3. Would you respond to “Girl” differently if we reversed sex and you imagine the narrator is male, a father advising a young woman on how to become the proper kind? Ultimately, what’s at stake in a woman, a mother, advising a young girl in this manner versus a man, a father, doing so? What are the implications?
If "Girl" had a male narrator the dynamics of the story would drastically change. "Girl" is the teachings, of a mother to her child, on how to become a woman. It is a play by play on how to cook, clean, act in public, and of course how to "throw away a child". The narrator repeatedly refers to her daughter as the "slut she is so bent on becoming". This hostilely greatly shapes the nature of both these characters. The mother is obviously trying to teach her daughter the rules of the world but her harsh life experiences have left her scared as she now views the world, and her daughter, in a negative light. However, if the narrator was her father instead of her mother he would come across as rude, arrogant, protective, and almost sinister. We would question her mother’s existence since her father would be teaching his daughter more traditional feminine roles. Nevertheless, the term "slut" and talk about a self induced abortion would almost make the father seem abusive, in one way or another. He would come across as power hungry and dramatically change the relationship present between these two characters. The time that this book was written almost seems to work against the role of the father. In the late 1940's and early 1950's women we still chained to their household name. They had little authority within the home as the man was deemed "master" of the house. In the original story tension is present between the mother and her daughter but we almost sympathize with these characters as we know the mother is trying to teach her daughter the harsh realities associated with women and society. If we switch roles and read this same story from the perspective of the father an overpowering sense of belittlement dictates the role of the "girl".
I agree, I think if this was a man then it would take on a whole different meaning. I suppose reading it you can almost accept a mother talking to her daughter like that, but if it were to be switched to a fathers words then I think it would become a story of degradation. Which would take the "lesson" feeling of the story and turn it from a disappointed tone into an overly harsh critical punishment of sorts.
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