A Secret Sorrowful Woman

Weldon’s “Letters to Alice” serves to enrich and deepen the responder’s understanding of the particular ways in which women were compromised in “Pride and Prejudice”. Discussion of fundamental

In a world usually depicted as a “man’s world,” a woman’s role is not considered as significant and thus can be repressed. It is why a feminist perspective or criticism comes into place, especially in literature. By definition, a feminist criticism consist of scrutinizing “the ways in which literature reinforces the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.” (Tyson) In Gail Godwins’s A Sorrowful Woman, the leading female character is concentrated in her efforts in distancing from her structured lifestyle. A feminist would critic Godwins story by as the female character is in pursuit of peace and happiness and wants to escape from the role she has been implanted. The critic would concentrate on the experience woman

A life as a wife and/or a mother, is usually appreciated and is a happy life as well. A relationship between two people should consist of joy, commitment, responsibility, and most importantly love. For the two main characters in both stories ( “The Story of An Hour”, and “A Sorrowful Woman” ) this was not the case. The stories go against societies view with marriage roles and happiness.

Gail Godwin’s Sorrowful Woman develops the message that the archetypal role of mother and wife is so constricting and limiting as to force ‘the mother’ character to end her life. The end of the story demonstrates the power of rhetoric, contrast, and detached narration in creating the text’s message.

Rose and Kazan display justice through the antagonists of each text creating a sort of tension and contrast in both characters. Both Friendly,

Nancy Scheper-Hughes studies and observes the connections between the loss of infants and the mother’s ability to express maternal love in the shantytowns of Brazil in her article “Mother’s Love: Death without Weeping.” Studying documents, interviewing, and observing the everyday lives of mothers, were the fieldwork procedures she used to conduct her research. The results of her research provided evidence of two theoretical perspectives observed in the article, structuralism and materialism.

In the story “A Secret Sorrow”, a woman by the name of Faye is battling a traumatic accident. The reference of the car accident sets the reader up for the tone of the story. In the beginning of chapter 11, Faye is very fragile woman. Something is making her feel distraught. When reading the first sentence “feel the blood drain from her face” (Van Der Zee 28) and “thought she was going to faint” (28), its not clear what permanent internal injury Faye has, as stated in the preface. In the following few paragraphs the author wrote, “clutched at him for support, fighting for control” and “legs were shaking so badly”. These descriptive statements of

(2) She generally concealed her emotion, even when she talked about her experience of abuse and rape. While, she sometimes behaved dramatically and occasionally produced short-lived angry outbursts.

The emotions I felt for this woman was overwhelming at some parts of the book. The hardest parts to read, were involving the author’s daughter. I started the book, when we watched the video about her book about her daughter’s death in class. I felt for that woman, to have loss a husband and a child within a very close time span is saddening. I was surprised she did not go crazy after her daughter died. When she writes about her memories of her husband and daughter, there is an obvious joy that exudes the pages. Knowing how much she loved and cared for her daughter was sad. She cared for her aligning daughter when she was at her sickest, her top priority was her health and wellbeing. She even postponed his funeral until she was strong enough to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking.

Many might argue that sentimentalism is an act of weakness or that it’s an emotion that should only be expressed by the female sex. However, that is not true; the act of sentimentalism actually helps to prove the moral quality of a character or person. This is eminent in the story Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson in which the reader comes across many characters being sensible or acting sentimentally towards others.

The author who brought to us The Tale of Genji, a novel now regarded as the first written novel in history, left behind an arguably more treasurable artifact: a diary that opens a window into history. The Diary of Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki Shikibu gives the reader a glimpse of the imperial court during eleventh century Japan and presents the past in an illuminated vision. Being an attendant in the imperial court, Lady Murasaki is frequently involved with the activities of elite Japanese women. Her day-to-day interaction with the nobles and elites enhance her account with the curious perspective of an elite female. As a woman, Lady Murasaki's descriptions are oriented around clothing

5. The story, Ellen’s Confession reminds me of why my mother and her generation are so supportive and active with respect to women's rights. Ellen’s mother was basically treated as a slave. Her husband forced her to give up some of her children, he completely ignored her health and was the cause of her worsening physical and mental condition. It was acceptable to sexually abuse her and seemed to just require a prayer to God beforehand . If that was the kind of marriage I had to live in I would most definitely try to avoid it. I also understand that when Ellen’s mother asked her to “never let a man come near you”(6) she could not betray her mothers dying wish and needed to stand up for herself, on principal, in a way her mother could not. Even

By reading the book I, Liar it shows that the mother is the main source of the whole daughter’s ordeal in the book. The mother Anna never looked at her daughter straight in the eyes for anything nor has she ever told her daughter that she loves her unless she is acting like a loving mother towards other people. Anna tends to find lots of rich men in order for her to have a better life with her daughter, because of her finding so many men they tend to move so much which causes the daughter to lie at school knowing she will one day move and the betty wouldn't have to prove her classmates anything about the lies she is told.

Isolation from society can evoke a deep loneliness and self-reflection. The poem "The Wife's Lament" from the Exeter Book expresses the desolation of exile. The dominant theme is the contrast of a happy past and a bleak present of isolation. The anonymous author of "The Wife's Lament" uses setting, tone, and conflict to develop the theme of great loss. He/she augments a situation in which meditation on life's past joys is the only redemption in a life sentenced to confinement. “The Wife’s Lament” is an excellent example of nostalgia, resentment of the present, and hopelessness about the future.

Over the years, there have been many interpretations of who the speaker of The Wife’s Lament could be. These range from very interesting ideas to ones that seem a little rough around the edges. It is obvious that no sure answer can be found due to the fact that whoever wrote this poem is dead and that the answer will always be in speculation even if it is correct. Hopefully, at the end of this quest I will be slightly more enlightened as to who the true speaker may really be.