The Hands In Gabrielle Colette's The Hand

Although he was confused about what happened, he was sure of one thing and that was “that the hands must be to blame”(252). Wing perceives his hands as a symbol of his perceived guilt, or a manifestation of his fears. They symbolize critical turning points in his life, good and bad. He makes them the core of his actions and who is, allowing them to take control of his life. By personifying Wing’s hands, Anderson makes the consequences of their actions the focus point of the story.

With good intentions, John controls his wife's life and makes all decisions for her, whether she agrees with them or not. His wife is full aware of the restrictions that her husband has imposed on her, but she is recessive to his control and often agrees with him. However, she fails to see “signs of her confinement: the bars at the window, the gate at the top of the stairs, steel rings on the walls, and the nailed-down bestead” (Korb). Because she is unable to escape from the isolation that her husband has kept her in, the woman seeks relief from the yellow wallpaper and she creates an imaginary relationship it. In fact, the worst thing her husband should not of done is give his unstable wife an object that is not appealing to focus on. In doing so, he has given her an opportunity to let her mind wonder and create objects that no one else sees. John, however, does not give any thought to this because after all, he thinks he knows what is best for his wife.

The contrast between the wife and the narrator is shown through their different attitude toward Robert’s visit and also the lost of his wife. Robert is an extremely important person for narrator’s wife who suffers in her previous marriage and even commit suicide. The communication between the wife and Robert

This image could have negative and positive connotations: negative connotations could be that of manhandling, control, and the suffocation of life, as hands are an extremely powerful image: ‘Man alone has a hand. He uses it as a tool, as a symbol, and as a weapon’. The idea of hands as dangerous could reflect the concept that humans have the power to destroy life with ease, and that whilst we could hold something so fragile in our hands and safeguard it, if humanity applies unrestricted pressure our world will break. Alternatively, it is arguably more accurate to say that Atwood means to evoke positive connotations through this imagery, such as nurturing and protection. These implications are supported by the images Atwood uses in conjunction with hands, ‘The word hand anchors | your hand to this table, | your hand is a warm stone’(26-28).

The wife is a very bold woman, who is resilient and holds her beliefs tightly to her. Even in the way she expresses her lines, it suggests that she takes her opinions as facts and that she is not willing to hear opinions other than her own. Her voice also reveals that she does not pity those that she deceives. She is ruthless and does not really care for the well

I found the husband interesting because of the way he completely loathes his wife's birthmark. His hatred seems to be a symbol of people who are not content in their wonderful situation. The husband says that the wife's face would be flawless and beautiful if it were without the crimson birthmark. He loathes this birthmark so much that he says it reminds him of sin and earthliness, opposed to perfection and heavenliness. I find interest in the husband's character because of his hate towards a little thing that can be covered with two fingers. This obsession makes me think that the husband character is a representation of people who complain about a small imperfection, inconvenience, or issue in their life.

Women are taught from a young age that marriage is the end all be all in happiness, in the short story “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin and the drama “Poof!” by Lynn Nottage, we learn that it is not always the case. Mrs. Mallard from “The Story of an Hour” and Loureen from “Poof!” are different characteristically, story-wise, and time-wise, but share a similar plight. Two women tied down to men whom they no longer love and a life they no longer feel is theirs. Unlike widows in happy marriages Loureen and Mrs., Mallard discover newfound freedom in their respective husband’s deaths. Both stories explore stereotypical housewives who serve their husbands with un-stereotypical reactions to their husband’s deaths.

The masculine hand that lingers over the girl’s mouth signifies that she is being forced to be silent. Victim’s voices are taken away as they are beaten, threatened, bribed, coerced and blackmailed into giving up their soul and body. Would you suffer for the rest of your life if you had to choose between your freedom and your families’ lives?

When the wife sees her husband’s hand clearly for the first time, she becomes horrified; not just because of how ugly and disformed his hand is, but because it makes her wonder what else she doesn’t know about him. It scares her to think that she’s married this man who she thought she

The narrator imagines his wife is a different person with the scab on her face, Charlie imagines he is the narrator by dressing like him, and perhaps even the narrator’s wife imagines that Charlie is her husband. We can also see that the novel is formatted in a way in which we can see the narrator’s entire thought process, seeing as he starts off talking about himself, allowing us to think that it is a story about himself, however he then ends it with a story about a friend, having little to do with the rest of the narrative, besides a common thread of infidelity and replacement. The narrator also seems to value certain objects in his mind, fetishizing them to the point in which he almost seems to obsess over them. This is true for both his queen sized bed and the scab that forms on his wife’s face. This obsession overcomes the narrator and seems to inspire him both creatively and sexually. If the story had been written in a more traditional form, it would be quite difficult to understand the sense of obsession mixed with the uncertainty behind his fetishism that the postmodern writing highlights so well with its almost “stream of consciousness”

This image provides not only the dignity of mother’s love and sacrifice to her kid, but also gender ideology. Common ideas about gender are articulated in the way that women are weaker and more passive than men. Specifically, while her child is staring at the camera, her sight is to the ground with a tired face. Loss of focus in her eyes and her exhausted face show her weakness. The gender ideology is also expressed through the contrast to a shadowy man. The man with black jacket in the image keeps standing and handles tasks, while the mother is sitting on the stonewall with her kid. This contrast behavior between male and female also shows the opposed primary task according to gender. The opposite behavior according to gender involves the

At this very moment the husband, either willfully or inadvertently, turned the wife’s own sexual desire against her. This is clear in that she describes the resulting shame as “an indelible tattoo mark” (Rifaat, 1996, p. 257) that would eventually lead to her sexual and emotional resignation, made evident in that fact that she questioned herself and calling her demands “unreasonable” (Rifaat, 1996, p. 257). The reader is further left with the impression she has cut herself off emotionally from her husband (perhaps to endure the act of being used as a sexual device) when later on during the act of intercourse, she indifferently states that her toenails need to be cut.

The submissive role of the female in a marriage or relationship is a common problem in American society. This role has become so common that in fact it is now expected of the female. This male dominance goes as far back as the human race, to the beginning of relationships and marriage between the female and the male. Although America has advanced in equal rights and women's advances in the work fields, this role of submission and passivity is still present among our society. The men are raised to lead and take charge meanwhile, women are taught that their place is to keep peace. Women find safety in allowing the male to dominate the relationship and because the submissive role is automatically expected women fear changing the situation. Many authors illustrate this role of the sexes and portray some reasons and situations that are common in our society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's story The Birthmark two young newlyweds: Aylmer and Georgiana sweet love story turns into a nightmare as Aylmer becomes obsessed with removing a small birthmark on Georgiana's cheek. Georgiana who is deeply in love with her husband was willing to do whatever it takes to please him and ended up allowing her husband to perform surgery on her which resulted in a tragic death. This relates to the story The Yellow Wallpaper by Eileen Curtis when the main character Isabel cuts her wrist as a way to try and save her marriage after finding out her husband Kevin cheated on her with her best friend. Both

The Story of an Hour is short, yet, contains important examples of gender roles in marriage. They are important because they represent how women felt married in the 19th century due to male dominance that manifested throughout marriages all over the world. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is a wife that is, at first, seen as distraught, because of her husband’s death. She starts to cry and run to her room, to soon be lifted with the joy that she is now free. It is clear that she felt trapped in the marriage and is now happy that there is no one controlling her any longer. Mrs. Mallard is a prime example of women in marriages in the 19th century, and even some today. Unfortunately, they have to experience sexism from their husbands. Women are dominated by men in marriage and are expected to acquire the stereotypical gender roles.

This passage is extremely important to the book because it reveals the real reason for the main character’s nervous habit. This nervous habit Aza has of digging her thumbnail into her hand is constantly seen throughout the story. It ties to her internal conflict of mental illness that she struggles with throughout the novel. The habit is one of the primary physical expressions of her mental state. Explained in this passage is the the full backstory behind the habit, the reason being that Aza started to convince herself she was real. Furthermore, Aza worries that she is not in control of her life. Throughout the Book Aza has many feelings and reactions that the reader views, however, the reason behind them never fully makes sense until this