This piece at first made me uncomfortable. What made me uncomfortable was the second sentence that said, “the sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again.” When I read that I pictured my wife looking at me and someday our kids want wanting to never see us again.
I would have to say that the author was attempting to show the conflict that the main character had with herself. The woman obviously no longer wished for the role that she was in, but felt like she should. I say she felt like she should because to me it appeared she was having some sort of cognitive dissidence, she wanted to be something else but knew should want to take care of her family. Throughout the story she also struggled to find things that made her happy. She brushed her hair in the sun and tried to write poetry, but when the idea of being able to write whatever she wanted popped in her head she, “put down the pen on top of the pad”. This fear only further pushes her into isolation, not only from her family but also from society, this is shown by her sitting in her window and watching the passerby’s live. Only at the end did she give in and do the things she felt like she should have been doing all along.
I really only had one question for this story and that’s about the end. While I was reading I felt like maybe the woman was terminally ill, but when there was no mention of it other than the description at some points describes her as being frail, almost sick. At the end, it sounds like the father was checking the womans vitals and when he realized she was dead he put his head on her hair. This made me think that maybe she infact was terminally ill and that was making her sad, or did she become so depressed she ended her own life?
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Hey Joe, nice to meet you...my name is Mechelle. In retrospect, I agree that she may have had a terminal illness. However, she exhibited a lot of the signs of clinical depression as you also suggested. I can't imagine that a mother and wife could feel that way about such a loving and understanding family otherwise. It was heartbreaking when she told her husband that she didn't want to see her son anymore. I'm sure that must've been hard for them as well. I've seen depression at its worst and it definitely can turn one into another person. I really admire how her husband was so supportive and unwavering throughout her entire ordeal--that's unconditional love. Although neither wife nor husband was specifically named in Godwin's story, I do think that the husband faded into the background here, while the wife was lost in marriage in Chopin's short story. I've never been married, but reading about the relationships within their family unit really struck a chord--it was extremely sad. Addressing your question, I never thought of the possibility of the wife taking her life prematurely. She poured her love into a final meal for them…wow, so sad.
ReplyDeleteHi Mechelle. Your post made me consider something else that I had not thought of before, the husband did slip into the background. He made no effort to help the wife he basically just said, "shes sick, she will get better on her own." Im not sure what to make of this, but I know that if my wife were depressed I wouldnt let it go that long before attempting to get her some help.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe, you are correct our thought's were similar. I do agree with your comment on helping the wife out a little more than this husband did. Being a husband and a father even if this was largely due to depression I can't fathom how a parent can just turn off all relations with a child.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe, this story was pretty sad. The author did not mention what kind of sickness she had. I just thought she was really depressed. But as a mother I really never could see myself saying I don't want to see my child anymore..I would think your child would be your reason to get better.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering the same thing as I finished the story. It definatly does seem like she wanted to do one last great thing by doing all the things she should've been doing anyway. After that it just seemed like whatever was ailing her finally got the better of her.
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ReplyDeleteI think that it is possible that she was physically sick. When I read the story though, I just got the impression that she was mentally sick. I think that whatever kind of sick she was, mental or physical, that she is the one that ended her life.
ReplyDelete