The tiny shoes, the small clothes, and sweet little coos of joy; it’s enough to make anyone come down with baby fever. Having a child is one of the most beautiful miracles in life and one of the most primal urges. But what happens when the desire for a child goes a bit too far? From the very beginning, the governess, the narrator of The Turn of the Screw, shows a deep-seated fascination and borderline obsession for her new charges, Miles, age ten, and his sister Flora, age eight. The governess envies the fact that she does not have children of her own, due to her profession, which causes her to become obsessive and overprotective of the children.
Furthermore, the narrator goes through a rough time during the story because her mother feels like she can be good at something and stick to it. The narrator thinks otherwise because of the fact that she wants to do something that is in her best interest. For instance, the narrator’s experiences as a child were difficult to deal with because of the suffering that the mother gave to her. The mother had authority over the narrator and forced her to involve in things that she did not want to do. An indication of the story is, “Only two kinds of daughters.
The narrator is currently unable to take care of her own child, one of her main responsibilities in life, because of her postpartum depression. Motherhood has been the cause of her mental trauma, and said trauma makes it difficult to fulfill her maternal duties. With her inability to take care of her child, she has even less of a role in the family than she previously held. In “Woman,” Kate Austin discusses how men gained their higher standing because of maternity. She states, “ A woman will bear anything for the sake of her children.
The moment she gave birth something sunk into her mind, that she could never fully comprehend until that moment. As she holds her child in her arms, taking extra precautions, so that her child doesn’t get hurt, she realizes that it is now her job to take care of her baby. That her biggest concern is no longer herself, but the child who was not in her arms yesterday. That yesterday’s problems are no longer of concern to her. That it is her job to provide and raise a human being.
Put me down easy, Janie, Ah’m a cracked plate” (Hurston 20). Nanny is successfully able to convince her granddaughter through her own traumatic experiences and make her feel “sympathy” as she tells Janie she doesn’t want her life to be spoiled like her own life was. At first, Janie refuses to marry Logan Killicks. Nanny being the older one, defends herself by saying “put me down easy” since she can no longer care for Janie and only her wish is for Janie to get married and be protected from the dangers she and her own daughter faced. By calling herself a “cracked plate” Nanny further elucidates that she went through many hardships in her own life and wants to do the right thing for her granddaughter by
Consequently, is this the advice coming from a young mother who was never given this advice herself? Is this mother giving her young daughter this advice so she does not make the same mistakes she did? For instance, when the mother says “this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child;” (p.321) in my opinion, she gives this advice because as a young girl, the mother was a slut and maybe even became pregnant with the “girl”, but since she did not have this wise advice she did not know what to do in this situation. Therefore, the mother must give her daughter tough loving advice so that she does find herself in the same situation. Clearly, the moral of mom’s lessons is to take care of your reputation.
Fortunately, after reading throughout the story, we can see that the mother just wants her daughter to become a good and helpful woman. She tried to protect her little child away from bad things that happened everyday in society. Moreover, in the last line was written, “You mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?”(Kincaid 172). Therefore, “it seem ironic that the mother has harshly demand the girl to learn all of the mother’s habits and methods, not giving the girl much of a word in any of her decisions, and then expects her to have the strength of her mother, strength that was learned through experience, not instruction” (Carroll). The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid was a lesson of a mother to a daughter about to become a woman.
Parents will always be concerned for their children. Worrying about scrapes and bullies and broken bones are a part of what makes a good parent, but fears change with the time. Instead of being run over by a horse and buggy, parents worry about children 's self-esteem. While a generation of feminists becomes parents, they worry about the media their children consume, most especially their daughters becoming obsessed with princesses, and the frills of prink inhibiting girls from becoming empowered members of society. Both "Cinderella and Princess Culture" by Peggy Orenstein and "The Princess Paradox" by James Poniewozik discuss parents ' concern for daughters ' infatuation with princess culture and the implications of princess culture for modern feminism; Poniewozik focuses on the steps modern movies take to promote ideals of women being feminine and strong, while Orenstein discusses older
It is well known that for much of history, females have been largely oppressed and given few rights, unlike the male gender. Traditionally, a women’s role in society was to be a submissive housewife and to raise children. In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, a young woman goes against the law to give her dead brother a proper burial, defying the typical role expected of a female during this time period. Antigone can be seen as a role model for women because she knows her own mind, stands up to her uncle, and sacrifices herself for someone she loves. Women during this time period were expected to listen to the men in society and follow their rules.
Juliet did not, showing her distrust or dislike of her mother, and even married without a word to either of her parents. Lady Capulet is also insensitive because when Nurse speaks of Juliet’s childhood, Lady Capulet tells her to be quiet, as if she is speaking of something unnecessary. Lady Capulet says, “Enough of this. I pray thee hold thy peace.” (Act I, Scene III, Line 53) This is insensitive of her because Nurse took care of her daughter and is recounting memories of her development as a person, and Lady Capulet waves this all away in her bore of what makes Juliet truly