Essay on "Sorrowful Woman"
Essay 3 pages (1115 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Sorrowful WomanThe traditional fairytale offers several themes that give insight into the role that women play in society. The woman wasting away in captivity is a theme that is repeated throughout fairy tales: Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast all share elements of this tale. Moreover, in many of these tales there is a negative maternal figure that is somehow responsible for the damsel's distress. However, in each of those classic stories, the woman is saved by a prince of some sort, who rescues her from her isolation and takes her to live happily ever after. The reader is left to presume that happily ever after means marriage, children, and all of the other trappings of domestication that women are supposed to desire. In "A Sorrowful Woman," Gail Goodwin begins her story with the familiar phrase "once upon a time," and, throughout the story uses the familiar imagery of the fairy tale to challenge the traditional notion of what women desire, making it clear that happily ever after may be the most elusive fairy tale of them all.
The most prominent theme in "A Sorrowful Woman" is the idea of a woman who is wasting away in captivity. The mother retires to bed the first night, simply needing a break. A few days later, instead of just retiring to bed, the woman takes a sleeping draught. She is given the draught by her husband, which makes it seem as if he is doing something to keep her in captivity, but it is significant that she asks for and seems to want the draught. In fact, the husband repeatedly enables to woman to be in captivity, for example bringing her breakfast in bed and letting her sleep through the day. However, he does noth
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Eventually, she moves herself into the white room that had been occupied by the nanny, placing herself in a subservient position. Of course, there is a significant difference between the mother's captivity and the traditional distress felt by a damsel in a fairytale. In this story, the mother is both the captive and the captor, so that it is impossible for anyone else in the story to save her.
Another prominent theme in "A Sorrowful Woman" is the theme of the wicked mother. Goodwin begins her story by having the mother look at her husband and son, "the child a tender golden three." (Goodwin). Rather than being filled with love or admiration, Goodwin describes that, "The sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again." (Goodwin). After a few days of recovery from this episode, the child accidentally injures the mother in play, giving her a scratch on her arm. She overreacts, demonizing the child, locking herself away in a room and calling her husband reporting that she is scared of the child.… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Sorrowful Woman" Assignment:
I want my theme of this paper to go alone the lines of: A woman's fairytale is not always to become a wife and mother. And if you can talk about how the setting of the house in this story is showing she's trapped inside the home... below are the essay instructions, thank you!
For this paper assignment, you will be asked to write an essay that analyzes Gail Godwin's use of literary elements to develop her theme in "A Sorrowful Woman."
As you consider how you are going to approach this assignment or as you think about your thesis for this essay, first ask what the major themes of the stories are. Once you have come up with your answers, begin analyzing or *****taking apart***** the story to uncover how the author develops his/her theme. As you write your essay, make sure that you have 1) identified the theme, 2) identified some literary elements (i.e. setting, plot, characters) that the author uses to develop her theme, and 3) interpreted the significance of the theme.
As I grade your essays, I will pay close attention to how you identify the key elements of the theme. Be sure that as you identify these key elements, you include examples from the text. Here are some suggestions/questions that can help you identify the development of the theme: Pay close attention to the language used by the characters. How does this use of language help set the tone of the story? How does the tone of the story contribute to the overall message of the story? How do the characters develop over the course of the story? How does the setting or the tone contribute to the overall theme of the story? What kind of commentary on society is the ***** making with this story?
How to Reference "Sorrowful Woman" Essay in a Bibliography
“Sorrowful Woman.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/sorrowful-woman-traditional-fairytale/9296784. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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