Spin The Dawn by Elizabeth Lim tells the tale of a young girl who wants to become a tailor against all odds. Throughout the book Maia is tasked with completing the harshest of challenges, such as creating the three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars gifted to the goddess Amana. Though Maia succeeded in becoming the imperial tailor for the Emperor of A’landi, it was no easy task. Spin The Dawn showcases many well developed morals, such as never giving up even when the odds are misleading. Lim portrays the theme of hard work and determination to achieve success throughout the novel by showing Maia at the time of the eunuch's call for her father, the sabotage of her shawl, and the completion of the three dresses of Amana. When faced with a call from the Emperor’s …show more content…
However, she got back up, stating “there was no way I could accomplish it in the hours remaining”. But you can, a voice assured me. My voice, but more confident somehow” (Lim 54). No matter how hard the challenge seemed, she persisted and worked to complete the shawl. She did not give up and remained in the competition. As the only remaining tailor left, Maia was tasked with one final request: to make the three dresses gifted to the goddess Amana: one woven with the laughter of the sun; one embroidered with the tears of the moon; and one painted with the blood of the stars. This was said to be a gruesome task, one that led every tailor who attempted it to either go missing or pass away trying. However, through the strife, Maia was able to successfully accomplish the task. What seemed to be an impossible task left the crowd bewildered, “Lady Sarnai’s maids gasped as I held up each dress, one after another” (Lim 363). Having to face such turmoil to gather such materials from the sun, moon, and stars, Maia was finally appreciated at the palace as everyone gazed in astonishment at her creations. Finally, Maia was granted what she had longed for all this
where she raised enough money to complete one of her dreams: own her own dress
...e can, however, signal her virginal status by dressing in a way that represents its equivalent: as a southern belle. In addition to her low-cut blue dress, with its feminine, puffed sleeves, Arvay wears a floppy-brimmed “leghorn-intention” (straw hat), decorated with a “big pink rose” (suggestive of reproduction). Most tellingly, we are told that she is wearing a corset that is “laced very tight” – so tight that she cannot eat her dinner. Corsets hold in the flesh and nip in the waistline to an attractively small diameter. By narrowing the waist, they emphasize the swellings of the hips and breasts, a contrast intended to stimulate sexual arousal. Thus Arvay’s wedding/reception attire emphasizes her fragility and innocence while highlighting her desirability. The clothing signs her as an object for consumption, rather than celebrates her as a beautiful companion.
Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice is about a young homeless girl who doesn’t know anything about herself. This girl is found sleeping in a dung heap by a village and the village’s Midwife decides she’ll give her shelter if she’ll work as her apprentice. From that moment, her new life starts and she finds an identity that fits her and a new name, occupation and a place she belongs to. Alyce’s smartness, empathy and curiousness are a great combination that leads her to become a midwife’s apprentice, and as she works she starts to learn how the world works.
While working, there were people who would come from remote areas and watch her weave skillfully. On page 19, the text says, “If Athene herself were to come were to come down and compete with me, she could do no better than I.” Her bold action was challenging Athene, a goddess, to a weaving competition. Additionally, on page 19, “Arachne herself flushed red for a moment, for she had really believed that the goddess would hear her.” Arachne took an action that could possibly embarrass herself. During their competition, Arachne had designed “a pattern of which showed evil or unworthy actions of the gods, how they had deceived fair maidens, resorted to trickery, and appeared on earth from time to time in the form poor and humble people.” and Athene had designed “a border of twined branches of the olive, Athene’s favorite tree, while in the middle, figures began to appear. As they looked at the glowing colors, the spectators realized that Athene was weaving into her pattern a last warning to Arachne.” Athene had created that embroidery to warn Arachne, and Arachne made an embroidery to disgrace the goddess. Arachne’s bold action caused Athene to be angry and then turned Arachne into a spider. Arachne’s consequence for her bold action was her descendants and herself to turn into
Alison is clothed in silk, which is an expensive material that is not commonly worn by carpenter’s wives. Silk was used for the embroidery. on Alison’s smock, headband and the tassels on her purse. These References to the richest and smoothest materials hint at the attractive body underneath the sleeve All in all, the Millers are very successful in parodying the Knight’s. tale.
She then saw another life. Life without working and cleaning; however, the Lord doesn’t take her seriously. He doesn’t feel like he has too, as they are not married. “He wore me like a silken knot” is a simile which defines how he used her in his own way. He just wanted her as an accessory....
Dawn by Octavia Butler is a feminist take on an origin story. Due to its feminist foundations Dawn interrogates how gender, individuals, and social constructions shape people 's as well as society 's creation. The story follows the "rebirth" of Lilith Iyapo in an alien world after they 'saved ' her from the nuclear apocalypse on earth. Lilith 's journey is both mental and physical. She becomes more than human physically due to Okanali enhancements and mentally beyond the constraints of human beliefs, such as that of gender and time, due to her acceptance of the Ooloi and the Oankali way of life.
Autumn Molnar ENGL4850:001 3/1/2024 Midterm: Textiles in the Lais Marie de France was an author who wrote during the latter half of the twelfth century. Little is known about her real identity as her texts only provide her name, Marie, and the country she wrote in, France. It is known, however, that during her life, she composed twelve lais, which are short narrative stories that often contain a romance or love affair that may be propelled by supernatural elements. Although the lais are individually different stories, they live within a genre that can encapsulate the main themes of each tale. They are centered around Marie's version of “courtly love” or chivalric romance and often employ themes such as love, suffering, jealousy, and virtue
The history of female cross-dressing goes back before the 1611 story of Arabella Stuart, who was rela...
The hard branches bruised her small fingers, and she began to cry. Later that night, he asked her to sew up the holes in their cloths, but the needle poked her and she began to cry. He couldn’t stand to hear her cry, so he bought a large basket full of pottery and sent her to the market the next day to sell them. This was the hardest job of all for her, but she seemingly excelled. With her beauty and grace, she easily sold all the pots, pans, plates, and cups before noon.
Instead of helping and giving to other poor villagers in need, she denies their requests and pretends to be dreadfully sick. She locks herself into her home. There she paints and paints and paints. Jewels, rich silks, dresses, coins and valuables filled her home. Villagers came to her door after hearing about her supposed illness and offered their help in nurturing her.
Her girlfriends, who were still leading the good life with their various gentleman admirers, wore her first creations, thinking they were doing her a favour. Sometimes she was mocked for her boaters decorated with
The night of the ball came and Mathilde looked great; everyone admired her. The evening ended and everyone went home. Mathilde decided that she would look at herself in the mirror one last time before getting out of the clothes. When she did, she noticed the necklace that she admired so much was gone. Mathilde and her husband had to borrow thirty-six thousand francs from people they knew to buy another just like it so they could return it to the friend. Mathilde and her husband were deeply in debt. For ten years they worked day in and day out until finally the debt was paid off.
One of the things she broke was the pot containing the bones of her mother. Magically, a new dress, a horse, and an embroidered new pair of shoes appeared. Without hesitance, Beauty put on her new garments and rode her horse out of their house. Along the way, Beauty encountered a problem, which she needed another person’s help to pick up her shoes that fell into a ditch. A few gentlemen (a fishmonger, a rice broker, and a scholar) came along her way who was willing to help her if she agrees to get married.
Once upon time I was like every other princess, living a fairy tale. My wedding day had come; I looked the best I could ever look. My wedding gown made with the finest of silks, satins and lace, the purest shade of white, not even a speck of dirt, just the way I wanted it. My luscious hair had been transformed into a piece of art, flowers made with intricate swirls of curls each one done with the same precision. Diamond shimmered on my neck like the night sea trapping the reflection of the stars.