Perspectives of the Characters in The Young Housewife

531 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The young housewife analysis

Perspectives of the Characters in The Young Housewife

From the first stanza we decipher that there is a young housewife moving about her husbands house in negligee. Some important questions that come to my mind are: Is she alone?, and why is she moving? The answer to both of these questions we do not know.

Is this young housewife dancing around the house in her negligee because her and her husband had a wonderfully romantic night, or is she merely shuffling along performing her wifely chores and duties? Better yet, does the young housewife really exist, or is she just a fantasy of the passer-by?

This brings me to my next question . . .Is the narrator a man or a woman? It seems very easy to assume that the narrator is a man, because the author is a man, but other than that there is no real evidence proving narrative gender.

In stanza one all we know about the narrator is that they are alone in a car. In stanza two all we know is that the narrator compares the young housewife to a "fallen leaf". And in stanza three, the final stanza, as the narrator passes on by, he or she bows, and smiles.

As far as I am concerned the passer-by could be a female who is a close friend or relative who is merely commenting on the housewife as they pass by her house.

To me The Young House Wife is about beauty, not beauty from a young fertile woman alone in negligee, but the beauty of everyday, the beauty of life.

This driver, who is her passer-by compares the housewife to a fallen leaf. This fallen leaf could mean many things. The narrator could be insinuating that the young housewife is in a fallen state, maybe trapped in some kind of extra-marital sin perhaps. Maybe the narrator is trying to warn us that the housewife is sick and perhaps that is why she is not yet properly dressed though the morning is almost at an end. The meaning that I prefer to take with me is somewhat different from these perspectives. I would like to think of the young housewife as the beauty of autumn.

Show More
Related

  • Bruce Dawe - Americanized

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stanza one is set in the morning at breakfast time. It involves the mother and her child. Instead of the usual loving mother, we see a cold mother and one that is doubtful of her lover for her own child. Dawe uses cold language such as ‘beneficence’, ‘beamed’ and ‘laminex’ as well has the pause after ‘she loves him’ to signify this. The pair are also conveyed to be separate from each other, symbolised by them being on opposite sides of the breakfast table.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: Minnie Wright

    295 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Wrights home was a poor, lonely type of home. The trees that surround the house grew in a sad state. The road that led up to the farm was an unoccupied path. Minnie Wright is the woman who lives on these lonely grounds. She is friendless and mostly keeps to herself. There is no one for her to talk to, her husband died recently, thus, she lives out her life as an outcast. In hindsight, Mrs. Hale, a woman who knows Mrs. Wright, explains to her friend, “'But I tell you what I do wish, Mrs. Peters I wish I had come over sometimes when she was here I wish– I had.’ I [too] wish I had come over to see Minnie sometimes.’” Since no one takes the time out of their busy schedules to visit Mrs. Wright, Minnie feels unwanted.

    Read More

  • Susan Glaspell's Trifles - The Loyalty of Mrs. Hale

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    You notice this to be so because Mrs. Peters is struggling against what she is hearing the men say versus what she feels herself. When Mrs. Hale tells Mrs. Peters that she would hate for the men to be in her kitchen snooping around and criticizing, Mrs. Peters responds by saying "Of course it’s no more than their duty". This reflects to me a lady who has been so brain washed by the manly view of her time that she can’t even see the simple feelings that women feel for and between each other.

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences In Popular Religions

    419 Words  | 1 Pages

    Though Hinduism is labeled as a religion, it’s actually much more than that. It’s a culture, a lifestyle, and a society that has influenced it’s people for more than four thousand years. The Indian culture is made up of several languages and dialects causing much racial diversity amongst the civilization. Although modern Hinduism often conflicts with that of the earlier forms of this religion, it’s most basic foundation is practically the same. Even though it’s teachings are not commonly agreed upon.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Contrastingly, Mrs. Darling, his wife, is portrayed as a romantic, maternal character. She is a “lovely lady”, who had many suitors yet was “won” by Mr. Darling, who got to her first. However, she is a multifaceted character because her mind is described “like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East”, suggesting that she is, to some extent, an enigma to the other characters, especially Mr. Darling. As well as this, she exemplifies the characteristics of a “perfect mother”. She puts everything in order, including her children’s minds, which is a metaphor for the morals and ethics that she instils in them. Although ...

    Read More

  • Witchcraft In U.S. History

    2202 Words  | 5 Pages

    The responsibilities held by a housewife had immense importance in her role in society. Women were responsible for preserving the boundaries of social and cultural life. When this process was disrupted, the authority and identity of the housewife were put into question, she could no longer control the processes needed to fulfill her role. Instead of admitting this loss of control, it may have been easier for the housewife to blame a witch, usually someone who had wronged her. (Starkey 24)

    Read More

  • The Whipping=evaluation=1200 W

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    In stanza two, the setting and the mother's physical appearance is revealed in further detail. The setting is in front of the house in a garden of some sort, full of lush plants, greenery, and bright flowers. In contrast, the boy is being viciously thrown and beaten into this delicate foliage. 'Wildly he crashes through elephant ears, / pleads in dusty zinnias'; (5-6). Another symbolic image Hayden portrays is of the zinnias. Zinnias are typically supposed to be a plant with variously colored beautiful flowers; these zinnias are dusty, implying that they are dull, lifeless, and unattended. This is symbolic of the boy. If properly taken care of, a boy can grow into a vivid, colorful, young man, but if mist...

    Read More

  • Religion

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hinduism is one of the world’s major religions that evolved from the Vedic religion of ancient India. Hinduism has branches that contain several sects. The major branches are Vaishnavism and Shaivism. These sects rely on their own set of scriptures but their focal point is the ancient Vedas. The philosophical Vedic texts, from the Aryans, involved the Upanishads in searching for knowledge on how the human beings would escape reincarnation. Hinduism has a cosmic principle Brahman, whereby they believe in rebirth after death. Hinduism emerged around the beginning of Common Era then coexisted within Buddhism for several centuries (Clearly, 2013). It spread to Southern India and parts of Southeast Asia from the Northern India. The basic teaching of Vedanta is the belief that the human being is neither confined in the body nor mind but the spark of God within the soul. Most Hindu’s practice bhakti as a way to worship and follow their deity. Rather than live of fear of their deity, bhakti focuses on being connected with the...

    Read More

  • Hinduism: A Polytheistic Religion

    219 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with countless Gods and Deities, that is now the third most followed religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. The word “hindu” originated from the Sanskrit word “Sindhu” which is a historical name of the longest river in Asia, northwest of India. Hinduism is unique, the only religion without a founder, no one scripture, and it is without a specific set of rules and expectations. It is often described as being a way of life, unlike other religions, and is said to be an assortment of different religious, philosophical ideas, and cultural practices that began in India. While it doesn’t have specific teachings, it does have sacred texts, the Sanatana Dharma, otherwise known as “The Eternal Teaching”.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Justice In Trifles By Susan Glaspell

    2397 Words  | 5 Pages

    Peters deals with throughout the play. Starting at the beginning the Sheriff invites his male compatriots to investigate, rather than his wife, who he assigns the position of gatherer. Instead of viewing Mrs. Peters as an asset he sees her more as a “pet” who is there to do the menial work, and in turn be quiet and unnoticeable, “ I suppose anything Mrs. Peters doesll be all right. She was to take in some clothes for her, you know, and a few little things. We left in such a hurry yesterday” (983). Even with something as serious as a murder lurking in the background the Sheriff can 't bring down his pride and ego enough to ask his wife for aid regarding serious work. Men were to assume the important roles while women were cast the lesser, non desirable tasks. The Sheriff and his investigators within Mrs. Wright 's home dismiss homemaking as a futile occupation, despite that being Mrs. Peter’s embodiment. Mrs. Peters is ridiculed by men for the exact function they force her to do. While in the presence of both his wife and Mrs. Peters, Mr. Hale puts down the domestic role females play, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (982). Mr. Hale by stating this suggests that women only deal with the lesser important issues in social construct. In connecting that women “deal” with trifles Mr. Hale underhandedly suggests that women themselves

    Read More

  • Interpretation of Love in Plato’s Symposium

    1776 Words  | 4 Pages

    The meaning of love is as intricate and unique as the purpose that it serves. It seems that the nature of love is found in the mind, the body and the soul. In Plato’s Symposium each member of the drinking party gives their own interpretation of love. As each speaker engages in their discourse, the concept of love is evaluated from different angles. According to Phaedrus, homoerotic love is the highest form of love and that sacrificing oneself for love will result in a multitude of rewards from the gods, while Pausanias believes that there are two forms of love: Commonly and Heavenly. As a physician, Eryximachus claims that love appears in every part of the universe, including plants and animals and that protection results from love. Before starting his speech, Aristophanes tells the group that his discussion about love may seem completely absurd, as he explains that in the beginning one body had two people who were eventually split in half by Zeus. This is meant to explain why people are constantly looking for their “other half”. Moreover Agathon, the poet the symposium is celebrating, critiques the previous speakers by stating that they failed to praise the god of love. He claims that love rejects feebleness and embraces youthfulness while also implying that love creates justice, courage and wisdom.

    Read More

  • And Limitations In Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums'

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    She had let her guard down and trusted that the handyman new someone who appreciated and somewhat valued her work. She was so sad when she saw the flowers she gave to the handyman lying on the road that she tried, unsuccessfully, not to look at it. Also, when she passed the handyman wagon she turned her back to them. After passing she cried, according to the narrator, like a weak old woman.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the opening verse of the song, the speaker discusses the need to see her childhood home at least once more before moving on with her life. She shares with the current homeowner some of her experiences while growing up in the house. For instance, she says, “I know they say you can’t go home again, but I just had to come back one last time.” This shows that the speaker realizes that returning “home” is going to be a different experience than it was when she lived there, but she cannot resist the temptation of a final visit to the “house”. The speaker says that “Up those stairs in that little back bedroom, is where I did my homework and learned to play guitar. And I bet you didn’t know, under that live oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard.” This indicates some of the significant memories the speaker has of her time in the house, such as honing her...

    Read More

  • Religions in the World: Christianity and Hinduism

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    Out of all the different beliefs in the world today, Hinduism is a religion that seems different and interesting. Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions in the world. The religion is over 4,000 years old. Hinduism was originated in India and the religion’s first known believers were known as the ancient people, the Aryans (Hinduism). Like most religions in the universe, Hinduism is unique in its own way. Hinduism is unique because it did not start off as a religion. Hinduism was actually a culture for people in India and then later turned into a religion (Hinduism on Fun Facts).

    Read More

  • The White Doe by Francesco Petrarch

    1575 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theme- The author is trying to say that everyone should come out of the forest into the glade because one might find something magnificent. In other words, for someone to not find his or herself caught up in the clutter or everyday life and thinking only of oneself. The author is trying to send the message for people to look up out of the thicket and see life because a beautiful white doe-pure innocent young woman-may be waiting to meet oneself. Yet, in the end the author wants to get away from his escape, so the author is also saying that one should not become fixated upon one moment. Therefore, the author is sending the message that one should look up and smell the roses, yet know where one is and still have his or her priorities in order.

    Read More

More about Perspectives of the Characters in The Young Housewife

Open Document