A Literary Criticism of Tender Rituals - Essay Example

The repetition of the word rainy days in the text plays a significant part in the story. It may symbolize a “struggle” but later we can see a shift of meaning, wherein two women found joy, pleasure, and refuge in each other’s arms on a cold “rainy day.” The narrator wanted to imply that “the best rainy days of her life” was when she had “tender rituals” of sexual intercourse with another woman.

The characters reflect women's empowerment in that they satisfy each other’s sexual needs even with the absence of men as partners and that they don’t need men only to fill in that desire. This might hold with the issue before that “lesbian relationships were more ethical, more pleasurable and more esteemed than traditional sexual practices involving men and women” (“Lesbian Relationships Originated”). Both seized pleasure and power in the story since they found contentment with the same sex. The last part says, “Sweat mingles with the scent of our bodies, as we contentedly lie refreshed by the soft breeze that accompanies the rain.” Read More