A Feminist Reading of A Woman on a Roof
The short story, "A Woman on a Roof," by Doris Lessing may seem to be about a few men who become annoyed with a woman because she suns herself out on her roof. The men feel that she is a distraction and are obviously bothered by her presence. They are not happy that this sunbather is out there on display and illustrate these feelings of discontent by constantly whistling and yelling at her. The men also make several rude and sexist comments to her throughout the story. In a time period such as the one this story takes place in, males were considered far superior to women, and comments such as the ones the men make would not be considered out of the ordinary. What is extremely surprising, and quite out of the ordinary, however, is the fact that this woman did not even seem bothered by their actions. When this is taken into consideration, it is revealed that the real source of the men’s anger toward the woman is not simply because she was sunning herself, but rather, was due to the fact that she showed indigence toward them in a time when women were expected to submit to men’s demands.
The men in this story obviously have strong feelings of superiority and power over the opposite sex, and expect that women will naturally give in to their demands. These feelings are illustrated as early as in the opening paragraph, when they see the woman for the first time. While working, "They made jokes about getting an egg from some woman in the flats under them, to poach it for dinner" (Lessing 856). Such a comment demonstrates the men’s beliefs about gender roles: that women will be home, not working, and eager to serve men. The comments continue; later on, when referring to the woman as ...
... middle of paper ...
...woman And, while she may not have earned women the right to vote or gained women admission into institutes of higher education, she stood up for herself in a normal everyday situation, and that’s a start. She is a woman who was one of the exceptions in her era; she was not just a woman on a roof, but rather a hero of her generation.
Works Cited
Allen, Orphia Jane. "Doris Lessing." Short Story Criticism, vol. 6. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.
Atack, Margaret. "Doris Lessing." Short Story Criticism, vol. 6. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.
Lessing, Doris. "A Woman on a Roof." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. 856-862.
Works Consulted
Baron, Mary. "Doris Lessing." Critical Survey of Short Fiction, vol. 4. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993.
Harris, Susan K.. "'But is it any good?': Evaluating Nineteenth-Century American Women's Fiction." American Literature 63 (March 1991): 42-61.
"Unit 2: Reading & Writing About Short Fiction." ENGL200: Composition and Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 49-219. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Stein, Karen F. "Amy Tan." Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition (2001): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
(Sept. 1976): 35-39. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke. Vol. 26. Detroit:
Pike, Gerald. “Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers.” Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Research International Limited, 1990. 90. Print.
Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol A. New York: W.
Jane goes to work everyday at an animal-testing lab. She pours liquids used in eyeliner into the eyes of numerous albino rabbits. The rabbits' eyes are held open with clips so that for the 72 hour test period, the rabbits can't even blink. The rabbits' bodies are in a box so that only their head protrudes. Jane watches the rabbits and records how the rabbits’ eyes react. She observes as the rabbits’ eyes bleed intensely. Some eyes become extremely deteriorated, and some rabbits even become blind due to the toxicity of the liquid being tested. As she walks down the line writing down what each rabbit's reaction is, Jane notices many rabbits have broken their own necks trying to escape the horrendous pain ("Product...").
"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Top Documentary Films. Web. 8 Aug 2011. .
“Short Stories." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 127. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. 125-388. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. VALE - Mercer County Community College. 28 February 2014
Magill, Frank N., ed. Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Revised ed. Vol. 2. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993. 7 vols.
Solomon, Barbara H., ed. Rediscoveries: American Short Stories by Women, 1832-1916. New York: Penguin Group, 1994.
Solomon, Barbara H., ed. Rediscoveries: American Short Stories by Women, 1832-1916. New York: Penguin Group, 1994.
Atack, Margaret., Short Story Criticism. Vol 6. Ed. Thomas Vottler.Detroit, MI: Gale Research, Co., 1990.
...arly 2.5 years, iPod shipments are approximately 1 million units ahead of the Walkman’s pace after being on the market for the same period of time. During the 80s-90s, Sony sold over 300 million Walkmans. Given this information, it appears that iPod is showing no signs of being close to the decline stage in the near future.