Frankie And Susan

An influential 12 year old girl during World War II and a manipulative coquette in Victorian England create two unsurprisingly juxtaposed images in a reader’s head. However, no matter how juxtaposing their personalities or lives may be, any two characters can share experiences and learn lessons in similar ways. In The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers and Lady Susan by Jane Austen, The characters Frankie and Lady Susan share a common desire to feel secure in their dominantly male influenced cultures.

In each novella, the protagonist deals with similar conflict involving gender stereotypes and expectations. Lady Susan lives a life of scorn and disapproval as a result of her abnormally flirtatious attitude. The purpose of her manipulative tendencies was solely to allow her to be respected as well as expressing her sensuality. In a letter to Lady Susan, Mrs, Johnson cautioned, “You should think more of yourself and less of your daughter. She is not of a disposition to do you credit in the world, and seems precisely in her

In the novella, the narrator mentions numerous details about Frankie’s desire to be apart of the war effort, but her gender, as well as her age, denies her of her aspirations. The narrator mentions, “She wanted to be a boy and go to the war as a Marine. She thought about flying aeroplanes and winning gold medals for bravery. But she could not join the war, and this made her sometimes feel restless and blue.” (23) Later on, they also state, “She was afraid because in the war they would not include her, and because the world seemed somehow separate from herself.” (24) The latter quote elaborating on Frankie’s yearning shows how ideas such as the gender expectations of the early 1900’s can greatly influence a child’s thoughts and connection with the world, just as they influenced Lady Susan’s behaviors as an