Developing the Modern Heroine through A Red Girls Reasoning and Its Wavering Image - Essay Example

 Developing the Modern Heroine through “A Red Girl’s Reasoning” and “Its Wavering Image” Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, women’s appearances in literature have been characterized as dependent upon men for any outward action. Most of the principle female characters are white and, regardless of race, invariably subservient to men. The only exception to this is when a white woman is dealing with a man of any color, in which case she is slightly elevated in authoritative rank in that she is permitted to give orders. However, the black man is expected to take the initiative whenever it becomes a question of protection of the white woman. While this is often understood as a male-dominated and defined society in which women had no voice at all, it has been demonstrated through numerous studies that the concept of the female persona was, to some extent, self-defined and enforced. Women were trained from youth by their mothers and their societies to be submissive to men and to submit to his ideas and opinions. However, as early as 1866, a new heroine was being recognized in the literature. She was dubbed the modern heroine and is characterized by a new dedication to showing women in their true forms rather than as they should appear based on some culturally dominant externally defined ideal. Female writers such as Pauline Johnson and Sui Sin Far present this type of modern heroine in their short stories “A Red Girl’s Reasoning” (1893) and “Its Wavering Image” (1912) respectively. Each story focuses upon the characteristics of a woman who is not defined by any individual culture, who is capable of accepting the beauty of both cultures and who are recognized within every society they occupy as having something special and desirable in a woman. However, both women must make a stand for love of their combined cultures despite the feelings in their depths of their hearts. They are forced to make a difficult choice and choose to remain strong in themselves rather than bending to the culture of the men they love. Through these stories, the modern heroine, existing in a limbo area between cultural groups, is seen as a woman who is strong in herself, holds fast to her convictions and yet remains respected and popular within her community. The Basics In “A Red Girl’s Reasoning”, Pauline Johnson introduces Jimmy Robinson, Charlie McDonald and Charlie’s new bride, Christine. Christine is the daughter of Jimmy, a white trader, and an Indian woman who is never provided a name but who is obviously well-respected by her husband. He tells Charlie, “Be pretty good to her, Charlie, my boy or she’ll balk sure as shooting.” Despite this ominous warning, Charlie and his bride set off for the town where Charlie lives and they settle down to a happy home, which they share with Charlie’s brother, Joe. Christine is the epitome of the subservient housewife. She is affectionate toward Charlie and is charming among the villagers. Her unique nature gets the couple invited to all the great houses of the community and her quiet nature is seen as an example for all. At one of the most important parties they attend, the partygoers ask Christine about her people and it is revealed that Christine’s parents were married according to the Indian traditions. While those around her are immediately on their guard and already condemning her as the daughter of an unholy coupling, they do refrain from actual accusation long enough to find out just what the Indian customs are. Rather than being based on pomp and ceremony, the Indian way is simply that a man and woman choose to live together and the community holds a feast to celebrate. Christine is confused by the reactions of the white people around her but absolutely distressed by her husband’s reaction. Charlie rejects her completely, rages at her and refutes her culture as unimportant or invalid in his admission that knowledge of her parentage might have caused him to reconsider their marriage. His reaction touches a deep cultural note in Christine and she dissolves their marriage, never to acknowledge her feelings for Charlie again. The heroine in “Its Wavering Image” is half-Chinese and half-white. Her half-white parent died long before the opening of the story and Pan has grown up associated herself predominantly with her Chinese father’s culture living in Chinatown. She never really considers her divided self until she begins talking with Mark Carson, a journalist seeking a story in Chinatown and finding a white woman buried deep within the Asian slum. The two begin dating, or at least talking on a regular basis, sharing stories and secrets, looking at the stars and sharing romantic moments. Mark Carson introduces Pan to her white culture and begins to shed some light on puzzling aspects of her character. However, while he continues to insist that she is white, she continues to insist that she is also Chinese. When they finally begin talking with each other about marriage, the two share an especially romantic evening together and then Mark leaves for the city to write the article he’d been hired to write. The contents of this article are not shared, but they are sufficiently harmful to have made Pan feel a traitor to her people and a traitor to herself. When Mark arrives two months later to claim his white wife, he is greeted with a Chinese Pan who cannot accept the culture he represents. Strong in Herself Both women in these stories are given descriptions that keep them completely in line with the feminine ideal of the 1800s. In physical appearance, Christine is described as a typical half-blooded child of the frontier: “olive-complexioned, gray-eyed, black-haired, with figure slight and delicate, and the wistful, unfathomable expression in her whole face that turns one so heart-sick as they glance at the young Indians of to-day- it is the forerunner too frequently of ‘the white man’s disease,’ consumption” (Johnson, 1893). This frailty is emphasized further as Christine’s role as wife is revealed, existing only to serve her husband and perceived as shy and quiet in public. “Whereas she was really but an ordinary, pale, dark girl who spoke slowly and with a strong accent, who danced fairly well, sang acceptable, and never stirred outside the door without her husband” (Johnson, 1893). Pan is not described in such abject physical terms, but with phrases such as “childish little Pan” (Far, 1912) and a characterization dominated by shyness toward whites, she is seen as having a similar physical frailty. Throughout the story, her vulnerability is illustrated through this “childish frame” (Far, 1912). Despite this physical perception of weakness in these two women, they are each demonstrated to be incredibly strong in themselves. Christine gives her first hint of this when Charlie asks her whether she would rather have Joe living with them or to move away. With Joe in the room, he was fairly certain of the gist of her answer, but the tone of the answer betrays this inner strength. “Oh, no, I would not cry; I never do cry, but I would be heart-sore to lose you Joe, and apart from that (a little wickedly), you may come in handy for an exchange some day, as Charlie does always say when he hoards up duplicate relics” (Johnson, 1893). This statement reveals that she is not afraid to disagree with her husband, she is confident to reveal her own feelings and she is secure enough to tease. Her strength is revealed again at the Mayor’s party when she makes even the most blunt woman in town, Mrs. Stuart, uncomfortable with her forthright manner that does not surprise her husband in the least. “Perhaps you are, like all other white people, afraid to mention my nationality to me” (Johnson, 1912), she says to Mrs. Stuart and Logan when they delicately hint they’d like to know more about her culture. While the captain and the socialite express their discomfort with such honest assessment, Charlie stands not far away thinking, “That’s you, Christie, lay em out; it won’t hurt em to know how they appear once in a while” (Johnson, 1912). Little does he know that this same frank manner will have him appearing in much the same light in just a moment, but it is nevertheless clear that Christie is acknowledged by those who know her to have an incredible inner strength and fire that does not conform automatically to the demure and repressed white ideal. Pan demonstrates a similar strength of inner character in Far’s short story. Mark Carson continues to insist that she is a white woman and does not belong living in the unlovely slums of Chinatown, but she continues to insist not only in seeing the beauty around her but in arguing for her Chinese heritage. She continuously tells Mark Carson “I would rather have a Chinese for a father than a white man” (Far, 1912). More than that she was born to this man, Pan sees herself as a Chinese person because of the relationship she shares with the other people in her neighborhood. “The Chinese people look upon me as their own,” she tells Mark, “They have an interest in me” (Far, 1912). In the end, after Mark’s betrayal of her and her people in the newspaper despite all their kindnesses, Pan sees no other choice but to completely associate herself with the culture she feels is most honorable. She tells Mark, “I would not be a white woman for all the world. You are a white man. And what is a promise to a white man!” (Far, 1912). Recognizing and Respected In both stories, although they are different and are both women of mixed blood, Christine and Pan are easily accepted in their communities. Because of this, they are both seen as integral to bringing their associated men into greater social circles. Christine is described as being “all the rage” within the town, seen from the outside in pure idealist terms that nevertheless recognize the charm of her differences. “The men called her a ‘deuced fine little woman.’ The ladies said she was ‘just the sweetest wildflower’” (Johnson, 1893). The men’s depictions suggest an interest in her quick wit and succinct nature while the women seem to focus on her unrefined yet charming-because-they-are-so-practical ways. Without her, Charlie would never have been invited to such a party as the one in which Christine’s ‘terrible’ secret was so blatantly and openly revealed. This is the same type of reception Mark Carson gets in “Its Wavering Image” when Pan opens the mysterious doors of Chinatown to him. “For her sake he was received as a brother by the yellow-robed priest in the joss house, the Astrologer of Prospect Place, and other conservative Chinese. The Water Lily Club opened its doors to him when she knocked, and the Sublimely Pure Brothers’ organization admitted him as one of its honorary members, thereby enabling him not only so see but to take part in a ceremony in which no American had ever before participated. With her by his side, he was welcomed where ever he went” (Far, 1912). Even outside of Chinatown, Pan is well-known as an intelligent and desirable woman as Charlie is told “She is an unusually bright girl, and could tell more stories about the Chinese than any other person in this city – if she would” (Far, 1912). This early characterization of her also hints at Mark’s ultimate deception. Firm in her Convictions Finally, both women are forced to come to a decision about what they can accept from the men who wish to be a part of their lives. Charlie cannot accept the damage Christine has done to his reputation and, in his rage, reveals that he is not able to see the world from the viewpoint of her people’s perspective. While she is supposed to accept his religions and traditions as valid and having meaning, he is incapable of even admitting that her ways might be equally valid. “Why should I recognize the rites of your nation when you do no acknowledge the rites of mine? According to your own words, my parents should have gone through your church ceremony as well as through an Indian contract; according to my words, we should go through an Indian contract as well as through a church marriage. If their union is illegal, so is ours” (Johnson, 1893). Christine cannot accept a man who does not at least acknowledge that her beliefs might have value and equates this inability with a demeaning attitude on the part of Charlie, telling him not “even love can make a slave of a red girl” (Johnson, 1893). Although Charlie is more than contrite in the morning and several months later when he finds her again, Christine, though she still loves him, refuses to be made a slave to his white ideals. Pan finds herself in a similar position. Despite the numerous disagreements they’ve had over her Chinese heritage and pride, Pan cannot help but give her heart to Mark Carson when he sings to her the song about the moon’s wavering image. Although he had given no indication of understanding just how important her culture was to her, neither had she given any indication of accepting a white-only identity. Rather than considering a world in which she must choose between being Chinese or white, Pan responds to Mark by telling him “Hush! Hush! … I do not love you when you talk to me like that” (Far, 1912). This moment of the kiss is considered from entirely different viewpoints, Mark interpreting it to mean that she had promised herself to be a white woman and Pan believing he was accepting her for the mixed culture she was. His complete insensitivity to her feelings forces her to reject him despite her personal feelings toward him as they are revealed in her final meeting with him. She is wearing Chinese clothes for the first time which allow her to hide her nervous hands, “but her face and voice were calm” as she tells Mark she is a Chinese woman and will never consider herself white, effectively sending him away. Findings Both Christine and Pan are revealed in their stories to be strong women of mixed cultures who understand, to some extent, the ideals of the white feminine ideal, but who are unable to subsume their own sense of self under a false veneer of expectation simply for the love of a particular man. While they are willing to try to get along, they expect the same sort of consideration from the men and society around them. While little is known about them, they are acceptable and, indeed, more popular because of their exotic nature and queer ways. However, once their secrets are revealed, they are asked to either adopt the same revulsion and ridicule attitude toward their own people as is adopted by the whites or to leave. Understanding the former as a form of oppression and alienation, neither woman chooses to sell out her conception of herself and instead chooses their own path. Read More