The review of the females characters - Essay Example

Outline The three female characters found in “Responsibility”, “The Lottery” and “The Story of an Hour” are all shown to live within this oppressive ideology of the subservient woman both socially and internally, but also exhibit a yearning to escape the ties that bind them. I. In the greater social context, women are given few choices in how they should live a ‘good’ life. a. The mother in “Responsibility” continues to urge her son to settle down and take on the responsibility of a family not because that is what he wants or even what she wants for him, but because that is the ‘right’ thing to do. b. In “The Lottery”, women are seen to fall into well-defined social roles, appearing last at the square, taking subservient positions beside or behind their husbands and holding little to no authority over the children. c. Louise, the protagonist of “The Story of an Hour”, reveals through her thoughts that she is married because that is the social custom rather than because of any true affection she had for the man she was linked to for life. II. On the personal level, women often feel constrained to adopt these social definitions as a part of their own identity and desire. a. As she attempts to convey to her son why she feels the way she does, the mother in “Responsibility” reveals how the cultural constraints of her childhood have shaped her life, making it impossible for her to have lived the type of lives that the younger women are living. b. In a similar way, Tessie remains ignorant of the fallacies of her culture as she hurries to the square to witness the event and encourages her husband in playing his role. c. When she learns of her husband’s death, Louise immediately breaks down in grief as she is expected to do proving that she has convinced herself to remain completely in line, body and soul, with the cultural expectations of her time. III. Despite their best attempts to convince themselves that they agree with the social norms, though, each of the female protagonists in these stories reveals a secret desire to break free and be something else. a. As she discusses her feelings with her son, the mother of “Responsibility” provides several pauses and clues that indicate she might have selected a different path for her life had she been given a choice. b. When Tessie’s family is selected as the lottery winner, she suddenly realizes the brutality of the tradition. c. As Louise experiences the ecstatic terror of freedom and the happy pursuits of entire seasons left entirely to her own activities. Environment as Form Short stories can often focus a reader’s attention on various elements of our lives that frequently pass by under our radar because they are ubiquitous in our society. Such concepts in our life would include the inherent patriarchal dogmas of old in which the woman’s space is within the home and her hierarchal place remains below men and only slightly above children. While these are ideologies that have, in the past 100 years, been increasingly challenged, the struggle is not simply social, but personal as well. This personal battle in the example of female subservience requires women to begin questioning the values learned in their youth to consider something both thrilling and frightening. For many women, the concept alone would be the most they would achieve. The three female characters found in “Responsibility”, “The Lottery” and “The Story of an Hour” are all shown to live within this oppressive ideology of the subservient woman both socially and internally, but also exhibit a yearning to escape the ties that bind them. In the greater social context, women are given few choices in how they should live a ‘good’ life. The mother in “Responsibility” continues to urge her son to settle down and take on the responsibility of a family not because that is what he wants or even what she wants for him, but because that is the ‘right’ thing to do. This is particularly emphasized as Jamie’s mother tells him about when she was young. “I was very flattered, you know, that Hans wanted to marry me. He was, I knew he was going to be very successful. You didn’t turn down opportunity in those days” (Smith, 1999: 41). Similarly, Louise, the protagonist of “The Story of an Hour”, reveals through her thoughts that she is married because that is the social custom rather than because of any true affection she had for the man she was linked to for life. “And yet she had loved him – sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter?” (Chopin, 1897: 3). In “The Lottery”, women are seen to fall into well-defined social roles, appearing last at the square, taking subservient positions beside or behind their husbands and holding little to no authority over the children. Tessie excuses herself for being late by offering a socially acceptable reason, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?” (Jackson, 1949: 48). Mrs. Martin calls after her son Billy, but the boy only returns to the family at the word of his father. On the personal level, women often feel constrained to adopt these social definitions as a part of their own identity and desire. As she attempts to convey to her son why she feels the way she does, the mother in “Responsibility” begins to realize how the cultural constraints of her childhood have shaped her life, causing her to consider nothing more than a life as a wife and a mother. She compares herself to younger women and realizes they all consider her efforts wasted, a cop-out, all the while insisting this was all she ever wanted to do, yet when Jamie asks her if she ever wanted to go out and get a job, her answer lacks conviction (Smith, 1999: 41). In a similar way, Tessie remains ignorant of the fallacies of her culture as she hurries to the square to witness the event and encourages her husband in playing his role. After being late to the gathering, she encourages her husband forward when the family name is called, “Get up there, Bill,’ Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed” (Jackson, 1949: 50). When she learns of her husband’s death, Louise, the protagonist in Chopin’s story, immediately breaks down in grief as she is expected to do proving that she has convinced herself to remain completely in line, body and soul, with the cultural expectations of her time. “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone … She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (Chopin, 1897: 2). In each case, the women in the story had to face some crisis before questioning the assumptions about their society they had grown up with. Despite their best attempts to convince themselves that they agree with the social norms, though, each of the female protagonists in these stories reveals a secret desire to break free and be something else. As she discusses her feelings with her son, the mother of “Responsibility” provides several pauses and clues that indicate she might have selected a different path for her life had she been given a choice. At one point, she bursts out with the question, “And I didn’t have anything I could have done?” (Smith, 1999: 42). Although she makes it clear that she gave up her dreams to do something she considered more important, it is also clear that there was something she gave up. When Tessie’s family is selected as the lottery winner, she suddenly realizes the brutality of the tradition and repeatedly insists the drawing wasn’t fair to no avail (Jackson, 1949: 51-53). As Louise experiences the ecstatic terror of freedom and the happy pursuits of entire seasons left entirely to her own activities, the degree of her confinement becomes clear. “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial” (Chopin, 1897: 3). The author illustrates how the character had been so repressed that even her blood flow had been constricted, only beginning to flow strongly through her veins as the realization of freedom came to her. In each of these three stories, it can be seen that the female characters’ lives were strongly constrained by the attitudes of their society and their ability to question them. Within the two earlier stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Lottery”, the women are not permitted to explore their new realizations, both dying very shortly afterward. However, the more modern story, “Responsibilities”, presents a deep heart-to-heart talk between mother and son that allows both to question their assumptions and perhaps learn from them. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” (1897). Printed in Mercury Reader. Melanie Rubens. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007. Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” (1949). Printed in Mercury Reader. Melanie Rubens. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007. Smith, Russell. “Responsibilities.” (1999). Printed in Mercury Reader. Melanie Rubens. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007. Read More