“Apa, I could have killed Mariska today.”
Her father winces, but continues polishing his shoes. “You are killing people now, my daughter?”
“No, Apa. But I would like to kill her.” She stirs the polenta in the kettle, watching the bubbles begin to snap inside the pot. “She makes fun of me all of the time. Laughing at my hands. But, I scared that dirty Gypsy, today.”
“Don't listen to those girls,” her father tells her. “The hands of a good woman are never idle.” In his world, wholesome girls become hard-working women. He despises 'self-centered fashion-mongers’ and ‘decorative women'. Her father believes in modesty and simplicity.
Ava loathes tradition. She hates everything that reminds her of her childhood and her mother. It’s why she wears her shapeless pull-on pants and shabby sweaters. And why she ties her hair back in a faded, dark cotton scarf. It not only makes her look dowdy and androgynous, but older too. She prefers the image of Hungary’s new independent, factory woman. Women who hold their own. Like the women she sometimes sees in town. Strong, tough women! Women who her father detests that drink and smoke and gamble.
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Someday, when she is old enough to leave the village, she will find a place where she can spread her wings. Maybe even become a dreamy woman, like the one she saw at the cinema, the week before.
There on the screen, is a delicate woman. One that her father would describe as “despicable bourgeois and petty.” But this magnificent vision of a woman is not a fragile maiden. Clearly she is in charge. Her nails are painted with red nail varnish and they are long, like those of a cat. Her arms are two fragile tendrils, moving through the air like soft whispers. Everything about her is so different from the thick, muscular arms of the women in her village. She is
The author shows a great example of the power these men had against these women in the village. In the time period this story took place, it was amazing to the author to witness that gender inequality was still a very big issue in some places. The author described how shocked she was when she found out that these women were not allowed to
Gilman’s metaphor of the Corset helps to explain why many women today find it difficult to break away from the restrictions placed on them. Girls are taught from birth to be more subjective
To most girls, the most important opinion of them comes from their own mothers. The text talks about how much a mother’s opinion can really impact their daughter. The smallest comments from a mother means so much to their daughter. The text also mentions how just a gaze from a mother says it all, and can lead to an upset and hurt daughter (Tannen, 1978). Personally, I always want my mom to be happy with my choices. Whenever there is a special occasion and I want a new dress for it, I always want my mom to come shopping with me, not just because she may offer to pay for it, but I want her to see my options. Even when my mom isn’t able to go shopping with me, I still want to get her thoughts
The girl distrusts her mother and believes her to be out of touch, while helping her father in "his real work" (468). Surprisingly, the girl's desire to avoid the manifestation of her femininity in womanly tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, influences her into feeling that her mother is "plotting now to get [her] to stay in the house [. . ]. and keep [her] from working for [her] father" (469). The girl chooses to dismiss her mother, thereby dismissing her own future role as a housewife.
Conduct books published in the 19th century outline the societal expectations imposed on young women during the time period. Sarah Ellis’s book The Daughters of England, published in 1842, is no exception, encouraging women to hold Victorian values as an ideal standard. Directing her handbook toward adolescent girls nearing the end of their formal education, Ellis seeks to define the responsibilities of women, highlighting their position in society, and advising against or encouraging certain behaviors. The Daughters of England centers on the idea that women are innately different from men and therefore belong in a particular gender sphere. The advice Ellis offers to readers is allocated into twelve encompassing chapters: “Important Inquiries”; “Economy of Time”; “Cleverness—Learning—Knowledge”; “Music, Painting, and Poetry”; “Taste, Tact, and Observation”; “Beauty, Health, and Temper”; “Society, Fashion, and Love of Distinction”; “Gratitude and Affection”; “Friendship and Flirtation”; “Love and Courtship”; “Selfishness, Vanity, Artifice, and Integrity”; and “Dedication of Youth.”
Shabbiness implies laziness and poverty while Neatness implies responsibility and wealth which both correspond to a community’s standards of good women. When the mother tells her daughter how to be a respectable woman, she starts off with clothing by saying “Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry.” (44). Washing, Sewing, and Ironing are ways that a woman can project their status, self-worth, and productivity since well-groomed women and organized women appear competent and in control in the eyes of society. Because of this the mother stresses the importance of appearance to her
Although the daughter’s shame in her mother is evident, she is also prideful of her as well. The strong love that the mother and daughter share is pervasive throughout the story. The story is being told by the daughter after she is all grown up. The fact that Jones uses such vivid detail on the mother’s preparation for her daughters first day of school shows that the daughter loved her mom and all that she did for her. The daughter recalls that her mother spent a lot of time preparing her when she says, “My mother has uncharacteristically spent nearly an hour on my hair that morning, plaiting and replaiting so that now my scalp tingles.” (Jones) She also remembers that her “pale green slip and underwear are new, the underwear having come three to a plastic package with a little girl on the front who appears to be dancing.” (Jones) The daughter having remembered details like these illustrate that she has an immense love and takes pride
In Jamaica Kincaid’s story, Girl, a mother is talking to her daughter about all the proper things she must do to be considered a good girl to her family and to the public, and when she grows up, a proper lady. She must follow the rules that are given to her by her own mother and by society. The mother also teaches the daughter how to act when things don’t go her way. She is told that along with being a proper lady, she must also be able to get what she wants and be independent. This story was written in the late 1970’s and gender roles, for women, back then were not being “followed” because women wanted equal opportunities (Women In the Workforce). “Gender stereotypes are beliefs regarding the traits and behavioral characteristics given to individuals on the basis of their gender” (Deuhr). This essay will discuss the gender roles that were given to women in the story, during the late 70’s, and in today’s society.
Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl explores these controversies and writes a long form poem that includes a list of rules for young girls to follow as advice that will help them be more likeable and become a reputable “woman”. These rules are delivered in a direct emphasis with strict undertone. The guidelines given to the young girl can be inferred as a mother teaching her daughter who is at the age of adolescence. Jamaica Kincaid’s long form poem Girl highlights the stereotypical social responsibilities of young girls which is heavily defined by language, culture, and mothers. In the poem the mother figure covers everything from how to
Society is often seen to have different biases or perspectives on topics such as the role and perception of women. The short story, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, consists primarily of a catalog of commands and instructions, the purpose of which is to make sure that the mother’s daughter is constantly in check and not getting into any trouble. Jamaica Kincaid utilizes a wide range of techniques such as symbolism and diction in order to showcase the theme of how the depiction of women rely mainly on how they present themselves in the public and how they are so easily described as impure or filthy.
There are many companies in the world today that put an idea of this perfect female body into the heads of women. These images lead to a faulty standard men hold of women and their bodies and that women strive to become. Margaret Atwood addresses the issue of the way men view the female body by writing her essay in the viewpoints of a male so the reader can better understand how the expectation men have of the female body is unrealistic. First, she uses an allusive comparison to show the male expectation of the female body and how it is objectified as if it were a doll that comes with accessories. Next, she uses an anecdote with defamiliarization to show how the way the father views a Barbie doll and the way it portrays the female body to young girls is hypocritical. Lastly, Margaret Atwood uses insidious diction to talk about how men not only view the female body as a product but how they also use the female body as a product which can be sold amongst businessmen. In The Female Body, Margaret Atwood uses many rhetorical devices to convey how the female body is viewed through the eyes of men.
The story of The Walking Woman challenges the typical domestic view of women by portraying the Walking Woman as independent and as someone who defies social norms. This is shown by the fact that she “had gone about alone in a country where the number of women is as one in fifteen (lines 22-23).” She walks around alone carrying a blanket and a black bag, and she wears men’s boots and keeps her hair short. She sleeps at sheep camps and goes about “unarmed and unoffended (line 27).” The way the walking woman lives contradicts her society’s idea of how a lady should act. Mystery surrounds the walking woman partially because of conflicting reports about her physical appearance. Reports that she is “plain to the point of deformity
In spite of the hard life, she's still full of hope and dreams for the future, as revealed by the "decoration" on the wall in her shabby lodging and the daydreams she often has in her little piggery. She intends to be a lady in a flower shop instead of selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road, but is refused because of her dreadful accent.
It was too late to change from her man’s tunic and trousers, which were, incidentally, torn at the knees and filthy. Why couldn’t Audra’s parents understand she liked learning to defend herself? Besides, the stable boy was never all that rough. And why did being a woman mean one should not stand up for herself, physically or otherwise?
In the seat in front of me, my sister Annette fussily rearranges her skirts, checking her hair and makeup in a small vanity mirror. In the few hours we have been on the train, Annette has grown increasingly agitated, frantically fixing and re-fixing her hair and makeup. As I stand up to take our bags out of the compartment above, Annette lifts herself daintily from her seat, careful not to mess up her freshly curled hair. She checks her appearance in the window reflection, applying, even more, face powder and sucking her already tiny waist in even more. She then turns to check mine, running a disapproving eye over my casual attire. “Oh, well….It will have to do,” she sighs. “But really Aurelia, you should try harder to look presentable. We need to make a good impression on London high society.” “Well sorry, I’m not Miss Perfect like you!” I snap. Annette rolls her eyes and turns once more to check her hair. Feeling self-conscious, I attempt to fix my unruly locks, running my hands