Discussion Post 4

The story that we worked on in class to begin our feminist criticism was “Pagan Night”. We worked briefly on this story but were able to identify some elements that would be interesting when using feminist criticism. Those were Sunny’s dependance on Dalton for support or security and her fear of leaving him. The other element was Sunny’s conflicting feelings about her child and the burden that the child puts on her simply because of her gender. She feels guilty because she is unable live up her idea of what a mother should be. Sunny didn’t necessarily fit into any of the stereotypical characterizations of women in literature, but “Pagan Night” seemed like a great story for feminist analysis. 

The story “The Storm” was full of elements to consider when using feminist criticism. One element that I picked up on was that Calixta seems to play the role of damsel in distress. She is very much a stereotype, she seems weak and easily frightened. She also has blond hair, blue eyes and she is portrayed as beautiful. I think another thing that would be noticed using feminist criticism is that the author is a woman and the story was written during the end of the 1800s. Also I think that the portrayal of the men in this story is noteworthy, they are strong and seemingly fearless. They are definitely portrayed as the protectors with one heading out into the rain and one staying behind at home. I felt that “The Storm” is an interesting choice for feminist criticism. 

I chose the read “Girl” as my final text for feminist analysis. This short story is written by a women, Jamaica Kincaid, and first appeared in 1978. It is a very powerful short story about all the things that go through a girls mind during her day or week. It is essentially the do’s and don’ts that society impresses on this young women, or at least what she feels is being impressed on her. She feels like she needs to do these things to avoid becoming being perceived as a slut, or a thief. I think that the obvious critique here is that the nature of all of things this girl has going through her head are homemaker type worries. They are things like walking and singing in church, sewing, and washing. The fact that she is worried about these mundane tasks as well as not appearing as a slut gives the impression that she is destined for a domestic lifestyle. A feminist critique could also argue that by these worries consuming her she is not thinking about her own needs as a woman, what she wants, or her own future.