In order to somewhat comprehend Fuller’s riveting real-life stories, we must step back and remember that her time period is much different than ours (early 1800s). Back then, the people with right minds wouldn’t dare to go against norms or traditions of an in-line kept society, for the fear of being shunned and shamed. Nonetheless, this story really spoke to me, in terms of Ms. Fuller having a head start on all of her life experiences. She had no other siblings in the household to interact with her like normal children, she had no other playmates. The theories I decided to use in order to bring her work under different light, are “Queer theory” and “Psychological theory”. I believe that Ms. Fuller was really deep in her writing, especially in reflective pieces where she talks about her dear soul mate. She went through so much for the 40 years she lived, and most of it, in her childhood.
When Fuller was a little girl, she only grew up with her father for her mother had passed away. This could have lead her father to raise her as a boy. In the 1800s, it was the males who were allowed to read and study, but she had broken a norm. She was heavily influenced in all literate intellect as a child, but it came with a price-her sanity. She describes it as “ The consequence was a premature development of the brain that made me a “youthful prodigy” by day, and by night a victim of spectral illusions, nightmare, and somnambulism.”(199) Again, I doubt that any child her age went through this, thus another norm was broken. When she said that “Ever memorable was the day on which I first took a volume of SHAKESPEARE in my hand to read”(212), this shows that this memory was very dear to her. Although her father prohibited the reading of Shakes...
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...aking and heart warming situations. Through it all, we can learn so much from a different era. For example, we all take this idea of friendship and think that its ok to take friends for granted because there are so many of them online in our era. The way that Fuller had her friendship with her soul mate, that is a heck of a friendship. If only our modern society recognized such wisdom, we might be in different mindsets that appreciate true rock-solid friendships. I do not blame Fuller’s father for messing up her childhood, simply because the absence of a mother is devastating. Mothers are the creatures who bring humans into the earth and nurture them to ultimately give them a compassionate side. Fuller learned from her father how to stand firm on her own to feet and not to be afraid of the unknown. Her soulmate had given her the embodiment of a sister and a mother.
All in all, the story was rather sad but eye-opening. I believe Porter’s approach to writing this story allowed readers to reflect back on their own lives and examine both the good and not-so-good times. It shows people not to just live life through the motions, but rather, to look at it as beautiful journey as no one wants to end up like Granny Weatherall and realize that with she never really lived.
No matter what actions or words a mother chooses, to a child his or her mother is on the highest pedestal. A mother is very important to a child because of the nourishing and love the child receives from his or her mother but not every child experiences the mother’s love or even having a mother. Bragg’s mother was something out of the ordinary because of all that she did for her children growing up, but no one is perfect in this world. Bragg’s mother’s flaw was always taking back her drunken husband and thinking that he could have changed since the last time he...
At first glance, the reader could not imagine a more incompatible and diverse pair than Blanche DuBois and Fernie Mae Rosen, two women from very contrasting backgrounds and racial standings. However, these two women share similar passions and mental disorders, showing both their vulnerability to the world and mutual personal energies. Both weave an alternate reality inside their psyches that deceive them into believing that life is not worthwhile, and yet both appear to live life to various sexual and emotional extremes. Such compatibility shows the correlation in their mutual lifestyles despite incongruous backgrounds. Men always seem to be at the root of their problems, despite their clear and discernible negative reactions to the opposite sex. The examples of a virginal aura that eclipses their sexual promiscuity, their mutual hatred for the world and the people that surround them, and their transformation from passion into real madness show the reader that they have more in common than one would think.
Sarah Margaret Fuller was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts on May 23rd, 1810, she later dropped her first name for professional purposes. She was the first of nine children. Her father Timothy Fuller was a lawyer, and a congressman and very educated. In her younger years of life her father rigorously educated her, teaching her Latin, Greek, French and Italian. She spent many hours a day studying, and by the time she was ten years old had read stories such as Shakespeare and many other classics. At age fourteen she moved away from her family to attend school, and a year later she returned home to continue educating herself (Baym).
The daughter alludes to an idea that her mother was also judged harshly and made to feel ashamed. By the daughters ability to see through her mothers flaws and recognize that she was as wounded as the child was, there is sense of freedom for both when the daughter find her true self. Line such as “your nightmare of weakness,” and I learned from you to define myself through your denials,” present the idea that the mother was never able to defeat those that held her captive or she denied her chance to break free. The daughter moments of personal epiphany is a victory with the mother because it breaks a chain of self-loathing or hatred. There is pride and love for the women they truly were and is to be celebrated for mother and daughter.
Margaret Fuller gave a voice to the Transcendentalist movement – a woman’s voice. In 1843, Fuller published, a contribution to Transcendentalism and feminism. The article
Through an intimate maternal bond, Michaels mother experiences the consequences of Michaels decisions, weakening her to a debilitating state of grief. “Once he belonged to me”; “He was ours,” the repetition of these inclusive statements indicates her fulfilment from protecting her son and inability to find value in life without him. Through the cyclical narrative structure, it is evident that the loss and grief felt by the mother is continual and indeterminable. Dawson reveals death can bring out weakness and anger in self and with others. The use of words with negative connotations towards the end of the story, “Lonely,” “cold,” “dead,” enforce the mother’s grief and regressing nature. Thus, people who find contentment through others, cannot find fulfilment without the presence of that individual.
...cts of the mother and the descriptions, which are presented to us from her, are very conclusive and need to be further examined to draw out any further conclusions on how she ?really? felt. The mother-daughter relationship between the narrator and her daughter bring up many questions as to their exact connection. At times it seems strong, as when the narrator is relating her childhood and recounting the good times. Other times it is very strained. All in all the connection between the two seems to be a very real and lifelike account of an actual mother-daughter relationship.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
As a female university student, I feel deeply related to Marjorie since her personality is quietly similar to mine. Analogously, I could feel Bernice’s “vague pain” (Fitzgerald, 3) and realize her sensitivity as the things have happened to me when I was younger. In order to comprehend author’s main idea, I did numerous researches about the jazz age. Thus it can be seen, reader’s background is also crucial when responding to this literary texts. The writer’s main target audiences are women, who have different desires and needs than men. The meaning of the text often competes when we have a better understanding of our self-identities. We interpret the text based on our own psyches, experiences, and judgments. Literature, are like music, without interaction with its audiences, no profound meaning would be
Towards the middle of the story, Usher’s twin sister Madeline is shown to be sick and close to giving into the “prostrating power of her destroyer” (21). Eventually, Usher gives the narrator the bad news that Madeline has passed away and immediately be placed in the family burial vault until proper arrangements can be done. Later, it is revealed that Madeleine had been buried alive and Usher knew exactly what he had done. When the narrator confronted him about what he did to Madeline, Usher simply replied with “Not hear it - yes, I hear it, and have heard it. Long--long--long--many minutes, many hours, many days, have i heard it -- yet I dared not speak...” (28). This abnormal response gives insight into how much of Usher’s thoughts control him; he let his twin sister remain in a coffin buried alive and did absolutely nothing to save her. Poe attacks how vulnerable individuals become to their own minds and forces the readers to consider the downside of the Human Condition. Although not on such intense level as Usher, people let their thoughts define who they are and what they do. Insecurity, a problem among several teenagers and even adults, begins with the person’s thoughts and self-esteem. Due to insecurity, many believe they aren’t capable of doing what they love and that they should stick doing what their mind is convincing them to.
Education for women in the 1800s was far different from what we know today. During her life, a girl was taught more necessary skills around the home than the information out of school books. A woman’s formal education was limited because her job opportunities were limited—and vice versa. Society could not conceive of a woman entering a profession such as medicine or the law and therefore did not offer her the chance to do so. It was much more important to be considered 'accomplished' than thoroughly educated. Elizabeth Bennet indicated to her sisters that she would continue to learn through reading, describing education for herself as being unstructured but accessible. If a woman desired to further he education past what her classes would teach her, she would have to do so independently, and that is what most women did.
The rifts between mothers and daughters continue to separate them, but as the daughters get older they become more tolerant of their mothers. They learn they do not know everything about their mothers, and the courage their mothers showed during their lives is astounding. As they get older they learn they do not know everything, and that their mothers can still teach them much about life. They grow closer to their mothers and learn to be proud of their heritage and their culture. They acquire the wisdom of understanding, and that is the finest feeling to have in the world.
Fuller personifies what is wrong with the thoughts of people in nineteenth century society. She is a well-educated, attractive woman and yet, in America she is considered unmarriageable because of the unintended intimidation her knowledge brings forth. She can’t understand why men would not want to find a woman with whom they can carry on an intelligent, meaningful conversation and still be physically attracted to. She knows that once this inferiority complex is gotten past, women will start to excel in all different fields.
In the Victorian Period receiving an education was an act of unconformity. Women were to be pure, domestic, and submissive and these traits could not be achieved through education. The education of women was thought to disrupt the social balance of time, but in the Victorian Period women were educated because they were mothers of men. They wanted women to teach their children so they had to be educated. Women were stripped of their rights and dignity, but they were finally free to break through the co...