Daystar: I liked the very end of the poem when it said "where she was nothing, pure nothing in the middle of the day." It just really talks about how much a woman does for her family and how hard it can be for her to find time for herself. During her time, she could do anything she wants, but it seems like she just wanted silence and alone time.
A Pair of Silk Stockings: There were many parts of this story that stood out to me. One in particular was when she was looking at the silk stocking. It said "Two hectic blotches came suddenly to her pale cheeks." This makes me feel like she felt like she didn't deserve to even look at the silk stockings, or embarrassed. I also thought it was interesting that in the beginning, she talked about spending the money on her children or even investing it, but as the story went on, she spent it all on herself. This day was an escape from her everyday life. Instead of making sure the kids are doing what they are supposed to and keeping up with housework, she got away for a day, which everyone deserves at one time or another.
Why I Want a Wife: One line that stuck out to me was "...take care of a wife's duties." Much like the Daystar poem, I don't think people, especially men, understand what is expected of a woman when she takes on the role of a wife. This poem does a good job of explaining some of the things women are pretty much expected to do and all men are supposed to do is go to school or work. While roles are becoming more balanced today, I believe the idea of a wife's duties still holds true.
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I too thought at first that maybe this woman deserved to think of her happy time and time alone. However, after our discussion in class today I think it is sad that she wants to feel nothing. No matter how much she needs time to herself I don't think she should feel "she was nothing." The last few lines make me sad for the woman.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I agree with what you say about men not understanding what is expected of a woman when she "takes on the role of a wife". I definitly think that the images of the 'traditional' wife are quite dominant in popular media today. But I also think that there are a lot of men in todays society that, if anything, see the role of a wife as being more difficult and stressful than perhaps it has been thought in the past. While it may be the case that those traditional roles (mother, cook, cleaner etc.) do exist, I at least think that more and more men are giving the wife credit for being able to balance these duties. I don't think the fact that these traditional roles still exist is due to the average man thinking they should still exist, but rather due to the fact that popular media perpetuates these 'traditional images'. Because we do live in a patriarchal society it can be said that men are the ones perpetuating these images but I think there are a lot of men who don't possess the media power, who think otherwise.
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