Old Maid Essays

  • The Old Maid - My Delia Dilemma

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Old Maid  - My Delia Dilemma In my first reading of The Old Maid, I found it hard to dissect the character of Delia.  Edith Wharton made me work hard to figure Delia out by not spelling her out directly, but bringing her on gradually.  After subsequent readings however, I saw this story as a sort of coming of age story about Delia Lovell and not about an old maid. Although the title is surely meant to reflect our feelings for the character of Charlotte, whom it seemed was destined to become

  • Role of Women in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    even thought to hinder his ability as a writer. So were the roles of women purposely placed in the novel to support his own opinions of women in the home? Miss Watson plays into society's rules and regulations. "Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now, with a spelling book. She worked on me middling hard for about an hour, then the wido made her ease up. I couldn't stood her much longer." (The Adventures of Huckleberry

  • Embittered Woman in Great Expectations, A Rose for Emily, and Sunset Boulevard

    2131 Words  | 5 Pages

    lighthearted activities such as crocheting and entertaining guests. She was also responsible for raising the children and teaching them to be virtuous, as she was. Without marriage, however, a woman had few opportunities, and became a governess, an old maid, or a prostitute, none of which carried much if any social standing. Thus, a woman's greatest fear was to end up without a husband, especially as a result of some event that brought embarrassment or a stain on her character. Miss Havisham

  • Romanticism in Katherine Anne Porter’s Old Mortality

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    Romanticism in Katherine Anne Porter’s Old Mortality Katherine Anne Porter’s characters in “Old Mortality” make contradicting statements throughout the story with their personalities as much as their words. Eva, the “Old Maid,” symbolizes aging, and the hardships and pain that can be associated with it. Amy can be thought of as her foil, because she seems to represent the antithesis of Eva in every way. Frozen in time with her premature death, Amy remains for the older members of the family the

  • Use of Allegories in A New England Nun

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    Use of Allegories in A New England Nun In "A New England Nun", Mary E. Wilkins Freeman depicts the life of the classic New England spinster. The image of a spinster is of an old maid; a woman never married waiting for a man. The woman waiting to be married is restricted in her life. She does chores and receives education to make her more desirable as a wife. This leads to the allegories used in this short story. The protagonist life paralleled both of her pets' lives, her

  • Life is But a Stage...

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    character didn't really have a name. Certain names remind you of stereotypes, and based on a name you can make some easy, general choices on how to portray that character. Mindy is a ditz, Christine can easily be a nerd, and Irma can make a nice old maid. That name association gives you a point to start from, after which you can explore other things. But where on earth do you start with a name like Stage? I formed an image of a guy wearing dirty overalls, walking barefoot and playing guitar outside

  • An Analysis of HBO's Sex and the City

    2693 Words  | 6 Pages

    its 6 seasons of running. Based on Candace Bushnell's racy book Sex and the City, the show exhibits an unprecedented example of the sexual prowess of women over the age of 35. The result is an immense viewing audience and an evolving view on the "old maid" stigma that a woman's chances of finding love are significantly reduced after thirty-five. In this paper, we will closely analyze the characters and themes of Sex and the City to explain the significance of what the show represents in American culture

  • Marriage in Christina Rossetti's Promises Like Pie-Crust and Edgar Allan Poe's Bridal Ballad

    2718 Words  | 6 Pages

    women. Poe writes "Bridal Ballad" in 1837 in America while Rossetti writes "Promises Like Pie-Crust" during the Victorian era in England; during both periods society demands that women marry (Mayberry 11).  Referring to the unwedded woman as an "old maid" or "spinster", society reinforces the notion that matrimony alone leads to a contented, blissful state. Born and bred to marry, a woman's disruption of the wed-and-then- procreate cycle engenders not only society's disrespect but also frightening

  • Wedding Speech for a Maid of Honor or Best Woman

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wedding Speech for a Maid of Honor or Best Woman Good evening. I would like to thank all of you for attending this joyful occasion. For those of you that don't know me, I'm Hanah's friend Erica, sometimes known as "Natasha" or "Hanah's foot taller twin sister". I'm sure you read in the playbill/program that I used to work with her in the accounting department. We hit it off from the start - both having a love for drama, we spent not only our working days together but every night as well.

  • An Analysis Of Sandra Cisneros And Old Maids

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    managed to break out of these expectations and standards. Women and men have had to fulfill different set standards before anyone had stepped foot outside the womb. For both genders those standards came with different expectations. In the poem “Old Maids” by Sandra Cisneros, she tells us how she and her female cousins have reached thirty years of

  • Unveiling Racial Dynamics: 'The Help' Analysis

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    points of view, Aibileen’s, Minny’s, and Skeeter’s. The book first starts off with Aibileen Clark. She is a colored maid that is now taking care of her seventeenth white child, Mae Mobley Leefolt. Aibileen loves Mae Mobley and struggles throughout the book to help raise her to be loving and not see race, despite what her uncaring mother might tell Mae Mobley. Minny is also a colored maid with many children and an abusive husband and Aibileen’s closet friend. Minny can be very sassy and opinionated,

  • The Life of Black Maids in The 1960s

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    is the life of the colored maids during this time period. What were black domestic workers? These women worked for many white families usually in the south for practically their whole lives taking care of their employer’s children and working their houses cleaning and doing many other tasks. The life of a black maid had many responsibilities and difficulties that challenged these women on a daily basis. When discussing the background of the many women who became maids, it is often questioned where

  • Color And Lighting In The Help

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before she goes, Skeeter arranges for Aibileen to take her old job writing the column for the newspaper (Taylor, 2011). The technique that is most often used in The Help is color. The white, elite families have colorful clothing, shiny, colorful cars and the women have makeup, such as bright red lipstick. Their homes are well maintained with green lush landscaping. In contrast, the maids all have the same blue uniforms and live in older, dull looking homes with dim lights

  • My Bloody Valentine

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    I arise to the sound of bluebirds singing a sweet melodic tune outside of my bedroom window. I stretch and yawn as my maid, Clara, comes rushing into the room. As Clara pulls open the curtains sunlight illuminates my room and reflects off of the tiny dust particles floating around, making them look like starlight. I could just sit here in this tranquil place and watch life go by me forever. Unfortunately I cannot. I sit up and watch Clara as she runs around the room in an unorderly fashion picking

  • Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    living and working environments of the poor. She had to deal with the different personalities and customs of her co-workers, their living arrangement, and the management hierarchy in each job. She worked as a waitress at two different restaurants, as a maid service cleaning houses, and as a dietary aide at a nursing home. Ehrenreich didn’t want to be a waitress any more than some waitresses, but she did it for her research. Ehrenreich once stated that, “Waitres sing is also something I’d like to avoid

  • Cinderella Character Analysis

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    of Cinderella evolves during the entire tale. She begins being this beautiful girl to this bottom-feeder only bossed around by her own family. This is significant when the stepmother takes “her beautiful clothes away” and dresses Cinderella “in an old gray smock” with “wooden shoes” (Grimm 1). This change makes the character more vulnerable in which it can make the other characters push her around more. The taking away of beauty can also show the true colors of the other characters because it shows

  • Comparing Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    Upturning Social Tradition in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle Satirical dramatic works from early seventeenth-century England provide invaluable information about the society that spawned them through their comical and critical insights. Recurring themes from these works enhance one's knowledge of the culture in which they first appeared. The ascension of the lower and middle classes into social prestige and nobility emerges among the most

  • Hedda Gabler

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    show great respect and loyalty towards her. She was used to people listening and obeying her; she just loved having power over others. When Hedda and her husband, George Tesman got back from their honeymoon George’s aunt, MissTesman was telling the maid how particular Hedda is after growing up as General Gablers Daughter, “Well of course. General Gabler’s daughter. What a life she had in the General’s day! Remember seeing her out with her father-how she’d go galloping past in that long black riding

  • Policies Affecting Women and Migrant Workers

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    How has the pre-existing gender division of labor and gendered state policies affected Saudi Arabia’s women workers in their demand for equal opportunities and fair treatment? What are some of the factors involved in disempowering migrant workers in host countries and what happens when these workers start asking for their rights? Given the global economic restructuring and the shifting international division of labor, regions like the Middle East have become salient destination sites for many sub-Saharan

  • Kathryn Stockett: The Help By Kathryn Stockett

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kathryn Stockett Kathryn Stockett is one of the most powerful, courageous, and bravest writers I have ever read about and that is why I have chosen to write about her. I read her book "The Help" and by reading this book it has shown me many things about history I had not known existed. This book is all about African American housekeepers in the 1960's and how they were treated, even though the laws may have made them equal, society did not. If it wasn't for books like this people like me may not