January 25th

 "His mother had put me through hell with her slander, and I was determined to put an end to all that."

- Page 91, A Life of Her Own


    In A Life of Her Own, Carles is seen to be a very strong women who is proud of her own independent thought. Although everyone who was important to her did not approve or appreciate her marriage, she and her fiance moved on and continued to love one another for themselves and not for anyone else. The quote above symbolizes her putting an end to not only his mother's torment but the internal torment she was submitting herself to. 

    Carles was the main money-maker of her family which was unique for the time period, but also in her own way, still maintained the mother-daughter and advisory relationship with everyone around her. In her writings you can see her taking control, using her own experiences to ensure that those who read do not fall into the same patterns. It was very interesting to see her growth even from the beginning of the story where she was apprehensive about continuing her relationship and then once she made the decision she was much more confident. This goes to show that the woman making decisions that benefit and make her happy often end in positive experiences and better mental health. 

Comments

  1. Jordan MilesJanuary 25, 2023 at 6:45 AM

    I liked how you mentioned how she is the main money maker in her family. I think so often people underestimate women's ability to provide money like this, especially during her time period is so important. Also, I liked how you talk about her personal growth and mentality throughout the story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. savannah shockleyJanuary 25, 2023 at 6:46 AM

    I do agree with you about her initially taking control of her own life and marrying Jean Carles. Her defying her/his family's wishes were something that was either nonexistent/scarce during her time period. With that being said, I feel as if she did compromise that independence she gained when she started being the backbone of the family. Jean was doing whatever frivolity that he was doing and she was at home taking care of everything ranging from their children to their finances. When she confronted him about it, he would brush away her concerns and not own up to what he was doing. She was an incredibly strong and independent woman, but I feel as if Jean's presence dulled those qualities in some way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

March 13th

 "I can date events by the clothes I wore, "  - Page 716, Landscape for a Good Woman          Steedman uses her piece to talk about the qualms of childhood and the issues she faced, predominantly with her parents. Her parents' seemingly truthful marriage was actually a facade, one that was never legalized and her own father had had a whole life before he had met her mother. Her mother had lied about the jobs she had when she was little, saying she worked in an office when she didn't and using her professional status to say something about their lives at home.           Steedman uses her childhood through the lense and sights of an actual child to talk about poverty and cluelessness. The child-like sense of wonder that everyone has and the adaptation to notice the tiniest of details as you get older in your environment are all pointed out. She talks about the restriction of food and the importance of education and the idea ...
Read more

February 27th

 "You never find a smoker blabbering and blubbering his secrets to the opium seller. We are proud and reserved." - Page 351, Times and Places           In this piece, Hahn speaks about her time in China where she became addicted to opium. She talks about how she had always wanted to experience it, and when given the opportunity, she took it. From that day on, she smoked multiple times a day. A few months later, she is diagnosed with Jaundice and explains to her doctor that she smoked 11-12 times per day and had not noticed the extent of her illness. A few months after that, she offered herself to hypnosis to become sober and get over her use of opium.           To me, I think that Hahn showed the true strength that a woman holds in the latter half of the piece. She had to the will power to both admit that something was wrong and she had an issue, as well as get herself together and quit her use. However, the man that she f...
Read more

February 20th

 "I've never met a woman more cowardly than I am." - Page 236          In this recount, Duras tells of her time waiting for her husband to return from Dachau (the concentration camp). She says that she is cowardess for waiting for his return when she knows, deep in her heart, he is not coming home. However, one day she receives a call that he has been found and two individuals dress up as Frenchmen and save him. She describes the experience of seeing him for the first time, the lack of human there was, the horror she endured by looking at him, and the problems they faced to get him back to health. He couldn't eat for 17 days, he couldn't sleep or really live. He was a breathing carcass.           To me, the worst thing about this situation was the description of the toilet and how they had to offer cushion because he could not sit on his own weight and his skin was too raw to rub against the seat. Just this small encounter with...
Read more