A response to the reading - Essay Example

Doree symbolizes the traditional woman- the obedient daughter, the subservient wife, the careful female friend, and the loyal mother- because of her society that molded her into a passive, identity-less person, until she realizes that she has a much bigger purpose in life, to save someone because she wants to, and not because she is ordered to. Doree stands for the stereotypical woman, the one who leaves nothing for herself, and this begins in her childhood. At sixteen years old, she should be in school, preparing soon for her college life.

Apparently, her mother has no other caregiver, but her daughter. Doree takes care of her mother, while neglecting her own dreams. She gives up the beginnings of her youth to be a good daughter. She makes her mother happy in the process, but not herself. Her puberty is spent on being the dutiful daughter that her mother wants her to be. Lloyd changes that, however, when he shifts the power of control from her mother to him. Without any other family members, Doree is vulnerable to manipulation, and devoid of a strong identity, Lloyd takes advantage of her youth and inexperience in life.

Munro uses the environment to illustrate the weakness of Doree as a woman with no identity. Munro says in her story that the snow is gone and “it was hot enough to go bare-armed” and “sunlight was pouring down through naked branches” (Munro). Nature assaults people with its warmth. In the same way, people around Doree try to control her, and she is easy to control because she has no will of her own. She is like a leaf that lets the wind carry her to any direction. As a husband, Lloyd is an authoritarian who always makes important decisions; he is the unbearable wind in Doree’s life.

He decides that their children should be home-schooled. He also demands that Doree breastfeed their babies, even though she wants to feed them on bottles already. Doree cannot control her own body because Lloyd must have the final say in that. By making decisions on family planning and breastfeeding, decisions that should belong to Doree too, Lloyd conditions his wife to be purely submissive. Furthermore, Lloyd does not want to Doree to say anything against him. When Doree calls him silly, he says: “Careful.

Don’t call me silly” (Munro). He uses a threatening tone when Doree tries to have a small argument with him. Lloyd does not accept insubordination. Doree appears to be one of his slaves, a slave who should follow orders without hesitancy and who should never point out his mistakes. Doree has become a good female friend, which is typical for female friends, but unlike most women, she keeps her life secret. Maggie seems to be her only real friend, but Doree does not say anything about her marriage problems.

Maggie appears to know better and that is enough for Doree. Their relationship affirms personal beliefs about women-women friendships. They understand one another without speaking. The main concern for Doree is that she has a misplaced sense of loyalty. She thinks: “[Lloyd] was still the closest person in the world to her, and she felt that everything would collapse if she were to bring herself to tell someone exactly how he was, if she were to be entirely disloyal” (Munro). Lloyd is a psychologically abusive husband who isolates his family and controls them