Nels Oleson was married to a very difficult woman in Little House On The Prairie. Harriet interfered when Nels tried to discipline the children. She didn't know how to cook and burned all of the food. She was constantly nagging him, yelling at him, and angry with him. She never said anything even remotely nice to him.
He decided he needed to get away for awhile to pursue selling something. He came to a place to stay and as soon as he walked into the inn, he heard the happy singing of a beautiful, young woman named Molly. She always spoke kindly to him and had a continual smile on her face. She told him the woman's place was in the kitchen and everything she cooked tasted wonderful.
When she asked him if he was married, he told her he wasn't and oh, how he wished he wasn't. In the evening, they spent time laughing and dancing together. {She taught him how to dance.} She was always encouraging him with her words. He kissed her on the cheek good night.
When he returned home, Harriet was so happy to see him. She missed his cooking terribly! He was so unhappy to see her. As he was about to leave again, he told Harriet he didn't know if he would return. He went back to Molly and brought her a cameo. She hugged him and they kissed on the mouth. Charles walked in and saw them. He later told Charles that Molly makes him laugh like he hadn't in years and makes him feel young again. He told him he loved Harriet but he was all mixed up.
Molly finally said something about Nels asking her for her hand and Nels replied, "I can't marry you, Molly...I'm already married. I'm sorry I lied to you. I do care for you, Molly, very much. I'm just a silly old man I guess."
When he went back home and walked in his front door, Harriet was standing there and said, "Welcome home, Nels" and then complimented him on his new suit and told him how handsome he looked. He told her she looked very nice and she told him she wanted to look nice, especially for him. She fixed his favorite drink and had him sit down at a beautifully set table with candlelight. Then she served him burnt roast that she couldn't cut. She began sobbing since she wanted to cook something special for him, but he started laughing. He exclaimed, "Don't you see? My place is in the kitchen unless you want us to starve! No one forced me to cook. I did it because I enjoy it!" Then she began laughing hysterically, they hugged each other, and then took a long walk arm in arm just the two of them like they use to.
If this was a show today, Nels would definitely have left Harriet for the young, cute Molly. Oh, how I wish they would bring back shows like this where men decided to be faithful even to their difficult wives! {It also helps us see clearly between the two types of wives. We should strive to make it easy for our husbands to love us and be like Molly.}
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3
