The Log of the Skipper's Wife by James W. Balano
The Log of the Skipper's Wife by James W. Balano. This journal was
originally written during the early 1900's by a young woman from Minnesota. It
was later on compiled by her son (James Balano), and published.
There are many topics that this book covers, the struggles of a young
woman with a man's job in the early 1900's, marital conflicts, unhappy with her
figure, eating habits, and the every day tortures of being a woman. Perhaps
the biggest issues in this book was Dorothea's sex life. She was smart, quick
witted, and had an amazing sense of humor. Her husband was a lady's man and
knew nothing besides being a captain, which he did well at. Dorothea and her
husband Fred were so different that it really caused a strain on their
marriage. At times the only thing they seemed to share in common was the bed.
Dorothea appeared to love sex, however her husband seemed like a bit of
a nymphomaniac from what I gathered. She noted several times how he acted
differently around other women, his collection of pornography, and how he was
continually boasting of his conquests of women. It was all very degrading to
Dorothea and she vented much of this in her journal. Fred also felt the need
to tell Dorothea that she was not up to par at sexual positions. He claimed
that other women he had been with were more flexible, and urged Dorothea to
become more like them. He treated Dora more like a slave then he did a wife. I
don't think he ever really knew how to act around women.
In one entry, Dorothea was telling of how Fred ate a ton of scallops
and how she was worried of what she would be in for later on that night,
(Scallops being thought of as an aphrodisiac). She mentioned how scallops
bring out one's sexual appetite, and that Fred certainly did not need it. The
way she speaks of Fred in this scene gives me the impression that she almost
feared him in some aspects. That he forced himself on her, and that it was not
up to her if they had sex at night or not.
the ultimate Puritan. Was the glory to God or to herself? She also relates here
himself; rather they were what he thought would lead Daisy to love him, in turn achieving
Then she goes on to talk about her marital status in lines six and seven “ It belongs to a woman who sleeps in a twin bed even though
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
...that she was a woman trapped by her own desires in a society that could not possibly have accepted such behavior.
her to have sex with him. He should also have showed her his thing. She turned
He had explained to police that women were the natural choice because he had the need to feel dominant. He had stated that he found crime easy to commit because it was what he had done before and Catherine was a crime of opportunity, she had no one to protect her, she was alone and he wanted to commit a crime. He stated that Catherine’s murder and assault was “just an idea that came into my mind, I couldn’t put it aside, it was the perfect opportunity.’ He had weighed his benefits and left with a purpose to kill someone and that night he had wanted it to be a woman, he had told police that “I knew as soon as I saw people turn away from her, I could commit a crime and chances were, I could get away with it” (Schmalleger, 2014, pg.
This passage defines the character of the narrators’ father as an intelligent man who wants a better life for his children, as well as establishes the narrators’ mothers’ stubbornness and strong opposition to change as key elements of the plot.
...with his mysterious presence he was dangerous. She has or had a boyfriend, Morelie who she struggle with but stays with because of love.
money and a life full of luxuries. He fell deeply in love with the young
whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess
her and didn't want anyone else to see in her what he saw. He gave Janie
because she felt pity for him. After she started walking him home she regretted it.
her lack of respect and how she herself views him as a person based on