7/12

Daystar

“She wanted a little room for thinking: but she saw diapers steaming on the line, a doll slumped behind the door.”

I thought this provided a good image. I can imagine all of the diapers that she just finished washing and a little door slumped behind the door. This image tells the reader that the woman is the mother of an infant and a toddler. In this work the mother just wants a break from her life. The time that her children nap each day is her only break and she uses it to relax and let her imagination go. In my opinion, she is not happy in her life, as a mother or a wife. She is tired and restless as a mother, and does not enjoy her husband. This is obvious from the end of the text when the author says: “Later that night when Thomas rolled over and lurched into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers.”
--------------------
A Pair of Silk Stockings

“She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate view of purchasing it. But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny luxurious things--with both hands now, holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her fingers.”

This created a vivid image for me. When I read this part of the story, I could imagine Mrs. Sommers feeling the stockings and the satisfaction it gave her. I can see the stockings gliding through her finger tips and the beautiful shine that they have. I really related to Mrs. Sommers in this work. Sometimes after a paycheck, I am guilty of going shopping and several impulse purchases one after the other. In this story, Mrs. Sommers just gets caught up in the escape from her lifestyle that the $15 can temporarily fix. In my opinion, it is the beautiful stockings that originally steer her from her path as she winds up at the theater.
----------------------
Why I Want A Wife

"I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals,serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying."

Throughout this entire work, not just in the passage that I selected, I imagine a woman running around trying to get all of the things listed accomplished. In the above passage, I can imagine a woman planning, shopping, cooking, entertaining, and cleaning. And I imagine that she does so in a "cookie-cutter wife" manner, pleasantly and with a smile.
This was my favorite out of the assigned reading today. I laughed at the irony. The author makes some excellent points and really makes it known how she feels. I thought that finding an image in this was much tougher because she is so -to the point-that she doesn't really paint images as much as she came out straight with what she meant. I thought the author did a great job of illustrating her feelings toward the job of the wife.