Petrified Man by Edra Welty Essay

The theme in this poem shows this mother in many ways, is mourning the loss of children aborted for whatever the reasoning. This is known by the statement made in line 22 “Believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate”. She also mourns the loss of things that will not reach their potential, such as the sound of a babies’ cry, and voice or even the loss of tears. Another conflict that emerges in the poem is the desire of the mother to do what is best for her children and the finality of her decisions.

In the short allegory “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a newly-wed couple becomes consumed by the existence of a small birthmark on the wife’s face. When the wife, Georgiana, allows her husband Aylmer, a scientist, to remove the birthmark, both realize that Georgiana will inevitably sacrifice her life for the sake of its removal. As the story progresses, so does the confliction of the newlyweds as they realize exactly what the birthmark symbolized to and for each other. Hawthorne’s hallmark use of symbolism also provides a ‘perfect’ glimpse into the mindset of two themes of psychological conflictions: perfectionism and codependency. Hawthorne seems to share this story as a possible moral of the hidden pathos we place upon the ones we love, and the invisible marks or standards we place upon ourselves for the ones we love.

She says that the "child" had been by her side until "snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true" (line 3). Basically she is saying a trusted person “snatched” her work from her without permission to take them to England to be printed. Had it not been for her brother-in-law taking her work back to England and getting them printed they may have never been known. The intimacy and feeling she shares with her work is like that of a mother and child and that bond was infringed upon when her work was "exposed to public view" (line 4). The intrusion of her brother-in-law getting her work printed is the cause of feeling that follow. Ironically the next thing she talks is the shame she has been thrust upon her by not being able to perfect the work before it was published. This is illustrated in line five where she writes, “Made thee in rags,” as to say her work is like a child dressed in rags.

The reader cannot help but feel the burden the daughter will be sharing with the mother. And while the plight of the mother is real, the reader cannot ignore how the isolation and loneliness of this type of community, or lack there of, has effected Tome's judgment in mothering.

In "A Sorrowful Woman" the wife is depressed with her life, so much so, "The sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again"(p.1). This wife and mother has come to detest her life, the sight of her family,

In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's “The Birthmark”, we find the tragic story of a woman named Georgiana who sacrificed her life for the sake of appeasing her husband, Aylmer. What did Georgiana do that it was more favorable for her to die than to continuing to displease her husband? Georgiana, who was otherwise hailed as incomparably beautiful, had a birthmark on her face. Aylmer desired this to remove this birthmark, which he considered the one thing keeping her from being “perfect”, from her face. In an attempt to remedy his wife’s “imperfection”, Aylmer makes an elixir for her to drink. While this elixir successfully removes the birthmark, the same elixir also causes Georgiana to die soon after. This story brings to light several examples of how society belittles women and puts their desires below the desires of men.

In this novel Taylor is a dynamic character, we see her transform from a young girl who didn’t want to get married or have kids to an independent single mother. In the beginning we get to know her as a self-owned, determined and a stubborn girl who is focused, ambitious and thinks outside the box; because she knows firsthand what is like to see her mother struggle as a single parent. She learned to value every day because pregnancy was like a disease. An example of her considerate outlook is “believe me in those days the girls were dropping by the wayside like seeds off a poppy seed bun and you learned to look at every day as a prize” (3). This small but

Early Christian theologian and philosopher Augustine of Hippo once declared that “we ought to wish ours (teachings) to conform to that of sacred scripture.” In this essay, we will be analyzing theological perspectives of Saint Augustine and will discuss his ideas about the role of women in the Fall of Man, his views on intentionality and the nature of evil, and the ways in which his teachings influenced C.S. Lewis and his literally works in The Chronicles of Narnia. To begin, Saint Augustine had a utilitarian view of women, and his writings would influence the early Catholic and Protestant churches for centuries to come. In addressing the Fall of Man, Augustine believes that Adam and Eve had different motives for eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and is forced to explain these different roles because of 1st Timothy 2:14, which states, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Augustine theorized that Eve ate the fruit because she saw it as pleasing to the eye, and when she was approached by the snake had neither the wisdom nor the prowess to avoid falling into temptation. She was, after all, only a companion to Adam and in the end, Adam chose her companionship over the will of the Lord. There is also an early Christian theology that supports the idea that beautiful women are temptresses, and modest beauty is much more pleasing to God. We see this idea in many of C.S. Lewis’ works, but we will draw on an example from The

The character of the mother executes the tell-tale signs of counterfeit happiness when she tells the murderous story of the narrator’s father’s brother. “‘Oh honey,’ she said, ‘there’s a lot that you don’t know. But you are going to find out’” (36).

“The Psychodynamics of the Family” has greatly resonated in feminist literary theory and psychoanalytical theory. Chodorow’s first edition of The Reproduction of Mothering has been the object of criticism due to shortcomings and its limited view of the family and

Another poem titled “The Author to Her Book” gives the reader the image of a baby being born. Bradstreet critics her works again and again seemingly portraying her works are not good enough. She refers to the “child” having blemishes and crippling handicaps that represents the deep faults and shortcomings in her work. Washing the child, rubbing off a blemish, and stretching its joints but failing to improve his imperfections all contribute to an image of Bradstreet rewriting her book. Dreadfully trying to increase the quality and standards in her work, the more imperfections she found. Towards the end of the poem Bradstreet talks about how she would give her ugly “child” new clothes and it just appears that her real life actions contradict her poem. She is actually very poor in life and could not afford new clothes thus sending her children away from the house.

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

"Desiree's Baby" is not a mere tragic short story by which a reader may be entertained by its ironic and catastrophic ending. It is a story of a crime and brutality against women of all generations to come, depicting vividly how a woman may suffer and conceal her anguish for the sake of others. It is a story of innocence slain mercilessly by the unscrupulous power of harshness that directly governs human societies.

Givings represents more than a house wife who cannot breastfeed her baby. She represents sexual repression, troubles from motherhood, and internal struggle of being a wife. Early on, it is easily illustrated that Mrs. Givings cannot produce breastmilk for her newborn baby, resulting in her hiring a wet nurse to feed her baby. She often acknowledges her feelings of guilt that she, the biological mother, cannot feed her baby and demonstrates her act of jealousy that another woman is. Throughout this, Mr. Givings undermines his wife’s feelings of sorrow and explains the biological defect through science. This aspect of Mrs. Givings life shows the troubles that motherhood has the ability to bring women and the action that men undermine women’s emotions and feelings. The dismissal of Mrs. Givings desires does not end with her baby. Mrs. Givings accurately represents lack of sexual fulfillment for women in the 19th century. To expand, Mr. Givings does not perform sexual acts with her, except for one scene after many moments of begging, and dismisses her sexual wants. Again, her character represents all women in this time period and their lack of sexual representation. However, since she is never sexually fulfilled by her husband, she she results in satisfying herself with another woman. She is unaware of her behavior being homosexual, similar to Mrs. Dodrey, but this further represents more sexual repression of women in this era. The women are not aware that they

To a 50s audience, the news of teenage pregnancy would be shocking enough- but Jo’s attitude towards motherhood would be seen as scandalous (albeit more anticipated by modern audiences). Jo’s lack of maternal instinct is evident when she proclaims how she ‘hate(s) babies’, ‘hate(s) milk’ and ‘hate(s) motherhood. Delaney’s use of powerful verb ‘hate’ emphasises the strength of Jo’s emotions, and demonstrates how every woman cannot fit into one ‘ideal’ that society sets out- but when a woman does stray from it, she is only to be faced with backlash.