Roselily By Alice Walker

Living and loving is a requirement for two people to commit to a marriage. In Alice Walker’s story, “Roselily”, the protagonist is thinking about many things while the preacher is doing the ceremony. Roselily is trapped in her own thought, not really making the choices that she wants, and it seems like the choices are forced on her. Roselily keeps all of her thoughts to herself, being all trapped inside. “She thinks of the something as a rat trapped, cornered, scurrying to and fro in her head,” The rat could be the thought that are scattered in her head. Trying to find a way out, so Roselily can speak. Also this whole story she is having all these thoughts during the ceremony. Thoughts about fears, doubts, hopes for the future, and the past that haunts her. Probably thoughts about the man she is about to marry. For example, “She thinks of ropes, chains, handcuffs, his religion.” This couple is obviously very different from each other. As she is black, while he is muslim. This is all going through her head not letting it out.
“Feels shut away from him because of the stiff severity of his plain black suit. His religion.” She could be marrying for the benefit of her reputation. Marrying for the family conditions, the man could have money. Also the man or groom offering the bride or bride’s family something they can’t turn down. In these text, Roselily seems like she doesn’t love him. She loves some parts of him, like his sobriety and pride, but is that really enough to, “him”. She doesn’t want to leave the past, but somehow she has to leave it. “She was impatient. Impatient to be done with sewing.” I seem like Roselily had to leave those responsibility to go with him. There are things that we can’t control in life, and Roselily is facing that