Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

A Sorrowful Woman

Satisfactory Essays
381 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Sorrowful Woman
In Gail Godwin's short story, "A Sorrowful Woman", we are introduced to a woman who just as said in the title, is a sorrowful woman. She is described this way because she has some sort of problem mentally and quite often emotionally. She has a three year old son who, just like any other three year old, wants and needs the attention of its mother. She also has a husband, who is loving and very much devoted to her, her needs, and of course, the needs of their child. His undying loyalty towards her says a lot about marriage. When a married couple takes those vowels "Till death do us part", they should really mean it. Those are the words that people in today's society say too often without enough thought. In the story the husband makes a number of efforts to please his wife. He understands that she is sick and needs help. One evening while she was looking at her husband and child she got sick, sad and for some reason after that she didn't want to see them anymore. She told the husband that she didn't want to see them ever again and he, being the understanding spouse that he was, just asked what she wanted him to do. The author, Gail Godwin, is trying to give examples of how a good marriage should work. The wife was usually grumpy and always wanted something and the husband was always willing to help her and make her feel better. Marriage in a real life situation should be the same way. Just as a couple takes those vowels "Till death do us part", they should be willing to do anything to fulfill those words. The husband in this story probably wouldn't have married the sorrowful woman, had he known that she was going to be like that. But he did, and he kept those words because he did whatever he could to please her. The author just wants the readers to see that marriage is a big step and that no one knows what the future holds. If the marriage doesn't go as expected, you must still keep your words and do right by your spouse, even if it is a sorrowful woman.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “A Journey” Colm Toibin discusses the lonely heart of a mother and wife. Mary is trying to make a connection with both her husband and son, yet they seem unwilling and secluded. The family in general is dysfunctional because not only do they lack communication, but they’re also not family oriented. It is unusual for husband and wife to reside in the same home but rarely speak. Sometimes people give up on the things they anguish without even realizing the affects it has on their loved ones. Sad to say it is a common thing, the loss of affection. When someone goes into deep depression, it not only affects their emotional state, but their mental state as well. Consequently, they can lose hopelessness and with that their selves. “It seemed to her like something David would not give up, a special dark gift he had been offered” (Toibin 5). To the mother it is almost as if her son just decided to silence himself.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marriage is the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other. During the ceremony of the marriage the couple takes vows in which are promises each partner is supposed to keep. It’s a sacred matrimony which is taken very serious; in every vow it ends with “Til death do us part”. Unfortunately, in some marriages the vows aren’t taken that sacred. In the two short stories, ‘The Alchemist’s Secret”, and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, their protagonists took their vows of “til death do us part” very personal; was willing to do anything to keep their vows.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Most marriages are formed when two people love each other and share the same aspirations in life. Once couples are married their views begin to change. They realize that marriage is hard and after having kids it’s even harder. Hope Edelman, in her essay “The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to be. How It Was,” feels frustrated with her husband because of his lack of participation in their marriage. On the other hand, Eric Bartels in his essay “My Problem with Her Anger,” is frustrated with his wife because she is angry with him all the time. Though these essays address marriage from both a male and female perspective, they both discuss idealistic views of marriage, lack of communication, blame, and how to fix their problem.…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In both the excerpts from Karen van der Zee 's novel "A Secret Sorrow" and in Gail Godwin 's short story "A Sorrowful Woman," the plots center on ideas of marriage and family. Conversely, marriage and family are presented in very different lights in the two stories. Karen van der Zee presents marriage with children as perfect and completely fulfilling; it is what Faye, the protagonist of "A Secret Sorrow", wants and what is necessary to her happiness. For Godwin 's unnamed protagonist, marriage and family are almost the antithesis of happiness; her home life seems to suffocate hear and eventually leads her to death. "A Secret Sorrow" directly endorses and encourages marriage, whereas "A Sorrowful Woman" indirectly questions and discourages it.…

    • 1568 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many wives sometimes feel unappreciated, neglected, and often used; which sometimes may lead to speaking out loud for themselves. This was the case with a woman in the 70s named Judy Brady. In 1971, Judy Brady’s essay “I Want a Wife” was in the first edition of Ms. Magazine; which targeted the inequality that was promised to women at this time. Being as the 70s was a time when women constantly struggled for equality and rights, Brady has some very interesting views on the term “wife.” Brady begins her thought process after hearing from a male friend who has recently become divorced. With him being single, and looking for a new wife; it occurred to Brady that she too wanted a wife of her own.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The one element that Godwin really hits on in the short story to strengthen the overall theme is the use of fairy tale aspect. At the beginning of the narrative, Godwin inserts a line before the actual story starts that reads, “Once upon a time there was a wife and mother one too many times” (Meyer 36). In this line, she is trying to put the point across to the reader that this short story will challenge the notion of what women desire. Godwin tries to portray that the wife in her story is not the normal wife and mother, like in most fairy tales. The wife in A Sorrowful Woman resembles the exact opposite of what women in fairy tales were portrayed as. In most fairy tales, the woman usually finds prince charming, gets married, has children and lives happily ever after. She desires to different and hopes for a changed role in society. The reader doesn’t know about the wife and husband’s life before their child’s birth, however some passages presume that she had a…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Gilded Six-Bits

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The author uses her two main characters Joe and Missie May to show the belief of marriage permanence. The Author uses the belief in marriage permanence to keep her main characters in a marriage jeopardized by a foolish decision. Marriage is more than just simply saying I do. In Marriage God makes man and woman one. God speaks about making man and woman one when he stated “And did not he make one ? Yet had he residue of the spirit. And wherefore one ? That he might seek a godly seed.Therefore take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth’’(Malachi 2:15). Dating back to biblical times it was believed that a man and wife should never divorce. It was never god's intention for man and wife to separate.God says “he hateth putting away:for one covereth violence with his garment’’(Malachi 2:16). Not only does God not approve of divorce, but divorcing one's wife removes the husband's fellowship with God. The belief of not divorcing one's wife is clearly shown in “The Gilded Six- Bits”.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many differences between "A Secret Sorrow" and "A Sorrowful Woman". One difference is the problems that the two women face. In "A Secret Sorrow" Faye deals with a physical problem, the inability to produce children. In "A Sorrowful Woman" on the other hand the unnamed wife deals with a psychological problem, making it more complex and difficult to fix. Another difference is the role the men play in the stories. Kai, from "A Secret Sorrow" has a forceful role, he plays the role of the average formula fiction man, he's masculine, strong and tries to save Faye from herself. For instance when Faye told him that he didn't have to be a gentlemen and that it was okay for him to leave her it was interesting when Kai responds with the line "Shut up and stop playing the martyr". He refused to allow herself to give into her insecurities and wallow in self pity. Instead readers constantly see Kai picking Faye up and trying to snap her out of this funk she has slipped into. He spends the entire story trying to force Faye to believe that she is worthy of being loved. The unnamed husband in "A Sorrowful Woman" is the exact opposite of Kai. The unnamed husband is an enabler, always understanding he does not do anything to help his wife get over her problems. Instead he in a way avoids the issue and allows the woman to succumb to her issue eventually resulting in her downfall. It's interesting that Godwin constantly repeats that the husband always understands. It shows that he realizes his wife is having trouble and he wants to help however the way he attempts to help just perpetuates the issue instead of resolving it. He complies with his obviously unhinged wife's demands and behaviors, just understanding not fixing. He allows her to get away with things such as hitting the child, firing the nanny and not doing her household responsibilities. The battle is lost when the husband allows his wife to isolate herself from her family and move into a separate…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tale of 2 divorces

    • 626 Words
    • 2 Pages

    "A Tale of Two Divorces" by Anne Roiphe was alarming. I felt great sorrow for her mother, as she retold the failure of her parents marraige. It bothered me that there was a point in which her mother was willing to leave her father because of his abusiveness, yet then submitted herself to pardon him, and not leave him. Roiphe did the same when she was on ithe verge of divorce; she tried to find excuses for her husband's immoral actions. She explains, "my husband had other women and I thought it was an artist's privelege[...]" (208). Or when she states that her husband"went on binges and used up all our money. I thought it was poetic[...] I was always apologizing" (208). Perhaps there was a point in which these women allowed themselves to be naive and let the men in their lives to endulge in the stereotype of male superiority, where he is a womanizer, drinks excessively, critisizes his wife, and expects his house to be in perfect condition. I do, however, admire Roiphe for her strength in leaving that unhealthy relationship while she still could. This is why she refers to divorce as "an emergency escape hatch" (212). If a person is in a relationship that is truly distructive, then it is best for that person to distance themselves from that relationship, in order to save themselves from further misery and insecurity.…

    • 626 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Secret Sorrow

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Karen Van Der Zee “A Secret Sorrow uses, Characterization, Tone and Irony to show that love is powerful and will heal any hurt. Anyone can say that what you hope for always doesn’t come to past, and then you may lose hope of it ever happening. It is possible to give up and live in despair or even defeat. This is very similar to Karen Van Der Zee, the writer of “A Secret Sorrow portrays in her story. Karen uses the characterization, tone, and irony to show how love is more than a feeling.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Story Of An Hour Analysis

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The author, Kate Chopin uses marriage to show how powerless women were compared to men during the late eighteen hundreds in her short story entitled, “The Story of An Hour “. At the beginning of the story the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard has a heart condition. Due to her illness, her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards has the hard task to tell Louise that her husband Brently Mallard has died in a train wreck. During this first hour Mrs. Mallard experiences the sorrow of her husband's death and the loneliness she would feel, but also the conflicting and exciting feelings of being able to feel alive and the freedom she will have in the future being alone without her husband.…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The traditional outlook on life has dissipated in modern years. Men were usually the ones who worked to support the family and maintained a steady income to make the family financially stable. On the contrary, women were expected to raise the children, prepare meals and keep a tidy house. For most, this was the ideal life style that worked effectively. Throughout Gail Godwin's short story, "A Sorrowful Woman", the character is a component of a troubled family. Furthermore in the short story, "The Story of an Hour" written by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard is notified with information that is life altering. A characters motivation drives a story towards the authors intended theme through the actions taken and emotions that are depicted.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Lonely Woman

    • 1109 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of your customers has just said to you, “The service here is terrible.” You should say:…

    • 1109 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tamed Wife?

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Marriage is a very complex relationship, simply because, this vow is a life-long commitment with a family to sustain ahead. Whether a marriage will have a happy or tragic ending depends on the way a husband a wife would keep their relationship. Julie Iovine’s article, Yes-Dearing Your Way to a Happy Marriage, introduces Laura Doyle’s Surrendered Wife, which explains what an ideal wife is in her view that will keep a marriage fruitful. These opinions encourage wives to practice different ways to please their husbands- ways I find absurd and irrational.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Katherine Philips’s “A Married State” addresses that marriage is not merry and that the ones who can should stay single for as long as possible. Just as Elaine Hobby writes, “Where romantic love appears in writings of this period…it is rarely noble or devine, and marriage does not of itself bring life’s ‘real satisfactions’” (71), Philips writes about love in “A Married State” but does not believe it is a positive factor in life. Philips believes that marriage is the road to damnation for women, but wives know how to hide their suffering well, as she expresses in the poem: “A married state affords but little ease: / The best of husbands are so hard to please. / This in the wives’ careful faces you may spell, / Though they dissemble their misfortunes well” (1-4). This quote also shows how Philips uses iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets to make the poem more appealing to the reader.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics