Women's Roles In 'Marks' By Linda Pastan

Housewife In her article "Motherhood/Paradise Lost (Domestic Division)", Terry Martin Hekker, a housewife who had been married to John Hekker, her husband, discusses the drawbacks of housewife as an occupation for women by sharing with the public her experience as a housewife in two different situations and centuries. The article aims to inform other women that depending on housewife as an occupation is really bad for their future. Hekker’s article is a good advice for today’s mothers as it is based on real experience. Hekker explains in her article that housewife is a good occupation, but there must be alternative jobs as it is not a permanent occupation.

Nathan Price is an individual who plays an important role shaping the actions, choices, and feelings of the five women. Orleanna states in the starting chapter, “[she] married a man who could never love [her]”(8) and “[she] remained his wife because it was one thing [she] was able to do each day”(8). Orleanna is very passionate about her children, which is why she holds Nathan at

In Eudora Welty’s short story, “Why I Live at the P.O.,” the first person narrator is called “Sister.” The most evident narrator’s characteristic is stubbornness. The narrator wants everyone to accept her opinions and inputs as the absolute truth and seems inconsiderate toward others’ perspective. She starts the story by criticizing her sister’s actions, Stella-Rondo. For instance, in the first sentence the narrator places herself as a victim, when she says: “I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy, and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again” (1).

In the 19th and into the 20th-century women had specific duties. Wives were to clean the house, cook eat meal, and take care of the children. Few women were well-educated with their own property; unmarried of course. They wanted more opportunity and excitement.

Judy Brady talks about all the hardships she endures everyday by being a mother and a wife; she is saying this so her readers empathize with her and all the work she has to do. Paragraph seven uses Pathos in the entire paragraph. Judy Brady is explaining that she wishes she had a wife who could please her sexaul needs whenever she feels like it. Brady wants someone who “makes sure I am satisfied”. [230] She goes on to say that she wants someone who understand that her sexual needs may pertain to monogamy, but the wife must stay faithful.

A job, and thereby demand the recognition, respect and benefits which are owed to them. With patriarchal ideology in play, in the Hispanic/Latina/o/Mexicano culture house chores are considered a dominant idea traditionally attached to women, a mentality which does not change when coming to the U.S. and trying to make ends meet. Thousands of undocumented women, when first arriving in the U.S. are met with a house

In The Wife 's Story by Ursula K Leguin the authors masterful use of voice creates the characters more relatable and life alike. In the narrative there is an astonishing display of voice that shows that the characters are relatable"And my sister said — see, my parents had moved out the year before and gone south, leaving us the place — my sister said, kind of teasing but serious, “Well! If he’s dying to be here every day and half the night, I guess there isn’t room for me!”

The tale to be interpreted is Charles Perrault’s, “Toads and Diamonds”. This tale type is AT 480: The Kind and the Unkind Girls. The tale is to be analyzed through a Socio-Historical analysis. This type of analysis fits best with this particular tale because, it distinctively captures the strict norms and values placed on women of that era. What is meant by this is that, this tale shows some of the many tasks that women of that time were expected to complete, such as, work in the kitchen, run errands, and overall just work continuously to provide for their families; as well as how they were expected to act.

Moreover, the audience can comprehend one of many wife’s roles and responsibility. The article is directed towards men and women in order to demonstrate the detriments a wife is to the husband. “I Want a Wife” portrays a message to women to stop the nonsense and take action on this demoralizing situation. The 1970s is a time where women are taking a stand to the social expectations and when the situation is starting to slowly fade

“Have dinner ready, prepare yourself, prepare the children, minimize all noise, be happy to see him, listen to him, make the evening his”, here is what young women learned at school in the 1950’s in America (Vanessa Martins Lamb). Women with the constant social pressure of being well dressed and being taught to have good etiquette is the training that most women have to go through in order to obtain the perfect housewife image till her marriage. The reader of this novel views it a way to harm the role of women and how they are viewed, in a male dominant society. The novel set during the time where women were oppressed by the male dominant society to remain in her position of a housewife inside the “kitchen walls” and condemned to accept fighting all alone with the daily routine (“1950-1970”).

Gwen Harwood, an Australian well-known poet who explores the nature of life through her anthology of 'Selected Poems '. Harwood explores happiness, pain and sorrow which women especially mothers experience. She suggests that motherhood could be somewhat demanding, in the post world war era, by making one feel frustrated and burdened. Also Harwood suggests that by taking on the role of a mother, you must sacrifice your passion and career. Nevertheless, she also suggests that as one becomes a mother themselves, they slowly reflect on the beautiful memories that they had with their mothers.

In the 21st century, women must have a career and job to support a family compared to the 1950’s when women had the choice to be a stay at home mother or have a career. Spigel states, “Like Donna Reed, who sacrificed her nursing career for life with Dr. Alex Stone […]” (Spigel 224) the author is indicating that most women during the 1950’s decided to be a homemaker because that was what society expected of them. Television emphasized and valued the role of the ideal wife and a homemaker. Furthermore, TV shows like The Donna Reed Show illustrated wives to be marginal at home and central to the economy. Haralovich states, “In her value to the economy, the homemaker was at once central and marginal” (Haralovich 70).

When Matilda is getting adopted, her

I am no longer afraid to say, “Yes, I am a girl, so what?” and hold my chin up high when I engage in political debates and speak about my career goals at home or at school. Explaining that times and expectations have changed to a grandmother who has never worked a day in her life because of the belief that women should stay at home has been a challenge, but I am determined to be a person who makes a difference in our society. One of my favorite reactions on people’s faces is when I debunk their first impression of me. After giving a presentation in my English class, a classmate came up to me and said, “Little lady, you fill the room with a strong confident voice” and I decided to take that as a compliment! Whether I am standing on a chair to project my voice or standing in the front and center of the room, I let it be known that I am proud of who I am and what I look like.

I decided to select the two documents, “A Tour of the Lowell Mills” and “A Dialogue on Female Labor” for the reason being that women were obligated to work at home taking care of their children rather than actually having the opportunity to join the work force. However, once it became the norm for them to have a job it was shown to be under some rough circumstances. These two documents ultimately contradicted what I was always taught in school, instead of the awful surroundings I believed they lived through they explained how good they were housed and paid. The theme that connects them both is the idea of the women were given the opportunity to work and essentially enjoying their workplace.