While reading this I felt bad for her, it almost seems like she has no purpose in life but to tend to her children. I see a tired woman, sick of doing the same thing everyday. She says “She wanted a little room for thinking: but she saw diapers steaming on the line,” this line makes me feel sorry for her because it seems she’s wanting more out of life, she has no time for herself, she is just stuck in the same helpless routine.
After reading this text, I thought about how Mrs. Sommers was struggling between being a mother and caring for her children, and treating herself to a few nice things. It seemed as if she had always put her children first, and now she finally had a chance to do something for herself. I think she was trying hard to be something that she really wasn’t, almost like being a princess for a day. At the end it says “a powerful longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere, but go on and on with her forever,” this made me think that she would rather live a life where she had no responsibilities and no one to depend on her, instead of her current life which was consumed by her children.
When I read this, I immediately picture a 1950’s family, where it was a woman’s duty to be a housewife no questions asked. I feel sorry for her in this story because it seems like she just has too much on her plate, she is expected to do everything, all while giving up her own life, and dreams. She talks about wanting to go to school and find a job so that she can be financially independent. She wishes there was someone like herself, a “wife” of her own, to take some of the weight off her shoulders, and give her a little freedom. Although I feel like she mocks the idea of a housewife, I think a lot of women must have felt the same way around this time period, the work of a wife is not easy by any means, and especially when it’s being taken for granted.
I also feel sorry for the woman in Daystar. I think that more women in today's world share the same feelings as the female in this poem. I compare this poem to the text A Pair of Silk Stockings because both female characters are enjoying the escape from reality. One thing that I am debating is whether or not it is healthy for these women to be obsessing over escaping their responsibilities. I feel that a break from the everyday chore, such as in Daystar, is a healthy one. However, in A Pair of Silk Stockings, this female is taking her escape to the extreme and is having trouble finding her way back to reality.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree!
ReplyDeleteYour comments about "Why I Want a Wife" and about the typical 1950s household also make me think of "Daystar" and how the woman in that story feels so burdened by her day to day. Caring for their children and husband are related topics in each of these texts, and images of unhappy wives can be seen in both.
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