The Day They Burned The Books Analysis
The Day They Burned The Books
Jean Rhys’ “The Day They Burned The Books” is a short story narrated by an anonymous young girl about Eddie and his family, including his abusive father and tortured mother. Eddie’s father, Mr. Sawyer, fancied his library and later on died of unknown cause. His wife decided to burn and sell all of the books in his library. It is obvious that feminist criticism and structuralism are well applied to the story. Feminism refers to the advocacy of equality of the sexes and the establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex whereas structuralism suggests the belief that things cannot be understood in isolation; they have to be seen in the context of the larger structures they are part of. (Peter Barry, 2009) How the two theoretical approaches work in the story and the comparison between the two will be discussed in depth as follows.
Rhys contructs an Écriture Féminine, a female language, and adopts it in the story. Écriture feminine is a transgressive, rule-transcending and intoxicated language in nature while the realm of the body is considered immune to social and gender-conditioning and proficient in issuing forth a pure essence of the feminine. (Peter Barry, 2009) Fragmented sentences that plait and abide by associations can be found throughout the story. When introducing Mr. Sawyer, she writes, “He was not a planter or a doctor or a lawyer or a banker”; and describing Mrs. Sawyer in the library, “Mrs. Sawyer’s mouth tight, her eyes pleased”. The style of language is not commonly used among male authors. Also, manifold voices are inserted in Rhys’s writing of the girl’s narration in the story. Dialogues between Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer, Eddie and the narrator are used throughout the writing to portray the characters’ personalities, inner thoughts and how the story goes on. Rhys’s own form of Écriture Féminine makes her capable of re-inventing and altering the male-oriented normative language.
Feminist
Jean Rhys’ “The Day They Burned The Books” is a short story narrated by an anonymous young girl about Eddie and his family, including his abusive father and tortured mother. Eddie’s father, Mr. Sawyer, fancied his library and later on died of unknown cause. His wife decided to burn and sell all of the books in his library. It is obvious that feminist criticism and structuralism are well applied to the story. Feminism refers to the advocacy of equality of the sexes and the establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex whereas structuralism suggests the belief that things cannot be understood in isolation; they have to be seen in the context of the larger structures they are part of. (Peter Barry, 2009) How the two theoretical approaches work in the story and the comparison between the two will be discussed in depth as follows.
Rhys contructs an Écriture Féminine, a female language, and adopts it in the story. Écriture feminine is a transgressive, rule-transcending and intoxicated language in nature while the realm of the body is considered immune to social and gender-conditioning and proficient in issuing forth a pure essence of the feminine. (Peter Barry, 2009) Fragmented sentences that plait and abide by associations can be found throughout the story. When introducing Mr. Sawyer, she writes, “He was not a planter or a doctor or a lawyer or a banker”; and describing Mrs. Sawyer in the library, “Mrs. Sawyer’s mouth tight, her eyes pleased”. The style of language is not commonly used among male authors. Also, manifold voices are inserted in Rhys’s writing of the girl’s narration in the story. Dialogues between Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer, Eddie and the narrator are used throughout the writing to portray the characters’ personalities, inner thoughts and how the story goes on. Rhys’s own form of Écriture Féminine makes her capable of re-inventing and altering the male-oriented normative language.
Feminist
References: Barry, P. (2009). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester University Press.