7.24.2007

“Seventeen Syllables” is a text that somewhat follows the narrative of many modern romantic love stories. This is a sort of double love story: a mother’s and a daughter’s. The mother’s love story is familiar because it involves heartbreak, as many love stories do. She fell in love with a man she was deemed inferior to, and their love had to be hidden from their families. This is another theme that often appears in modern love stories. Mrs. Hayashi knew the pain of heartbreak and lost love, and she tried to urge her daughter not to marry, seemingly to help her avoid misery. Because she was not able to be with the man she actually loved, Mrs. Hayashi began writing poetry as an outlet to express herself. This, yet another theme that appears in modern love stories, is upsetting, because she will never again be with the love of her life. This text, in my opinion, follows the narrative of a romance narrative far more than “Men in Your Life,” but I don’t think that it closely resembles any one specific narrative. It has elements of different types of narratives integrated throughout, but the ending is not only ambiguous, but seemingly negative, with the mother calling her daughter foolish for wishing to marry Jesus, the boy whom she has feelings for. In many love stories, the mother encourages the daughter to chase blindly after her love at all costs, as long as she is sure he is appropriate, but Rosie’s mom discourages her.

I don’t think “Men in Your Life” follows a romance narrative, because the women in the story are not in need of salvation, nor do they seem as dependent on men, as the women in many narratives do. In addition, Tessie’s husband is far from Prince Charming, with his constant complaining, nagging, and mumbling. His brother Wallace is not much better than he. Wallace, an affluent man, took the narrator to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and although he was very capable of buying her whatever she wanted, he offered her hash, for he knew that was what she was used to. I was very disgusted with this, as was she, for he clearly assumed that since she was not too familiar with fine cuisine, she would simply settle for a better version of hash than that to which she is usually accustomed. Any man that has the means to provide a woman with what she wants but offers her less than that to which she is entitled is not deserving of her company; this is an indicator of how he will treat her in the future. I loved the relationship between Eddie and the narrator for many reasons, especially since it did not seem to follow any common narrative at all. Eddie, a poor man, gave her everything he possibly could, even though that was close to nothing. This is true love. He washed dishes for her and babysits her cousin’s children, jobs that are usually believed to be designed for women. Not only did he make the best of what he had, but he also used his imagination to expand that to become even more meaningful. I also appreciate the fact that neither of them has more power than the other. The only thing that seems to resemble a romance narrative is the happy ending, with Eddie and his love living poorly but happily together. This text offers the concept of romantic love as something shared equally between two people, regardless of financial stability. It also implies that men and women should both be respected equally. I appreciated the fact that the narrator was not a woman in distress, but in stead, knew exactly what kind of person she wanted to marry. The details of this story definitely make a difference in demonstrating that a woman does not always need to be submissive in relationships, nor does she need to be the courted party to find happiness. The story also implies that the traditional house in the suburbs, white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and the little dog are not mandatory items for a happy life.