The Stranger Tandy

In the chapter Tandy, readers are given what appears to be a short break from the narrator’s destruction of the views of stable and complete heterosexual relationships by presenting the story of a young girl where a stable relationship is not presented but a suggestion about the way the young girl should act is presented as a solution. A stranger appears and becomes friends with Tom Hard. The stranger begins to talk to the little girl and give her some advice. The stranger seems to describe a feeling that some other female characters have described as having a feeling but having no one or way to present this feeling. After this, the stranger explains that “they think it’s easy to be a woman, to be loved, but I know better… I understand… perhaps
of all the men I alone understand” (Anderson 84). The stranger’s comments seem to suggest that he differs from the typical male desire that other characters have felt in the story and more favors the female way of desiring, but he handles the desire differently. He also is linked to Wing by talking about being a dreamer as Wing was described as a character who could make others dream. The stranger states that “it is the quality of being strong to be loved. It is something men need from women and that they do not get” (Anderson 84).
He then tells the girl to “be brave enough to dare to be loved. Be something more than man or woman. Be Tandy” (Anderson 85). The stranger’s lines can be hard to understand especially when he is talking about the qualities of Tandy. He states the they are “something men need from women and that they do not get.” The word “they” is vague in this sentence because it is difficult to tell if the stranger is implying that these qualities (which I assume the stranger is referring to with the word it) are not received by the men or the women because the stranger previously states that “out of her defeats has been born a new quality in woman” (Anderson 84), so this line suggest that there are some women that may not have to give in the first place. Because of the placement of the word “they,” readers can ultimately conclude that the men are lacking because women cannot give “it” to them. Despite this, the stranger’s advice to the little girl is that she becomes Tandy or someone who transcends the labels “man” and “woman.” While readers will never know if the little girl becomes Tandy, they can only refer to her as Tandy in regards to this Chapter because neither she nor the stranger are given
names. This leaves the opportunity for any man or child to be put into this situation that seems to offer a solution for the conflict between male and female desire.