The Deceitful Mother in Rebecca Rush's Kelroy

763 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of women in literature

The Deceitful Mother in Rebecca Rush's Kelroy

Mothers are often thought of and characterized as loving, generous women, who put their children before themselves. They are gracious, caring, and kind humans that are willing to sacrifice happiness and fulfillment in their lives to insure that their children receive the guidance, love, support, and happiness that every child (especially their own) deserves. Sadly, this description does not define the characteristics of all mothers. An example of a mother in which her mannerisms are the exact opposite of those depicted above is found in the character of Mrs. Hammond in Rebecca Rush's Kelroy, first published in 1812. Mrs. Hammond is an example of the realism found in the book. Combining realism such as this with romanticism makes Kelroy one of the best illustrations of a novel of manners.

Like many mothers, Mrs. Hammond wishes for her daughters to marry well, but she not only desires this for their well being but also for her own. At the death of Mr. Hammond, his wife not only inherits his fortune but also his debts; finding out soon after that she acquires almost the same amount of debt as she did money. In trying to decide how she can continue in the lifestyle in which she is accustomed; she acknowledges the beauty of her daughters, Lucy and Emily, and thus creates a plan. Moving out of the city and into the country of Philadelphia to "mournî she began to train her daughters to land a rich husband. Mrs. Hammond does not stop to think of the others who could be affected by her actions. She is uncaring and cold and only out to better her position.

Mrs. Hammond characteristics range from calculating to charming; she uses her talent of manipulating situations to get exactly what she wants. She uses any means necessary to reach her goal; this makes her an excellent example of a great American bitch. Even after marrying Lucy off to Walsingham, an Englishman with a title, she was not still not satisfied. Emily marrying Kelroy, a penniless poet, was out of the question. Mrs. Hammond never considers what consequences her actions will have on herself and others. She is the evil or villain found in the book. There is nothing wrong with a mother desiring her daughters to marry well, but in Mrs.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Black Death

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    In short, he answers the basic questions that are often asked in concern to the Black Death. These topics include the transmission of the plague, the different varieties of the plague, and the different theories over the course of history that have tried to explain the origins of the Black Death. Gottfried successfully supports the thesis with his main arguments being the death toll that resulted from the Black Death, the development of modern medicine, and the effects and transformation the Black death had on Europe. These arguments support the thesis of the Black Death being the greatest biological and environmental event in European history. Many people tend to misunderstand the word, ‘great’ as being synonymous with the idea of something that is positive. The circumstances surrounding the Black Death are very much negative and in this context, ‘great’ means impactful, poignant, and staggering. Gottfried does an excellent job of textually illustrating the greatness of the Black Death while still maintaining an unbiased, onlookers point of view to give the reader a chance to make his/her own analysis of the cons and benefits of the Black Death. To analyze, the following paragraphs will go over Gottfried’s writing and the use of his

    Read More

  • Summary Of Tommie Shelby's We Who Are Dark

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is commonly thought that one has to struggle in order to be black. Black people tend to have a stronger sense of group identification than any other racial group in the United States. The question is whether or not this is helpful or detrimental to the black population. In “Promoting Black (Social) Identity” Laura Papish criticizes Tommie Shelby’s We Who Are Dark. Shelby argues that the black population’s sense of group identity is vital to furthering their collective political agenda. Shelby believes that best way to make sure that their political ideologies are cohesive is for black individuals to have a “thick conception of black identity” (Papish 2).” Having a thick sense of black identity calls for “ African Americans think of themselves as and act as a ‘nation’ constituted not by physical borders, but by a shared ethnic, cultural, or biological trait that imbues the community with a ‘general will’ and this “ will” typically includes political motives (Papish 2). Papish argues that it not part of the duty of a black person to have any sense of loyalty or solidarity with other African-Americans and that not doing so does not make them any less black than those that choose to have a thick sense of black identity. Those who don’t grow up with a strong black group identity in their lives are just as black and go through some of the same struggles that other black people do. In the video “Black Like Who?” Debbie Reynolds did not have a strong sense of blackness because she was raised in a white neighbor. The other ladies in the short film talk about how they thought that she had a “ real problem with [her] ethnicity like [she] had a problem with the fact that [she] born African-American (Reynolds). This along with the documentary on Lacey Schwartz show that a person’s sense of blackness is very much a product of what others around them define blackness as. However, it is not clear

    Read More

  • Mean Mother with a Hurt Daughter

    2052 Words  | 5 Pages

    Pingaro, Bobbie. “The Meanest Mother in the World”. Wolf Web Solution. Internet Archive. 1967.Web. 12 June 2010. < http://www.wolfweb.com.au/australia/meanmother.html>

    Read More

  • Polital Parties in Britain's Government

    1801 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ssay has argued that British political parties have suffered from a decline in membership due to internal factors including change or reluctance to change. Secondly, a change in society and social groups has further damaged political parties, as they have had to adjust to a shift in voter audience. Finally, the disempowerment of the British government and its political parties has had a negative effect on the population who started to doubt party efficiency and contributed to the decline in participation and in turn, of the parties. All these factors show that indeed British political parties are in decline, but this does not mean that British parties will disappear; as the Hughton Report mentioned in 1976, “if the parties fail, then democracy fails”. Our democratic system needs political parties to function properly; it is not too late for British party resurgence.

    Read More

  • Shirley Jackson and Her Short Stories

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson’s stories often had a woman as the central character who was in search of a more important life other than the conventional wife and mother. These characters however were often chastised for their refusal to conform to a woman’s traditional way of life. Much like her characters, throughout Shirley Jackson’s life, she also rejected the idea of fitting into society's perception of a woman's role.

    Read More

  • The Black Plague

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    Around 1347-1348 the most well-known epidemic struck the European world. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or the Black Plague, rained sickness over millions; for most people, death was the only end to the sickness. The Black Death is known as one of the most depressing occurrences in history. It attacked the three most important aspects of a person’s well-being, their mental, emotional and physical health. While the plague impacted early society, authors, Jean de Venette and Giovanni Boccaccio, described the epidemic in their own words. Modern author, Charles L. Mee Jr., describes the plague with the scientific knowledge he has living in today’s society. These three authors wrote about the bubonic plague with their own voice’s and reasoning’s but many of the accounts they mention are similar to one another. Jean de Venette, Giovanni Boccaccio and Charles L. Mee Jr. explain the symptoms, the causes and the way people acted because of the black plague.

    Read More

  • Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria Summary

    543 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, the five stages of racial identity focus around stereotypes, omissions, and distortions which reinforce the idea that Whites are superior to Blacks (Tatum 215). Therefore, black children are only shown the typical lifestyles of the white people around them, and they begin to think less of their

    Read More

  • Anthony Down's Voting Model Accuracy

    2077 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the second half of the past century the notion that, political science should be treated as a science became extremely popular among academics specially in the United States. One of the most prominent exposers of this school of thought was Anthony Downs, who developed a theorem to explain in a rather economic sense, how and why voters behave in a certain way when it comes to voting. Downs did not only applied his theory to the way voters behave, he also used it to explain the way political parties align themselves when it comes to elections in a two and a multiparty system nevertheless this essay will analyze Downs’ claims about a two party system only. This essay argues that the Downs’ model has proven to be accurate in many cases throughout history, nevertheless it makes a series of assumptions about voters and parties that can not be considered realistic neither in 1957, when he published his paper An Economic Theory of Political Action in Democracy in 1957 nor in 2013. This essay also acknowledges that fact that this theory might help to explain how parties behave but it is by no means the only explanation. Furthermore this essay will prove that it is a multiplicity of factors rather than an economic theory what can help us understand why parties behave the way they do. In order to support the argument previously stated this essay will state and critically analyze a number of Downs assumptions, then his theory will be outlined. Then it will carefully consider how effective it has been at predicting the way in which parties align themselves by examining the behavior of political parties during general elections in different countries.

    Read More

  • Revolution: Locke vs Kant

    2600 Words  | 6 Pages

    In order to answer the question set, we must first set out concrete and testable definitions for the terms in the question – primarily how we can ascertain which of the accounts is “best” and indeed, a meaning of “account” that can apply equally to both philosophers' arguments. What do we mean by “best”? The term in itself necessitates the potential for one argument to be “better” when the two are in conflict - philosophically would entail that one ...

    Read More

  • The Extreme Right in Britain

    2598 Words  | 6 Pages

    Margetts, H. John, P. Weir, S. Latent Support for the far-Right in British Politics: The BP and UKIP in the 2004 European and London Elections. Paper Presented to PSA EPOP conference: University of Oxford, 2004.

    Read More

  • Political Parties: The Carte Party

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Political parties have been in a declining state in recent political evolution and has provoked numerous discussions/arguments whether the political parties have been indeed in such a state or whether they have been simply restructuring their organisational and/or ideological principles to withstand certain challenges. Several theories were introduced/developed in the recent years so as to distinguish the “ideal” behavioural type of political party development. The most renowned “ideal” party types are the cadre party type, the mass party type (Duverger, 1954) and the catch-all party type (Kirchheimer, 1966). Nevertheless, a recent theory regarding party types proposed initially by Richard Katz and Peter Mair (1995) was the “Cartel Party” which also drew a lot of academic interest. The “Cartel Party” is a new model of political party development suggested by Richard Katz & Peter Mair (1995) as the last decades the electoral support and partisanship levels have been decreasing substantially, while voter volatility increased; thus political parties began to seek state subsidies and other much needed resources directly through the state, in order to secure “control” of the electoral rules, subsidies from the state and the media as well. Concomitantly, political parties allegedly employ their domination power to even “control” which new political parties may join the “cartel”, and which are left out of the equation. However, this new prospect within the political parties’ mechanism, ultimately alters their organisational and ideological principles, thus in this way give rise to the so-called “Cartel Parties”. In short, the theory of Cartelisation over the political parties suggested by Katz & Mair propose that political parties progre...

    Read More

  • Nora's Decision to Leave in A Doll's House

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Motherism In Edith Wharton's Summer

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    For a young women, the idea of motherhood means taking on the ultimate responsibility of caring for a defenseless child in spite of the youth and inexperience. To complicate matters, include the social norms of the 19th century that young women should not have children out of wedlock and a lack of personal independence since most young women do not have livable income and a space to call her own. These norms are enforced upon young women so much that typically their only hope of survival is with the help of a patriarchal figure. Thus, we are introduced into the struggle of Charity, the young female orphaned protagonist of Edith Wharton’s Summer, who is faced with how to make the best “decision” on how her child should come into her world. The

    Read More

  • Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stevenson, H. (1995). Relationship of Adolescent Perceptions of Racial Socialisation to Racial Identity. Journal of Black Psychology. DOI: 10.1177/00957984950211005

    Read More

  • Mother Figure By Ayckbourn

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play “Mother figure” is a contemporary play written in the 1960’s about what it’s like to be a mother. In the 1950’s women were valued only as a stay at home mother, their life was dedicated to the children until the 1960’s when people started to question if that is what mothers should be doing. Ayckbourn explores political issues about mothers in a comical way; he exaggerates the mother of the play, Lucy, to give a hidden message about the political views. He expresses his views that women shouldn’t just be for looking after the children but they should have their own lives. These views however were unpalatable to some people, they wouldn’t want women to do anything but stay at home and look after the children. In addition they wouldn’t pay to see a play about politics this is why he chose to express it in a comical way. The play shows that at the time, women get married and have children they couldn’t work, they had to spend all their time dedicated to the children. The first time we meet Lucy she appears rushed, busy and isolated. The stage directions show she is wearing “dressing-gown and slippers” I visualize her to be wearing a big fluffy pink dressing gown with big fluffy slippers, hair going in all directions, the characteristically funny image of a stressed mother. This is where the humour starts in the play. Ayckbourn presents Lucy as a role model, one of the ways he shows this is through isolation. She ignores the door bell and the phone ringing for the reason that she has her hands full, with the phone she simply picks up the receiver then replaces it straight away, this shows she has no time for phone calls. Ayckbourn is trying to show that being a mother is inflexible, hard work it’s not as easy as it could be p...

    Read More

More about The Deceitful Mother in Rebecca Rush's Kelroy

Open Document