Dorothy Parker

Desperate Nature of Women According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition for desperate is "having lost hope". In life, many people are either too desperate or are very optimistic about love. The person vs. self conflicts present in "Big Blonde", "A Telephone Call", and "Advice to the Little Peyton Girl" by Dorothy Parker demonstrate the desperate nature of the female protagonists. These stories portray that the protagonist's needs, a phone call, and internal thoughts, can reveal the desperation of a female protagonist. In the short story "Big Blonde", Hazel Morse struggles internally with something she believes she needs in life. Some people may recognize an action as a need, while others may recognize it as a want. The protagonist, Hazel Morse in "Big Blonde" is madly in love with her husband, that she needs alcohol to try to fix their relationship as a married couple. Her relationship with her husband, Herbie Morse, is falling apart due to lack of communication. As she starts drinking, "He was glad to see her drink. They both felt it might restore her high spirits, and their good times together might again be possible." (Parker). The protagonist shows that she would do anything just to bring her relationship with her husband back to normal. She would drink alcohol every time something would

go wrong. This action demonstrates how desperately the woman wants to her relationship to last. She would do anything to fight for her marriage and even consuming alcohol. She is so desperate to save her marriage she would even harm herself. Another story that portrays the desperation of a woman in a different way is in "A Telephone Call". Awaiting a telephone call could have the ability to change someone's feeling toward something or someone. "A Telephone Call" shows the readers that the protagonist is desperately waiting for a phone call from a man who she hopelessly loves. She fights her thoughts about why she is not hearing the