Introduction

Hey everyone! My name is Zhanna and I am currently in my second semester at Sierra College in Rocklin. I am majoring in Bioscience and currently have a great load of science classes in my schedule. I decided to take the online English course so that I may learn and work from home instead of spending all of my hours at school. In high school, English was one of my favorite classes. Starting a paper on an assigned topic was difficult, however once ideas began to formulate I learned to enjoy the whole process. I like reading books and, at times, it may to difficult to analyze what an author was striving to illustrate however I find it interesting to study the deep meanings of some novels. Through this course,  I hope to improve my analyzing/elaborating skills in my reading as well as my writing.

SSRJ#1: Godwin

A Sorrowful Women, Gail Godwin

As I read through the story I felt a sense of anger toward the woman. She did not treat her husband and son with the love and care they deserved. Her husband was receptive of all her needs and concerns. Despite all he did to satisfy her desires, she was stubborn in not reflecting that same affection. Her child was, well, a child and longed to be loved by his mother. I could not comprehend why the “sight of them made her so sad and sick.”

Godwin uses visual and tactile imagery in an attempt to portray the woman’s disgust to her role as a housewife. She had been a wife and a mother for supposedly too long and the brightness she might have once saw in her family turned to gray, mournful colors. Although well cared for by her husband, she gradually loses her well-being and sense of direction. She no longer accepts what she is or what she must do and basically gives up on life. She fires the ‘dynamic,’ full of joy babysitter possibly because she was jealous of her. She was jealous because the girl enjoyed and accepted her job – taking care of the family, providing food and entertainment. The girl had what the woman lacked – self-satisfaction and contentment. Once the girl was gone the woman moved into her white room, maybe because she longed to discover and take on the girl’s ability to cope with everyday life. Instead, the woman simply found herself in an empty, white room. The images outside of the window symbolized the outside world and the freedom she could have possibly had if she was not subject to taking care of her family. However, she was unable to view herself as part of such a world. She was simply filled with sorrow. At the end, it was as if she performed all her duties as a wife and a mother one last time before she gave up everything.

I was confused about the draught she was always so prompt to drinking every night. She was constantly making sure her husband left it out for her. She was never satisfied with anything except the draught she had to have. Could it possibly be a symbol of some sort?