Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Blog #5 question 3 by Valeria Gallegos
I would definitely respond differently to Girl if it was her father instead of her mother telling her to do these things. It would sound much harsher if it was a man because he would not know how to be a woman and the things that they go through on an everyday basis. Due to this it would sound as if he doesn't want to understand her and how she really feels and just wants her to do all these things because he THINKS it is what she needs to do to become a better woman. Since it is the mother saying all of these things its more likely that the daughter will listen and obey because she knows that her mother has had firsthand experience in becoming a woman so the daughter would trust that what she was saying was crucial information that she needs to adhere to. Of course, whether it be her father or mother telling her to do these things I am still shocked that a parent, no matter the gender, would talk to their daughter in this way. I would be bothered by it a bit more if it was her father, however since they are typically seen as the protector of the household and talking to his daughter like this is not protecting her but hurting her and ultimately damaging her self-esteem. Yes, it is a mother giving her daughter advice and warning her about the dangers of the outside world but, there are a lot of parents who give advice and help their child in a more kinder and loving way which is what I would have liked to have seen in this story, however, that is not the case here and in many other families as well. One would think that the mother would at least be kinder to her daughter since they are both women but, during this time period all of these things were expected from every woman and those that did not do these things were seen in a negative light so I can somewhat see where the mother is coming from; she doesn't want her daughter to become a "slut'" but to become a responsible and respectable woman.
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While I agree completely that the way that the advice-giver speaks to the girl is coarse, it may have been to underline the importance of the lessons that they were trying to impart. While there is no direct evidence, it seems to suggest that it is indeed the mother that is imparting "wisdom" to her daughter, specifically how to be a woman that would respected in their society. In some ways, it seems vaguely reminiscent of societies that place an incredibly high level of importance on education and how well their child does in school. We've all seen books, movies, and real-life examples of the "over-bearing parent". in that scenario, the child is grounded or punished in some other way for grades that are considered sub-par by the parents. In a screwed up way, it would appear that the parent is looking out for the interests of the child, and using the coarse language to hammer the point home for her.
ReplyDeleteI feel that although the mother is trying to implant good things into her duaghter, and lessons that all daughters should learn, but I dont agree with the way she went about it. Especially because she is speaking to her daughter as if there is no way of getting aroung thisslut that she will become. Parents go about things differently and different cultures have different methods, so I cannot say this is the wrong way, but the mother can go about it in a way that wont seem immature and rude.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would seem harsher if the father had said this to the daughter but since it was the mother it wasn't so harsh because she might understand everything better. She might be telling her daughter this to make sure that she doesn't make some mistakes that could ruin her life. In that time period, if she was a slut then it would be difficult to find a husband. I also agree with you when you said that most parents would have given this advice in a nicer way.
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