7/16/07

The Revolt of “Mother”

“Adoniram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used. ‘Why, mother,’ he said, hoarsely, ‘I had no idea you was so set on’t as all this comes to’ (Freeman 40).

I quoted this passage from the end of the short story. It was a relief that the story had an ending like this. I liked how the author showed the vulnerable side of the controlling husband Adoniram. The imagery of a fortress was powerful too. To imagine a huge, looming wall that is supposed to be strong, unwavering, and protective fall down, is an image that was ingrained in my head after I read the passage. At this passage, gender roles are definitely reversed. Now “mother” is the fortress and Adoriram is the citizens behind the fortress. He relies on the fortress for strength and protection.
To me, the passage as a whole shows a theme of stereotypes being broken down. All throughout the short story, the author highlights stereotypes of males and females. Adoriram does whatever he wants and doesn’t ask the opinion of his wife. “Mother” on the other hand, dutifully cleans and cooks without complaint. The passage shows that woman can do just as much and be just as bold as men.

As Children Together

“They say you have children, a trailer in the snow near our town, and the husband you found as a girl returned from the Far East broken cursing holy blood at the table where nightly a pile of white shavings is paid from the edge of his knife” (Forche 310).

This section of the poem really stuck out to me. I got the sense that Victoria, the author’s friend, was getting beaten by her husband. The first time I read it, the movie Forrest Gump can up. The character of Victoria really reminded me of Jenny. In the movie, Jenny was desperately trying to get away from her downhill life, grungy house, and a father that molested her. However, she used her body and men’s attention to try to put her past as far behind her as possible and move up in the world. The section that said, “…a trailer near our town” was striking too. It’s crazy how Victoria went everywhere and had to suffer through lots of bad experiences, just to end up where she started.
This passage contributes to the whole poem, because it shows a women being trapped by her life and the violence of men. The image of her husband having a, “pile of white shavings,” symbolically represents her white skin. Every night, he whittles down Victoria a little more, until she is carved into the person he wants.

Trifles

“Well woman are used to worrying about such trifles” (Glaspell 396).

This line really bugged me. I think—even in today’s society—women are always joked about as focusing on such trivial matters. We are showed loving shopping, being over-dramatic, and fussing over every little thing. In reality, women are obviously way deeper than that. And sometimes those “trifles” are details that other people are missing. And seeing those details are the key of life. A lot of things just overlooked because details are missed.
The passage helps show my above point throughout the story. The husbands of the main female characters—Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters—and the county attorney all initially poke fun of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters throughout the story. Earlier in the story, Mrs. Peters noticed Mrs. Wright’s (the suspect in question) fruit preservatives had frozen from the cold, the men laughed because she was into fruit instead of a murder case. In all actuality, that detail could have been a major clue in the case. I think the above passage is hysterical, because it shows how women outsmarted the men without them ever knowing. In the end of the story, I got the vibe that the women successfully solved the case and covered it up too.