no community in the vast, empty landscape.
- [The Axe-Helve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/the-axe-helve): Baptiste uses the pretext of fixing the axe to invite the narrator into his home, suggesting a desire for neighborly connection and mutual understanding across cultural divides.
- [Paul's Wife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/paul-s-wife): Paul's desire to keep his wife hidden contrasts with the communal curiosity of the lumber camp, highlighting tensions between privacy and social bonds.
- [Place for a Third](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/place-for-a-third): Eliza's wish to be buried alone contrasts with the communal nature of family plots, and Laban's interactions with John's sister reveal the tensions between individual desire and social expectations.
- [Two Witches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/two-witches): Both witches are isolated figures within their communities, yet their identities are defined by communal gossip, town records, and local politics.
- [I: The Witch of Coös](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/i-the-witch-of-co-s): The mother and son live in a remote farmhouse behind a mountain, isolated from the outside world, and the secret of the bones binds them together.
- [II: The Pauper Witch of Grafton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/ii-the-pauper-witch-of-grafton): The narrator's status as a witch isolates her, yet she is entangled in community disputes over her legal residence.
- [An Empty Threat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/an-empty-threat): The narrator's solitary existence in the Arctic is tempered only by the occasional visits of Joe, highlighting the thin line between isolation and tenuous companionship.
- [A Fountain, a Bottle, a Donkey’s Ears and Some Books](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/a-fountain-a-bottle-a-donkey-s-ears-and-some-books): Clara Robinson's life 'shut in' for years contrasts with the communal act of publishing and the later abandonment of her home.
- [The Runaway](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/the-runaway): The colt's isolation in the pasture and the speaker's call for someone to take him in underscore the tension between solitary exposure and communal responsibility.
- [Two Look at Two](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/two-look-at-two): The couple's isolation on the mountain is transformed into a sense of communion with the earth through the deer's presence.
- [The Lockless Door](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/the-lockless-door): The speaker's choice to flee rather than open the door reflects a tension between solitude and the unknown visitor.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/themes/isolation_and_community
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_hampshire_se/themes