Punishment for "biting" the forbidden fruit?

I have to admit that when I first read this piece I did not pick up on any sexual references. I was caught up in her obsession with order and her indifference to the man she had waited fourteen years for. I found it incredible that she remained loyal to him for so many years and originally thought it was quite sad that she gave up so much of her life waiting for a man who may not have ever returned. After finishing the piece I realized that over time it became her choice to live the way she did and that she really was not waiting for him, but was simply enjoying her life.

As for sexuality within this piece, as I said earlier I did not initially pick up on it but I examined further and ended up settling on one line within the piece that got me thinking. Freeman chooses to state that Joe was "the first lover she had ever had" (Freeman 360). The fact that she chose "lover" instead of "love" is a clear attempt to make a point. "Love" would have fit perfectly into that line and would have implied a purity to the feelings she had for him; but, the fact that she chose "lover" implies a sexual exchange occurred between Joe and Louisa. I also find it interesting that Caesar's crime of biting occurred fourteen years prior which was around the time Joe left. It makes me wonder if Caesar's sin of biting could be tied in with Louisa's sin of sexual intercourse before marriage? It could be that Caesar is suffering the punishment of confinement in the same way that Louisa suffers sexual confinement. It doesn't appear that either of them are truly suffering when both Louisa and Caesar seem content with their lives; but, as the "tall weeds and grasses...cluster around Caesars little hermit hut," and the canary turns "itself into a peaceful yellow ball..." I ponder what is truly being caged as Louisa steeps "in peace" (Freeman 365). It could possibly be Louisa's sexuality or her subscription to traditional marital ambitions. It could also be a punishment she imposes on herself for "biting" (similar to Caesar) the forbidden fruit fourteen years prior.