An Ounce of Cure

Caitlin never tells a soul about what was happening; because she loved the way he makes her feel, like she hasn’t always been in second place her entire life. She soon becomes to long the invisibility she once felt, to get awa... ... middle of paper ... ...onship between Caitlin and Rogerson has a clear power imbalance, and shows the struggles women, especially teenager women, go through in relationship like these. Caitlin’s family showed the decay of the traditional family, torn apart by a loss of a child. It also called into question why do men abuse women, and why do people so close to the victim do nothing about it. This was a story about a girl, who got broken by a male, and was able to put herself together again.

Blanche has never come to terms with the guilt that she feels over his death as well as the rejection she had felt by his choice of a male partner. She had been a genteel southern woman who tried to marry well and planed to live her life in comfort. The reality for Blanche comes when she is forced to have to work and finds her beauty diminishing. She becomes desperate as she has lost her position as a school teacher due to her having sexual relations with a student. Blanche has crossed boundaries that have led her to feel more guilt and desperation.

No more Tomorrows. Hip, Hip hooray." This quote shows the extent of the abuse her mother used on Constance, her home life was unbearable. It is very sad to think that many children and teenagers are stuck in abusive families with no escape. The only thing that kept Constance sane and probably from death was school, Constance was very bright, she was told she had excellent potential but did not apply herself.

However, when she descends the stairs with her sister and discovers that her husband is still alive it kills her. She could not handle losing everything she thought she had just gained. Louise only just realized all that she could do with her new life and had previously shuddered at the thought of living a long life with Brently. Now that she had a taste of freedom, she could not go back to the life she lived before and the crushing disappointment kills her. Chopin uses “The Story of an Hour” to demonstrate her belief not only in the shackles of marriage in that time, but also the cruelty of warping someone to suit your needs.

She became promiscuous, seeking a substitute men (especially young boys), for her dead husband, thinking that she failed him sexually. Gradually her reputation as a whore built up and everyone in her home town knew about her. Even for military personnel at the near-by army base, Blanche's house became out-of-bounds. Promiscuity though wasn't the only problem she had. Many of the aged family members died and the funeral costs had to be covered by Blanche's modest salary.

Esperanza also sees the economic dependence that marriage creates for many women. While one woman cries everyday because her husband left "without leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come" another is miserable because the husband gets kicked out and is always let back in, regardless of the abuse she suffers at his hands (Cisneros 29, 85). Both domestic and physical abuse is also rampant in the lives ar... ... middle of paper ... ...duate with a higher education and found something that she could focus on rather than gaining a husband. Esperanza decided early on that she would not take on the burden of her mother and the women before her, merely caring for a husband and raising children. She wanted a house all her own and realized that she could get it autonomously if she strove hard in school and continued to write.

Mariam, the illegitimate child of a wealthy businessman from Heart who lacked the courage to marry Nana, Mariam’s mother after having dishonored her. After the suicide of Nana, Jalil is compelled by circumstances to refuge to Mariam. Mariam resents to the limited place in her father's life. On her arrival in Jalil’s house she is exposed to the realities of life and she realizes that her father's place is her life has completely turned since his other wives considered her to be a burden then an asset. She is discriminated at every juncture.

Outside factors, such as society, government and culture attempt to enforce identity categories upon people. Leslie Bell gave an example of a woman who broke free from expectations in Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Parados of Sexual Freedom. Jayanthi played the role of the “bad girl” by rebelling against her traditional and religious Hindu family. Tired of being her parents’ ‘ideal child’, she thought, “Fuck the standards, fuck the expectations of what I’m supposed to be” (Bell 33). It was evident that Jayanthi was sick of being exactly who her parents raised her to be, a traditional good girl, who was supposed to have an arranged marriage.

She even returned the Shawl back to Magda’s mother. Now Rosa is a mother who has lost a daughter to a brutal death. She also has smashed up her own store due to what she calls an evil world. She is convinced that she has nothing else to do with her life now that it is destroyed. She goes on to meet Simon Persky and he tries to comfort her and even asked her out on a date.

Gilman’s fear of domestic life began in childhood when her neglectful father abandoned the her family. Her mother responded by denying affection, fearing “that it would weaken her daughter's character and give her an inflated sense of security” (Historic World Leaders, 1994 p. 2). Gilman fought to become educated and was able to build a life and support herself as a single woman. Filled with shame and fear from her parents’ divorce Gilman was weary to accept the multiple proposals of suitor Charles Walter Stetson, eventually agreeing in 1885 after her closest friend became married (Historic World Leaders, 1994). The union was described as unsatisfying and a great factor in Gilman’s breakdown (American Biography, 1944).