this wonderful film contain a warm and nostalgic look back at the life of an ailing school teacher . a time and her illness progress and miss dove and best know to the small town a a rigid and stiff disciplinarian and realize the positive effect she have have on the people around her and and their love for her . never marry and childless miss dive find purpose and contentment in her duty to repay her father debt and thereby avoid a scandal and by work a a teacher and instead of marry the man she love . the film have especially fine direction and performance and and an intelligent and multi layer script . while miss dove appear a one dimensional and humorless snob at the beginning of the film and the many layer of her story and personality be reveal throughout the course of the film . by the end and you realize why everyone be so fond of her . thinking back over this film and i be strike by the image in my mind of an america that seem to no long exist . healthy and proud and and affluent small town and the belief in follow one duty in life instead of whim and and the sense of personal responsibility among these character be so unusual to see in a modern film or modern life . there be a scene in which miss dove help a bank avoid closing and a selfless and altruistic act that seem so different than anything that could have occur in the recent banking crisis . grow up in the 1980s and i think i be see the last of this generation fade away . perhaps i still be . i remember write a fan letter to jennifer jones year ago . i love her then a i still do . i never consider it odd that she do not reply . she be a symbol of the grace and dignity of a long go era . noticing that she just pass away and i can not help but feel she pass away with the unfortunate changing of our culture and to the violent and seedy and and irresponsible . but what an enduring and magical film legacy she leave behind .